MID-CANTERBURY NEWS

Press, Volume LXXVI, Issue 23085, 30 July 1940, Page 4

MID-CANTERBURY NEWS

_—«. — NEW THEATRE FOR ASHBURTON j COMPANY’S*’ STATEMENT TO COUNCIL That in the event ot the Government refusing permission for the use of steel for the building of the proposed new theatre for Ashburton, | steps would be . taken to build a stage I in the St. James’ Theatre which would largely alleviate the present difficulties in accommodation for local functions, was stated in a letter received by the Ashburton Borough Council last evening from Fullers Theatres Corporation, Ltd. The letter stated that it ap-, peared that certain members of tne council were under the impression j that the delay in the construction 01. a new theatre was due to the tardiness. of the company. . . „-! A considerable sum of money had. been invested in a site which, in us, undeveloped state, involved the com-; pany in a substantial weekly loss, which it was anxious to arrest development of the-property. Plans for the theatre had been approved by the Department of Industries and Commerce, but the company was faced with unavoidable delay till the Government had expressed its opinion on the advisability of building a theatre in present conditions. -the company was keenly aware of the need for a suitable theatre for lp c , d t I functions,, and it hoped that within j the next few weeks the whole matter i would be clarified. E Mr A. A. McDonald said the com- 1 pany had enjoyed the use of a licence for a theatre and the goodwill of the Ashburton public for three years since the Majestic Theatre had been destroyed. Many local societies had been handicapped because there was no suitable hall in the town. Something should have been done by now. It was decided to reply tnat the council was pleased to learn that the company would erect a stage in the St. James Theatre shortly. Dr. J. Connor. Deputy-Mayor, pre- j sided. ’ , . . , . The City Engineer, Christchurch (Mr A. R. Galbraith), wrote asking for information in connexion with the setting up of refugee centres on the Canterbury plains in the event of the emergency evacuation of the city. The letter was referred to the public utilities committee set UP at Ashburton last October, r _ . The Ashburton Rugby Union was grant’d closed days at the Ashburton Domain on August 3 and 10. Tny union’s request that no charge be made for the closed day on August 10 because the funds would be for soldiers’ farewell gifts, was also granted. It was decided that the term for the Netherby drainage loan, £4443, should be 35 vears. and that the payment of interest find 1 sinking fund be spread over the whole borough. It was stated that if the whole rate was imposed on the area concerned it would be prohibitive. , The absence of bicycle stands at convenient places in the town was mentioned by Mr A. H. Fenn. The engineer said that the stands were being built by the council staff, but the work was delayed because they could not obtain piping. FOURTH HEDGE FIRE IN THREE DAYS OUTBREAK IN ALFORD FOREST ROAD The fourth fire in a macrocarna hedge in three days occurred in Ashburton last evening. The outbreak, which, like the others, appeared to have been deliberately caused, was in a large fence on the road frontage of an empty section owned by Mr J. McCormick, on the Alford Forest road. The fire was put out by the Ashburton Volunteer Fire Brigade beforemuch damage was done. ASHBURTON PERSONAL NOTES Mr J. Dunlop, South Island representative of the New Zealand Dairy Board, arrived at Ashburton last evening to attend a public meeting to discuss primary production to-day. Mr G. D. H. Hefford, who has been on holiday in the North Island, has returned to Ashburton. Mr W. J. Sparrow, who was accompanying Mr Hefford, has gone to Rotorua for about a month. SOCIAL AT MEAD There was a large attendance at a social held in the Mead School on Saturday evening, when the Mead Patriotic Committee raised a large sum for the patriotic fund. To defray expenses. Mesdames Weaver and Cornelius, gave the prizes. The winners at euchre were Miss Ina Cornelius and Mr F. Needham. A Monte Carlo waltz was won by Miss B. Carmichael and Mr K. Cornelius. Music for dancing was played by Messrs T. Lawler, M. Lawler and W. Colombus, and. extras by Messrs R. S. Palmer and S. H. Shellock. Mr T. Culloty was master of ceremonies. t RED CROSS SOCIAL AT SEAFIELD The Seafield branch of the Red Cross Society held its fortnightly euchre tournament in the Seafield Hall with a sales table. The sum of £2 17s was raised. A competition was won by Mi;s A. Bennison. The winners at cards were Miss J. Moorhead, Mrs G. Moorhead. Miss J. Mitchell, Messrs R. Mitchell, and G. Moorhead, jun. Mr R. Mitchell won in the playoff. STATE PLACEMENT SERVICE Employment for 10 men was found by the Ashburton State Placement Service last week. Two men obtained work at gorse-cutting, two others were given employment with tho railways, and positions for six men were found at the woollen mills. METHVEN GUN CLUB Perfect shooting conditions prevailed for the monthly shoot of the Methven Gun Club. There was a larger attendance of members than usual. Results;— The first match was the usual sweepstake of five birds on a five-track system, and the following scored possibles and divided the sweepstake;—W. M. Holland, G A. Franks. S„ H. Anderson, T. S. Harrison, J. T. Corbitt, and W. J. Robertson. Fifteen-bird Clay Match, for trophies presented by Messrs J. O'Connell and W. J. Halliday. and sweepstake—S. H. Anderson./A. McLeod, and L. C. Anderson 15, T. S Harrison and J. T. Corbitt 14. W. M. Holland 13. G. A. Franks, G. Gerard, and F. Quested 12. In the shoot-off L. C. Anderson went out on the sixth bird and took first money in the sweepstake. McLeod missed his twenty-third bird and took the second prize, leaving Anderson the winner. Harrison and Corbitt divided second money and Holland secured third. In the fourth shoot of the series for the President’s Handicap, of 14 birds, S. H. Anderson was the Only one to register the possible bnd collected first money in the sweepstake. L, C. Anderson, G. A. Franks. J. T. Corbitt, T. S. Harrison, and F. Quested were next with 13 breaks and divided the balance of the sweepstake. W. J Robertson, W. M. Holland, and A. Me- , Leod broke 12, and G. Gerard 11. 1 In a special five-track match, of 10 birds, , S H. Anderson, F. Quested, and A. Me- ; Leod broke the possible and divided the sweepstake. Holland, Franks, and Harrison missed one each, and L. C. Anderson i and J. T. Corbitt;-with' eight breaks, were 'the next best.

RUGBY FOOTBALL TEAM TO PLAY NORTH OTAtio Arrangements for a representative match against North Otago at Ashburton on Saturday were made by the Ashburton Rugby Union last evening. Mr N. Robilliard presided. The Old Boys Football Club wrote that because of difficulty in fielding players, it had to withdraw its junior team from the competition. A request was received for the union’s consent to a match between teams from the Ashburton Woollen Mills and territorials being played as a curtain-raiser to a senior representative match at Ashburton. It was decided that the match be played before the representative match with the Army team on August 10, if the game for the Jones-Davy Cup between Ashburton and Christchurch High School Old Boys third grade team could not be arranged. The Burnham Military Camp wrote that the Army team would visit Ashburton to play the Ashburton senior representative team on August 10. Representative Team The representative team to play North Otago on Saturday is:—V. O'Donoghue (Old Boys); S. Lemon (Old Boys), J. Doig (Rakala), D. Lemon (Methven); G. Leith (Old Boys), A. Sampson (Technical Old Boys); D. White (Old Boys); B. Doig (Rakaia), D. Harrison (Methven), I. Hart (Methven), B. Newton (Old Boys), A. Mathieson (Old Boys), D. Brooker (Methven), J. E. McKenzie (Methven, captain), A. Rowell (Old Boys). Emergencies; T. Lister, A. Doig. P. O’Reilly, D. Hurst. Manager, Mr C. Wellman; referee, Mr C, McKenzie. .The town and country teams for the curtain-raiser to the. representative match are:— Town—L. Muir; M. Chilton, R. Walls, K Jordan; F. W. Saunders, M. Baynes: A. Pearce; A. Rowell, L. Tait, R. Hill. F Pritchard, R. Lloyd, F. Hill, J. Mclntosh, L. Solway. Emergencies: D. Ross, W. Page. W. Murphy. Manager. Mr W. Smitheram. Country—B Watson; J. Hale, J. Tully. Lochhead; D. Doig, Hepburn; W. More; K. Taylor, J. O’Reilly, C. Cromie, D. Fitzgerald, J. Cromie. R. Lllley, K. Cornelius, Farquhar. Emergencies: E. Cromie, J. Hurst, R. Ayers, Wi Lock. Manager, Mr J. Lilley. Referee, Mr K. Hood. Draw for Saturday •The draw for lower grades on Saturday is:— Junior—Celtic v. Hinds, at Hinds (Mr S; Pennal): .Springbum and Methven byes. Third Grade—Hinds v. Methven, at Methven (Mr G. Dalton): Old Boys v. Tinwald, at Ashburton (Mr J. Billings): Technical Old Boys v Mayfield, at Mayfield (Mr S. Alexander): Eiffelton a bye. Fourth Grade—Technical v. Methven, at Ashburton (Mr K. Kenny); High School