HOKITIKA NOTES

Greymouth Evening Star, 21 March 1935, Page 2

HOKITIKA NOTES

[OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.]

HOKITIKA. March 20.

The contractor for the new Scots Memorial Church at the intersection of Fitzherbert and Hampden Streets, has arrived from. Christchurch, and the work will lie commenced immediately. On the road for a week at least before reaching the freezing works, a line of prime lambs, railed by Mr R. Ritchie, of Bruce Bay, averaged the weight of 43.391b5. This is the more remarkable when it is considered the travelling and handling entailed while cn route from farm to work, including the crossing of the Karangarua and Cook rivers.

The annual meeting of the KokatahiKoiterangi Winter Show was held in the Public Hall. The report and balance sheet were read, and the President (Mr Fleming) congratulated the committee on its successful year. The election of officers resulted; President, Mr Fleming; vicepresident, Mr Barnhill; treasurer, Mr Ecclesfield; executive committee,

Messrs Fleming, Barnhill, Eccleafleld, M. Wallace, E. Sheriff, H. Boddington, C. Cron, E. Jones, V. Smith and Mesdames Ecclesfleld, Cron and Diedrichs; secretary, Miss Boddington. It was resolved to hold the show on May 28 and 29, and several new classses were added to the schedule.

The vivid display of lightning ex- ■ perienced hero on Monday evening had a serious sequel in the Had Had district, where twelve head of cattle, belonging to Mr George Manship, were killed. Mr Manship’s loss was not discovered until yesterday, when, during the milking, a shortage in his herd of about sixty was noticed, and a search was made. The corpses were found close together, and it appeared they had been sheltering near bushes when struck by lightning. Never before have so many head of stock been killed together in this manner in Westland. The intensity of the display considerably frightened stock throughout the district, and horses, cattle and sheep "milled” round the paddocks as the vivid flashes penetrated the darkness. Some of the flashes were of sufficient duration to enable distant landmarks to be picked up. During the afternoon there was a heavy fall of hail, some of the hailstones being an inch square.