NEWS OF THE DAY

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXI, Issue 21303, 15 January 1944, Page 2

NEWS OF THE DAY

Hiking Holiday

A holiday hike of approximately 180 miles, from a point near Taumarunui to Napier, .was made over the New Year by Miss Susan Harding and her father. Mr. Guy Harding, Wellington.

Feme of Waikanac

The name and fame of Gisborne’s Waikanac Beach has travelled far. tout lately attention has been misdirected to the Wellington Waikanae by city newspapers which, apparently, know of only that Waikanae which appears on the map. Mention was made during the week of the Dominion quoting Waikanae camping figures with the inference that it was the Wellington beach, but the Auckland Star has gone one further. Using the same set of Gisborne figures as those culled from the Gisborne Herald by ihe Dominion, the Auckland Star refers to “Waikanae Beach, near Well;»igton.” rrv. „. : Defence Services Branch

Social and economic interests of men and women discharged after service with mobilised home defence units will provide the main source of activities for the Gisborne branch of the New Zealand Defence Services’ Association. The new national body, ,+i-. r ina”mirr,ted at a Dominion conference, hopes to supply for exservice people in its own field the facilities which those with overseas experience receive from the New Zealand' Returned Services’ Association. Qualification for membership is based on a minimum mobilised service period of six months, and in this district there are sufficient men and women with this qualification to form a strong branch.

Home Guard Equipment

An interesting point in regard to military equipment is pointed out by the Home Guard authorities, lest some guardsmen should deliberately fall to hand in certain of thc-ir clothing or gear, for which final Parades are being held bv all units in Gisborne ahd district in the very near future. Goar not, returned must be paid for, but although payment is made it is not bought and is still the property of the Crown, being liable to confiscation. Any equipment which is directly purchased from the Government must bear the cancellation mark. Among parades advertised are those by the Cook Battalion, and attendance of all personnel on these parades is important. as (he area covered by the Cool: Battalion covers thousands o[ square miles.

Ex-Gisborneite’s Appreciation

Formerly well known in ihe bookselling and stationery business in Gisborne, Mr Howard Humphreys, of Dunedin, is visiting his home town offer an absence of 23 years. To a Herald representative Mr. Humphreys expressed his surprise at the remarkable improvements etl'ected during the years he had been awav. Gisborne, he said, was the best of the provincial towns of the Dominion, and row that the district had been connected by rail, he was convinced great progress lay ahead of it. Its warm, sunny climate, with a splendid waterfront and surrounding beaches, made it unrivalled, while the town itself, with its excellent shop-fronts, resented an attractive appearance. When times returned to normal Cisborne'tes should spare no effort to boost their town.