HOKITIKA NOTES.

Grey River Argus, 19 January 1922, Page 8

HOKITIKA NOTES.

(Our Own Correspondent). The funeral of the late John Douglas took place on Monday afternoon last, and was attended by a large number of friends fo the deceased and his family. The Rev. Father Riordan, of Boss, officiated at the church and at the graveside. A useful innovation has been instituted in Cass Square, the popular picnic ground that is yearly the meeting place of picnickers from different centres of the West Coast. A building equipped with water-heaters, and provided with shilling-in-the-slot mechanism, which controls the gas supply, has been provided and will be a boon to the pleasure seekers on picnic days. We congratulate those responsible for this very useful convenience. Messrs Johnston and Graham’s mill, at Shallow Rush, which lias been closed down for some considerable time past, will resume sawing operations in the course of a day or two. Mr Cook, a well-known former resident of Hokitika, and Greymouth, and second son of the late Geo. Cook, architect, of Hokitika, has been spending a holiday in town, looking up old friends. Mr Cook is greatly impressed with the progress that lias taken place on the Coast during his absence. The Hokitika bar is at present better than it has been for many years. The channel is running straight to sea, carrying 13 feet of water at full tide, and strange to say we have no shipping. No difficulty would be experienced by many of the small boats trading to Greymouth in working this port. At present the whole of the timber at the wharf siding is being railed to Greymouth for shipment to Australian and New Zealand ports, whereas the major portion of this could be shipped from our own port if suitable vessels could be induced to trade here. It was stated at the meeting of the Westland Hospital Board on Monday evening that the amount expended on capital account during the present year amounted to over £2300. A sitting of the Magistrate’s and Warden’s Courts takes place to-day. This includes a sitting of the Juvenile Court, at which quite a large number of young people will appear on various charges. The reports from south indicate that the volume of tourist traffic this year

is much above the average. The same applies to the steady stream of visitors to Lake Kanieri this season. The attractions of the district are becoming more widely known, and in a year’s time when there is through railway communication the invasion of Westland will be by a very large army of tourists, sight-seers and holiday makers. Westland County Councillors at Tuesday’s meeting complained of a lack of Government aid for public works. Mr Jeffries, however, said the Government was bankrupt. Therefore what other reply, but a refusal did they expect from their repeated requests for grants. The chairman (Mr Ward) in agreeing on the financial stringency, said it was their duty to continue their agitation for expenditure on very urgent works. He instanced that the bridging of the Waitangi was a very urgent matter in spite of the reply received that day from the Minister of Public Works to the contrary and instanced an experience he had in that stream. Mr Ritchie endorsed the necessity of the work and instanced several other South Westland works which had been held up for .a long time past, till he had got weary of expecting these necessary works to be carried out. Mr Chiun made an emphatic protest against the misrepresentation of the Resident Engineer on the Waitangi River not being a dangerous one. This river was a soft-bottomed river and with the slightest fresh the stream was unfordable and traffic across was being continually held up. He spoke from a personal experience. It was ■the only river now that would hold up traffic between Ross and Waiho. The Minister had undoubtedly been wrongly advised on the subject. The council ultimately resolved do make further representation to theWinister pointing out that apparently some misconception had arisen over the river in question, which was continually holding up travellers, and the bridging of the stream was a most urgent work.