HOKITIKA NOTES

Grey River Argus, 25 October 1930, Page 2

HOKITIKA NOTES

I I (Our Own Correspondent.) I HOKITIKA, October 24 Tn Ihe supplementary estimates there figure the following votes for. West land:—Kumara Recreation ground, improvements £ for £ £5O; Okarito Domain improvements £ for £ £l5; | Ku.ma.ra Junction to Kapitefci Road £250; Lower Wataroa, Little Wanganui stock track £300; Milltown-; Arahura. Road £300; Wataroa-Poerua stock track £300; State Forest Service' capital charges for West land (additional) £1950. At a live stock sale at Kokatahi on We tnosday, a pen of 15 well grown 3 ( year Shorthorn steers realised £ll/15/apiece, 15 3 year Shorthorn steers, fetched £lO/I*s/- each. A pen of 20 *3 year steers were passed in at LIO 1/-, tine price not reaching the owner’s reserve. 15 2 year Red Poll heifers Isold for £5/15/- apiece, a stag at £6/5/-. and a, line of yearling steers 1 wore passed in at £3/10/- per head. The Ladies’ Gymnastic Chib had good patroniage at the Princess Theatre last n r ghf for their display. * A visiting team from Chrisitchurch,, j Mr .1. Mnsson and his four pupil* were an acquisition, and special praise■ j must be given the local Chib, the! |menil>ers 'of which, senior and junior,! •’cqiltted' themselves very capably? I Misses Pye (2) and Austen, of ChriistI church, were seen in. several fine ( I efforts with Mr Mnsson. Over fifty ilocal performers were then seen in i aetion. and all acquitted themselves I | with admirable agility. Miss McCurdy, ] !u visitor from Dunedin and Miss Ada - Lynn., were the vocialists, and each | sang delightfully, winning encores. (Miss Giese supplied 'the aecompani-| | meats. Humorous recitations were ( given by Miss Helen Renton and Miss' 'Edna. Fowler and a. duet by little! ‘Misses M andi J. Coulson. The Black Hand Orchestra, under Mr A. Lawn,|. 'played ia spjrited overture, and an enItracte of popular numbers, Miss Gwent Jacobs, presided at the piano, ,for the . I musical accompaniments for the. gymnastic display. f The syndicate which recently purch- j‘ lased the wrecked scow “Elsie” lying ■ I on Hunt’s beach, after making a| t thorough inspection of the wreck, de- , sided that the hull was not worth salvaging, and consequently Captain Tn- 1 'gram and the Shipwright, Mr. J. Kar-1 1 • ousky, returned to Hokitika to report ( 1 Ito the comany. Subsequently, Mr Stan | f Bassett ami the ships engineer, Mr. G. . Montague, returned to the wreck io | salvage the engine and machinery. Ke-I ports to hand are that they have been | successful in their work and the mach-1 1 inery is practically all at the home- j stead of the Scott’s, at Karangarua, . from where it is possible to tranship the whole engine by motor lorry to Hoki- ( tika. After a thorough overhaul, the , engine should soon find a ready sale. The last run of whitebait, in the ; Hokitika river took place on last Friday evening’s tide. From Saturday 1 morning the weather broke and with continued storms and heavy seas practically no fish have been caught, and the stuing tides will probably be over before the weather settles. However, ! with a few days settled weather, the . fish should run again. i. Arguments have cropped up from time to time relative to there being two . distinct species of whitebait. This sea-1 son has proved that rwo species do exist. For two or three days preceding a big run of whitebait the fishermen j catch fair quantities of exceptionally' [big whitebait, nearly twice the size j of the real fish, when the run takes | place, the big fish disappear, and the 1 ! real typical whitebait appear. There is ia distinct difference in the samples of ‘ ! fish. The retailers in Christchurch have • ‘advanced the theory that the big white . bait, of the white appearance, are' I caused by the colour of the rivers on the Coast, but this is not right, be-; i cause as soon as a big run is over, the | big fish make their appearance again. There is no doubt whatever that there , are two distinct species, but the pecu-■ j I liar position is that fishermen of many ' years standing cannot recall the appear | a nee of this big species of past seasons. One more point for the Marine I 'Department’s officers to take up ia j ’their study of the whitebait habits. | Excellent arrangements are made by the stationmaster at Hokitika for the i prompt dispatch of whitebait to Christ- I ’church. The train leaves each evening at 4.30, arriving in Christchurch in J time for the 8 o’clock market. This j en.sur' s the fish arriving in excellent condition. One local fisherman who sup ; plies the Christchurch market received special praise for the excellent quality j of the whitebait forwarded. 'ihe sawmills of the district ar? •going through very bad times, practically all of the mills being closed. The j . big mill at Mananui has stopped again ' .after working for one month. The white ’ pine mills show no signs of improve- ; merit. In conversation with leading | merchants on the subject, the following! imformatioi) was elicited: That there; • were at the present time orders forl k second class white pine for boxmaking, | ] but orders for first class were not to be had, except in certain sizes. Unless 1 the miller can get rid of thb cut of' the log, and save heavy filleting and extra handling charges, it is not worth , while commencing, as at present there , is a large quantity of white pine fillet I led. Unless orders come to hand early, ■ the Coast will experience a lean time int Christmas. With the workers getHing in half time for one month and | then off for the next month matters i f will not take long to reach a climax. I The Borough Council have experi-, cneed a good deal of trouble with the : Sewell street drain, which has been re- i cently completed with 18in. concrete ’ pipes. Formerly this water was carried to the river by a four-feet-square wood- ! en drain, and in those days when the 1 drain was constructed the main flow of ' ufater in the Hokitika River was I down the wharf stream. To-day this I main body of water has shifted to the | middle stream. In the old days the pad ' docks at the top end of Sewell Street ! used to flood at stormy periods and I also that portion of Fitzherbert street from Mandi’s Brewery down to Ross’s' corner. Now that the new concrete * drain has been laid with 18in. pipes

; the paddocks at the top end still floofl ' at stormy periods, but Fitzherbert I street keeps dry. The first fault seems , to be that the Council have erred in laying pipes that are not big enough to j carry the water, and, secondly, the ' surplus water that used to flood Fitzherbert .street must be finding its way into Sewell street drain or other watei ! channels, and overtaxing the Sewell I street drain. If the main river still con- ! tinues to flow down the wharf channel and we experienced one of the old-time ! floods, it would not be difficult io i imagine the serious consequences of the flood waters. The members of the Council have been over the length of the drain and one member suggested a blockage as the cause of the trouble, and instructions have been issued to the overseer to open up the drain at various points to see if this surmise is ; correct. In the old days the top end was always subject to flooding, even with a drain nearly three times larger, and it appears if the Council will b? hard put to remedy the flooding. Hokitika has taken up its new sport of skating with marked enthusiasm. iFriday and Saturday are red letter days for young and old. The floor of the drill hall has received spo cial attention and the only fault that i can now he found is that the hall is not large enough to accommodate the • crowd. With skating and the treble appearance of The Gloom Chasers, the talkies have experienced a lean time. With the advent of the talkies, patrons have now to suffer the full i effects of the whole play whereas in the old silent days much of the trashy stuff was passed over. “Atta boy,” “O.K. Baby,” and ”Big Sister” are becoming monotonous to picture patrons. Of course some, are real gems, “•Sally,” “Desert Song” and one or two others but the bi.g percentage would receive a rough hearing if played on the stage in the local theatre. It makes one wonder if the legitimate stage will return. The Westland Rugby Union held ’ts final meeting last Monday evening, Mr. H. M. Coulson presided over a fair attendance of members. The subunion has come through tho season with a credit balance of over £2O, in spite of the fact that its receipts were down fully £lOO. Special praise was given to the Secretary for the satisfactory state of the Union’s funds and to the general management of the business. A special offer is to be made by the Sub-Union to organise the players throughout the whole district in order to make every endeavour to have their own senior and junior competitions within their own boundaries. The English tour was blamed by the local union for putting the finishing touches to Football in West land. However, it will be ten years before the next English team makes its appearance in New Zealand, and perhaps the code game will ho played against West Coast, on the Square at Hokitika, or, perhaps on the Sub-Union’s own ground if all the good wishes come true. Not so many days ago, vvhitebaiteis in Hokitika were enraptured with the story that, appeared in the “Argus” giving full details of the capture of the celebrated rock, the envy of ail fishermen in the Grey district. From details to hand it appears that not many days will pass before the “Hole in the Wall” is the envy of the fishermen of our little town, and tales of those who keep watch during the night and the small hours of the morning at this much coveted position will surely outrival the little hero in Holland whom we have all read about. The whitebait canning factories have commenced operations in Hokitika, but so far supplies have not been up to usual, and the factories are working short time. If the fish commence to run properly, then the factories will get their share but with reduced catches the fishermen are compelled to seek the highest market. The Red Lion Hotel is receiving attention from the carpenters. A new roof has been fitted and numerous alterations have been effected. Inside, the front parlours have been fitted with the latest three-window type bungalow’ window sashes, and the roof has been d-esigned |aft<7r the bungalow idea, much improving the external appearance of the hotel. Mr J. Hart, of Greymouth, is in charge of the work. The Bank of New Zealand premises have been demolished and the contractor, Mr C. Calvert, has commenced the foundations for the new structure, which, we understand, is of a very handsome and modern design. With continued heavy seas of late, the groins that were put in by the Public Works Department during the sea erosion some years ago have become exposed, but with favourable weather it is remarkable how soon nature goes about its work, and with a tide or two the groins will soon be cov. ; cred. The South Westland Shipping Company, which recently lost the scow Elsie, have been considering recommissioning the steamer “Gael” to carry on the south trade, and Captain Nalder, formerly of the Kotiti, was in Hokitika inspecting the little steamer. From subsequent enquiries, I understand that the company now r contemplate converting the steamer into a motor driven ship, and either a Gardner or a Fairbanks Morse engine of 100 h.p. will be installed if the decision is adhered to. The company deserve all support for carrying on after the many set backs they have suffered. The recent losses of the cutter “Jane ” the steamer “Paeroa,” and then the “Elsie,” must have meant lar»> e losses £o all concerned, and the one very suitable steamer the “Jane Douglas,” was lost off Stephen’s Island. Before the “Jane Douglas,” the Waipara was lost in Okarito. It seems that fate plays a cruel hand with the southern settlers. Nancekeville and Keenan’s big Leyland motor left for Karangarua on Thursday afternoop to bring the Diesel engine from the wneeked Elsie. The Rimu Dredging Coy’s Keystone borer is at present engaged in putting down a bore for water at the side of the swimming baths, the operations being in charge of Mr H. Rutland. Good water was found at 13 feet, but it was intended to bore deeper, and, if necessary, a return could be made

to the 13 feet level for the final tap- J ping The company is to be com- 1 mended for coming to the assistance | of the Swimming Club, as I under-! stand the manager is meeting the club at a minimum eost. Captain Cuttanee is at present overhauling his steam trawler ‘Maud.” The trawler should be in capital order for the fishing season. Endeavours are at present being! made to ascertain if Mr Alf Thompson with his steamer “Nile,” will make a trip to Okuru in order to take down provisions fon the southern settlers. This will tide the settlers over while the Gael is being converted to Diesel ship. Hokitika is in for cheaper gas for heating and cooking, and the electric also for heating and power is to be at cheaper rates after Christmas. ET-.’ RACING NOTES. Seddon Adamson passed through Hokitika en route to Christchurch with Call and the Thumam-Lady Middleton filly. Both are in splendid condition and theiri preparations will be finalised at Riccarton. Quantum and Deluge both bear a healthy appearance and are receiving a careful preparation at the hands of their mentor, Ted Kingham. A. McMullan’s team are daily visitors to the track, all being very forward. Bank Draft was schooled over the hurdles, and gave a good exhibition for a novice. It is undenstood that Frank Haddock’s Orange Mart has produced a colt foal. A regular patron of the turf, Frank deserves a change of luck and it is to be hoped the youngster turns out a winner.