HOKITIKA NOTES

Grey River Argus, 10 June 1933, Page 2

HOKITIKA NOTES

(Our Own Correspondent.) HOKITIKA, June 9. Although reported to have been previously seen in Canterbury, William Robinson, who for some days had been missing from Hokitika, hod not been definitely located, hut the local polie' - have now received official word that he Ims been located at Christchurch. Mr R. Ritchie, of Bruce Bay, South Westland, secured up to 16/7 per head for a line of shorn fat lambs which he u fie re I on Wednesday at the Addington market, averaging 14/3, and being sur passed in price by only four other lines at the sale. This is very creditable in view of the fact that Mr Ritchie took these lambs to the market in the same manner as he did a decade ago, that is a distance of mure than 3311 miles. Th- V were driven 46 miles from far South Westland to Weheka. crossing three rivers on route.were then convey ed 123 miles by motor lorry to Ross, and trucked to Addington. It speaks well for the vendor that they arrived 111 JjOOcl CODtlitiOTl. Mr A tidy Tulloch, of Hokitika, the son of one of Canterbury’s very early pioneers, Mr John Scott lulloch, of Opawa, who has just celebrated his i ineticth birthday. A native of the shot and Isles, Mr Tulloch s‘'nr., reach

ed New Zealand in 1863 and came in 1868 to tht< West Coast with 60 other prospectors, reaching Lake Kanieri after a journey of eight days. Later he returned to Lyttelton, and resumed his former position on the railways and, continued therein till he was 65. bud meantime had brought land. He was on e of the best known controllers of railwav g ail g s * n Canterbury in the! early days of the service there.

Last evening at a meeting of promoters it was decided to form a Bad mi nt on Club here, after Dr Oakey had explained the object in view Officers were elected as follows: —Patron: Dr. E. Teichelmann; President, Dr Wilson, Vice-Presidents, Miss IL Mandi. Matron Anderson, Mrs J. Butland, Messrs’ W E. Williams, Dr. Childs and Mrs W. .1. Mclntyre: Secretary and Treasurer. Mr J. Butland; Committee, Misses J. Davidson. J. Stevenson and Mrs Dr Wilison, Alessrs A. Perry, Dr Oakey. President and Secretary; Club ( aptain, Dr Oakey There was a limitation placed on the membership, name l v twenty male am] as many female mciiibe-rs, and the letter section was reported to have been alriady fill'd. The Club is to open next week, if the hall i> available, the p'a.ving nights being Tuesdays and Thursdays from_7.3o lo 10.30 p.m. Saturday’s football gam's in Wc«t land include two in the senior grade. Ross v. Kiwi. Cas.s Square, No. 2, at ;; pm. (IL l’>. Collett); Excelsior v. I*.rules. C:t>s Square. No. 1, at 3 p.m. (.1. Mc.C eary). The junior games are: Birates v. Ross at Ross (AV. Fluerty); Kiwi v. Kokatahi, Cas.s Square, No. 2. at 130 (J. Butland): Excelsior v. School, Cass Square, No. 1 at 1.30 (A. Cutbush). Kiwi senior team will be Sumner, \V Rylands. S’opfort h. Leslie, K'-llv. Henderson, Griffon, Stopforth, 1 ‘ater.si.n. Eb niing, J. Stopforth. Spiers, Hein/.. Wist. Moor'. Burrows. Diediic!i Ex< e sii>. .seniors are; Kelly, ragei. Kelly, l-'reitas. King. Hughes, liuvili, Gugich. Davidson. W. Hughes, ,\i.i Staim-s. Connelly. Sehrodei, M.t'-hrll. Enierg: G'orgi-. Players lo be on ground at 2.1.~> pm. -harp Ihe oa>c before Mr Justice- Blair at ‘.he SupTcnie Court here to-day was one in which a claim for £1029 damages an. comp-nsation was made by James Edwi.. Sear e against the Westland Rating Club, Mr A. R. Elcock, for claimant, quoted the gtounds for the action and legal authorities. His Honor >aid that ’.here was a certain re-! .-•ponsibilily on the part of the Club in r gard to tin* efficiency and safety of the Club’s fittings anil appointments which must be in good order. If not' there was a liability. The principle was that there was a definite invitation to go on to premises involving certain (-arc. Dr. B. L. Wilson said plaintiff consulted him on December 28, 1931, regarding an injury to his eye. Plaintiff had a recent injury to the left side of the face and severe bruising of the left eyelid, left cheek, nose and right cheek. Witness ordered plaintiff to hospital where h*‘ lemained two weeks. Two months later he had very defective vision of the left ' ye, the damage to the sight being nine-tenths. Plaintiff had been ruder his care since and at present could barely count his fingers at a distance of eight'en inches. He could

perhaps just distinguish light from dark. The eye was practically useless. There were cataract changes in the lens, indicating. possibly. ultimate b'indn' ss. The right eye was normal. There was no chance of the left eye. getting better. Janies Edwin Searle, plaintiff, of Mananui, was a sawmill blacksmith prior to his injury. He at-ri-nded th' 1 race meeting on December 28, 15)31. conducted by defendant club aecompaniiul by his wife and child. He was watching the start of the third race, near tin- site of (he old grandstand. It look a fair aiAount of time for tin horses to get away. Hu- starter having trouble with the horses. He was not there when they first tried to start the race, | )U t arrived shortly afl« r There w re hundreds there when he went along, and he was standing in ihe crowd near the starter.. The course was lined by a picket fenc e three feet in height. One horse caused trouble, breaking the tape at least twice. He was about ten or tw'lve feet from th. tripper, or barrier, and there wee eight or nine people between him and the tripper, and two or three between him and the fence. Witness was there foi six or seven minutes before he wa.. hit. during which time Ihe tape biok’' al leas! twice He had no reason to believe he was in any danger h(i was standing or would nut have been I here. Neither had anytody warned him to keep away, nur did he hear an\ l» .dy warned to move off. It

was seldom he wont to the races. This was the only time he had b' en near th<> start.. He had heard of a lady netting two b’ack eyes through ;. similar accident. Witness was quit? sober. Whil" they were pulling the. tape tight after it had broken, the tape simppe.l. He illustrated the joining of th±« rubber tube in the apparatus to the tap-, n’s Honor desiring to know the nature of the knot employed. The cord, away from the knot broke through too much strain being placed on it. The cord flew past his face, and "he c-ent part of the rubber tube attached caught him round the face. The- blow cause 1 him to fall on the broad his back. He knew nobody in the crowd nearby, but remembered Constable ('rowlev advising him to go to th ambulance for treatment. He won’ there and Dr Teichelmann, after in sp' cting the eyo, advised him to se • Di Wilson, as the eye was bleeding in wa i dly. The wound caused a certaw amount.of pain and he was blindfolded for a fortnight. Altogether he wa 5 off work for a month. At present his left eye was no good al ad. for he could only distinguish daylight. The injury had intereferd with his work as a blacksmith, as he could not see if th' iron was true. His hammer work was also affected by the injury, a s t mean he was hitting in a slightly diffcrerii place than previously. His HonorWhen the v join the tape up in front p-j the horses, how many lines of t-.pec are used?—Plaintiff: One. You sav Unit there is a tendency for th e ’•ope to fly both ways when it breaks? — Yes. Mr Elcock: Was there any structure to prevent the ends flying •‘ack? —None whatever. Mr Murdoch: After seeing Dr Wilson I think you wen' back to the races.—l did not. Mr Murdoch: On December 8, 1932, you instructed your solicitor to write to de fondants claiming £lO2O damages. —No. In March I went to Greymouth and saw a solicitor who advised me to defer action as I was still und'T the doctor’s care. Last January, I saw Mr Murdoch who said he could not take my case on. but he. sympathised with me and advised me to see another lawyer. Mr Murdoch: It was an official that caused the barrier to break? —Yes, I presume he was an official. It wa.s not a horse?—No. You saw the

tape break twice before in the same race?—Yes. His Honor: It was while it was being mended by the official that it broke and hit you?—Yes. The previous breaks were caused by a horse, the ends flying apart. 1 do not think any damage was done, though, for the • nils might have fallen on the ground. I do not think that a horse broke - it the third time. To M r Murdoch: His earnings during the past year had been relief wages, four o r live days a week. Th*' mill had been closed during that time. His Honor: By the time you were well enough to go back to work the mill had stopped?—Yes. Arthur Richard Randall, police constable, at Hokitika, said he was watching the start, of the race, about five or six yards from the barrier for about ten minutes. The triangle caused by tin course for the race, and the course proper, had so far as he was a warebeen open to the public, as far as the hairier. He had observ'd no i warnings to keep back nor had he; ever heard anybody being warm d. V\hil e he was at the rails, the officials had lo adjust the tape on several oe- | casions Disgusted at the falsi- start.-. | he walked away, and w hen a shori ' distance from Ihe f' m-e, his helmet | was knocked off and something struck him across the foruhead. He looked round but could not see- what had cans I ed it, although he assumed .’at'r that I the tape had done it. it being the only reason h<< could assign to it. He saw plaintiff lying on the ground beiw en him and tlq. starting point, about 14 feet away from the barrier on the course proper. Searle was advised to receive treatment al the am bulance. To Mr Sellers: He did not see w hat happened to the tap" when it was broken on the first two occasions. He did not think it possible that any warning could have been given without him hearing it. He could not swear what it was that struck him. John Crowley, police constable, Ross, said he was in company with Constable Randall in the vicinity of the barrier at the start of the race. lU> corroborated the evidence of the previous witness regarding the- number of the peo pic about the barrier and the absence of any warning. He was of opinion that th' 1 ground in the triangle was a place where- patrons should be entitled to stand. He accompanied Constable

Randall away from the rails Hearing a noise he saw that the former’s he.met had been knocked off. He later saw plaintiff in a stooping position with his hand s over his eyes, suggest ing that he had been injured. He told plaintiff to go and have his eye attended to- As far as he knew, no protec tion had been provided to prevent t.hv tape from flying in among' the people. To Mr Murdoch: It was the first time he had known the barrier to re coil. He was unable to say whether it was an official or one of the horses that caused the barrier to br'ak. Wil liani Edward Gaylor, borough inspector, said he had seen the ends of tho barrier fly round on previous occasions but they had never hit anybody This closed the case for plaintiff. Counsel for the defence asked if His Honor Mould ir.sp'ect the starting apparatus -at the race course, thereby perhaps saving much time and enabling His Honor to become more familiar with the working of this particular apparm. tus. An adjournment, wa.s then taken Judgment was given for the d' fend tint club with costs.