LOCAL NEWS

Grey River Argus, 27 September 1949, Page 4

LOCAL NEWS

The new service will enable passengers to advise friends of their arrival or to send reports of progress back to their departure point. Messages may be paid for in any standard currency.

No consideration had been given to the provision of a new week-end railway service between Greymouth and Christchurch, stated tjie Railways Dept, at Greymouth, when asked to comment on a report that investigations were being made for such a service. “It is the first time we have heard of it,” said an official.

As from Monday next the. running of passenger road services from Greymouth to Westport will be taken over by Newman Bros. Ltd., from Gibbs Motors Ltd, who will however, continue the freight service between Greymouth and Westport. Newman Bros. Ltd., were operating a service many years ago on the Coast, but withdrew in favour of Gibbs Motors Ltd.

Alterations to the Otira refreshment room will be completed shortly to allow quicker service to train travellers. The room had been repainted and redecorated, and the two old doors have been removed and will be replaced by four doors, which is expected to reduce half of the congestion that frequently occurs.

Fines of 10s each were imposed against two young men, first offenders, when they were charged with being found drunk in Greymouth on Sunday morning, in the Greymouth Police Court, before Mr. E. O. Henry, J.P. yesterday.

The main roll for the Westland electorate contains 14,150 names, compared with 12,775 at the last General Election. A limited number of copies were available yesterday.

Have you seen Jeff's new bar ? Empire Hotel, Ross.—Advt.

The inquest into the death of Walter Robert Watson, aged 33, who was .killed when a tractor he was driving overturned at Hohonu on August 27, will be held at Greymouth, on October 4, before Mr. F. F. Reid, S.M., of Christchurch.

An inquest was held before Mr. M. J. Fogarty, J.P., and the District Coroner, but objection was raised by counsel for the Westland Timber Workers’ Union, Mr. W. D. Taylor, who said that Mr. Fogarty was an interested party, as secretary of the insurance company which was the indemnifier of the employers of the deceased.

British Commonwealth Pacific Airlines Ltd. announce that from October 1, passengers between Australia, New Zealand and North America may send airgram cables to any part of the world while in flight. The new service is the first to span the Pacific completely and rates a»e considerably less than existing cable rates. Australia, and New Zealand may be contacted for from 6d. a word and any part of North America for from 21 cents per word. These rates apply from any part of B.C'.P.A.’s ‘Southern Cross’ route, (Sydney, Auckland, Fiji, Canton Island, Honolulu, San Francisco, Vancouver) and messages will be accepted up till an hour before the aircraft’s scheduled landing time. Messages will only bel transmitted, not received and passengers will be given a blue and gold Airgram form as a souvenir of their air-to-ground communication.

Take "De Reszke” —See Wally Haybittle’s New, Look Railway I-Totel, Kumara Junction. —Advt.

After being in abeyance during the war years, the Paroa Women’s Institute was recently re-organised. Mrs Barker, president of the West Coast Federation, presided, other executive members present being Mesdames Sumner. Moreland and Dodd. Mrs Batey, senior voluntary organiser, explained the aims and procedure of the Institutes. Mesdames Timlin and Green, voluntary organisers, also spoke. The following officers were elected: President, Mrs Price; vicepresidents, Mesdames Bishop and Tibbles; secretary, Mrs Wallace; treasurer, Mrs Hughes; committee, Mesdames Honey, Reid, Elley and Fairhall. Mrs Barker congratulated those present on re-forming the Institute. Meetings were arranged for the fourth Thursday in the month. The meeting closed with the first verse of “Comrades and Friends”.

Estates to the value of £624,193 were accepted for administration by th e Public Trustee during the month of August, 1949. New business for the five months ended August 31 was £3,237,229. Grants of administration made by the Court in favour of the Public Trustee numbered 177 for the month. During the month 670 new wills appointing the Public Trustee executor were prepared on behalf of testators and lodged for safe custody and 693 existing wills were revised to provide for changes desired by testators. The total number of wills now held in the Public Trust Office on behalf of living persons is 145,136.

lan MacDonald, aged 11 years, son of Mr. and Mrs. M. MacDonald, of Cobden, received a fracture to his nose when playing in Bright Street on Sunday afternoon. He was attended by a St. John Ambulance official.

The Commissioner of Taxes draws attention to a notification appearing in to-day’s issue that the due date for payment of land-tax payable by companies for the current year is Friday, October 7, 1949. Demands will be posted on or about September 30. Land-tax on land held by individuals will not be due until January 16, 1950. This due date will be advertised later.

Any Member of Parliament or Justice of the Peace was entitled to be shown through the prisons at any time, said the Minister of Justice, Mr Mason, during the consideration of the vote for the Prisons and Justice Department in the House of Representatives. Mr Mason was complaining about a story that was sent by the Press Association throughout New Zealand to the effect that there were underground dungeons at the Dunedin prison. The cell referred to was on the ground floor level with the street for the good reason that it was better not to lug drunks up and down stairs.

Two youths, fishing on the Cobden side of the river, near the bridge, had bettetr fortune than the whitebaiters who had left the river earlier with mostly empty tins. The lads •were not long at the river wnen fish began to bite/ very freely. The first sign of luck was a good sized eel, which offered the usual resistance customary with such fish. However, no sooner was the first fish landed safely lhan something really worthwhile came along. The line went upstream and downstream at a rapxv rate and, after about ten minutes fight an eel that must have weighed well over 20ib, was* landed on the rocks. The fish had plenty of fight in it some hour or more after it was thought to have been .veil in hand. ’