TOKAORA.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 22 December 1924, Page 4

TOKAORA.

(Prom Our Own Correspondent.)

THE, WEATHER AND HAYMAKING. Tne boisterous rainy weatner we have had clurmg rue past ween reminds me or wliat tlie seasons or twenty-five years ago or thereabouts were like. • The Caledonian Society used to hold their annual , gathering in Hawera on inow tear s Bay, out so persistent were the ram and gales at that time that the society iiad to abandon tiieir gatherings, which have not been resuscitated. Hairymg was then in the initial stage, and very tew troubled to make ample winter provision for their ‘ herds, not troubling to save nay m any quantity, labouring under the establisned impression that grass grew all the year a’ound, with sufficient in winter months to keep their lierds going. 'The, iattest tand on tins planet will in time become exhausted if either overstocked or over-cropped and nothing put back. Now-a-days the progressive settler goes in for hay or ensilage, in many cases both, and if fed out judiciously during the winter months makes a balanced ration and saves the stock from grazing the paddocks out by the roots. JL>uring the 'earlier part of this month settlers started cutting the grass paddocks they had shut up for hay. A few managed to have it in half-finished stacks, others had it lumped up. Many do not believe in stirring the hav till the day it is hauled in, preferring to leave it lie, the top part only being bleached, while underneath it is cured, but still preserving greenness and succulency. Now it is Hobson’s choice, and we must take, the weather; as it conies. So far the down hayerdp is hot spoiled, but the uncut lots are flattened down as with h, roller, and there will shortly be a second growth through it. All fields shut up for hay have a phenomenal growth. Had it been saved, or if it were, possible to. save it at all, dairymen could look cheerfully to bounteous winter feed. Every dairy farmer (I do not mean the man who only takes on dairy farming to make his pile in twelve months, or the.' city man who,has. a dairy farm as a side hobby), but the. genuine slogger, who becomes attached to each individual member of his herd, as a human mother does to her children—of such a class can the Tokaora dairymen he enumerated, and should’ the Weather prove at all favourable during the balance of this year many a huge haystack will be erected. I also symapthise with

several who prefer to forego the pleasure of the , racecourse ■ and sports ground so as to provide for their herds during the strenuous forthcoming winter months. The latter ones are hot the class who will go hat in hand to a paternal Government, no* matter what name it goes under, seeking assistance in their declining years. THE STORM. Monday and Tuesday, the lotli and 16th of-'.this month, were perfect days. About noon on Tuesday I was chatting to one of those early risers, that class of. settiei that works sixteen hours a day out of the twenty-four to provide the material" that brings millions Stirling to this country, and this man informed me that at 4 a.m. he had a good view of - Mount Egmont, the most impressive one he ever had—lie , was horn under its shadow. As the sun was casting its rays on the top cone and gradually worked lower down, every rib, stone projection and trees at a lower altitude could be plainly seen. with the naked eye. I remarked, “If you saw Egmont as you describe, we are in for the severest storm that'has hit us for a long time. The late Charley Rassman, a noted Hawera weather prophet, ‘ used to assure us “if yc>u see old Egmont plainly showing her wrinkles, then Took out for squalls.” My friend reckoned I was one of those old pessimists who were always looking ,for trouble. “Look at the day,” he remarked, “not a breath of wind, and to all appearance settled till the end of the year.” Yet rain came on at night with wind veering all round the compass, culminating in one of, the •severst south-easterly gales w© have had for many years, or perhaps we here thought so, as tlie damage done is very noticeable. Fences, were blackened as if a fire had gone over them. Our garden stuff with its vigorous growths caught it full on,' veering as the storm did ’to every. part of the vegetable garden. The rose plots and fruit trees suffered from every angle. The rainfall was not excessive, considering all the noise made. ’ The record is taken by Mr H. Livingston each morning at 9 a.m. On Wednesday, 17th inst., .23 points were recorded, 18th .22 points, 19th 1.72 ill., 20th .15 points. We came off very lucky, other place' recording as much as seven

inches of rain in a few hours, streets running knee-deep and electric plants, washed away. In a few days', such is the recuperative power of this soil, everything will be back to normal,-ex-cept the cabbages, tomatoes and pumpkins that-could be seen gyrating along the wind channel towards Kaponga. TOKAORA SCHOOL BREAKING UP. This school broke up on Thursday, 18th inst.. for the Christmas holidays, after a -most successful year. Mr Wilfred Laurent (chairman) and committee requested Mr J. Finlay to distribut the prizes to the children. This is an honour conferred nearly every year on the ex-chairman, a settler who took a .prominent part in having the school established and gardens laid out under the supervision of that' wellknown enthusiast, Air Betts, &em\, of Okaiawa.

Air Finlay congratulated the head teacher, Air G. T. Francis, Aliss Thompson, the chairman and committee, also the lucky scholars, to have such valuable and well-hound books- provided for them. The speaker mentioned that- during his stay in the Hawera Hospital two of the nurses that attended him. were' pupils of this school. Many of the chats with them were on the happy times thev spent at this school. During the afternoon the children sang several pieces very nicely indeed. Aliss Thompson presided at the piano. Duiring the remarks it was mentioned thdt the school’opened with eight children, now there were nearly seventy on the roll. 4 r otes c.f thanks were accorded all those who assisted. The singing of “Auhl Lang Syne” and ‘‘God Save the King” brought a successful function to a close. THE PICNIC. All arrangements were made by the teachers and committee to hold the annual picnic on Friday, December 19, at Te Ngutu-o-te-Alanu Domain. At the appointed time there were many glum visages and depressed, spirits, for at the hour arranged for starting fain came down in torrents, and a stiff gale was blowing, yet towards afternoon the rain eased off, but the grounds would bg sodden. Saturday broke dull but fsirly fine, so at 10 a.m. motor lorries and motor cars, laden by happy and cheerful youths, children and their parents, left the school for the happy play grounds for the rest of the day, which turned out fine. The lorries were provided by Messrs Tapp ■ (Hawera') and J. Finlay (Tokaora) free of charge. FOOTPATH AT SCHOOL. “Safety first” is now the slogan. One thing I would like to draw the Hawera County Council’s attention to

is that about the hour the children are congregating near the opening s hour there is a large number of mail vans, motor lorries, passenger ’buses' and private cars rushing past the school to meet the express train for Wellington.' These come from Opunake, Kapohga, Manaia, Okaiawa and intervening places. With such a crush at that particular hour I Wonder accidents are iiot more frequent. In wet weather theye is generally a lot of - water lying about in front of the, school grounds, and when the children hurry off the tarred roads to .get out of harm’s way they have to wade through this temporary swamp into long . grass, and eventually tumble into a ditch near the • boxthorn fence. Some kerbing could be done and the bank levelled. The, county gravel pit is close by, and a few loads spread*over the side walk may be the means of saving some lives. At one time the State valued each person at £300; what the present valiiation is I cannot say. If the individual were his own valuer it would be pretty high. But, taking it at the lowest, by saving a. life £3OO will be still an asset for Taranaki, and I am' sure the cost will not' be near .' the figure named. ’ THE OHAWE ROAD.

Complaints reach me that the road branching off from Ohawe road along M aimat-e street to the townshio was in a bad way during the . recent wet weather. Many are now making the township their summer residence. After the rain they get down with their motor cai - 6, and they are stuck there till the road dries. Several .settlers are now carting, out their milk and cream. *The cream lorry , has a strenu-/ ous time to get in or out, and sometimes the settler has to carry his cream nearly half a mile over the mud, and that, too, in flourishing Southern Taranaki with its Dominion wide known tarred roads. I don’t like writing too much, for outsiders would be shocked to learn we have our mud roads as well as other places. PERSONAL. I am glad to. see Master Walter Woods about again. He has had a rough spin. He was to .be one of the junior stewards at the last A. and P. show. On returning home to Ohawe from the Hawera Technical High School his horse stumbled on the glassy tarred road, falling' on: the rider and breaking his leg. Walter has had his run of bad luck during his short time. He has had one arm, and, as the doctor; remarked, “all his' legs” broken, so in the future he’ll have to be careful. Yet lie is about cheerful and apparently very well.Of course, the legs and arm were not smashed at the one and same time. There were intervals between. At the breaking-up. of the Tokaora school There were two pupils who had not missed a day during the whole year. They were Hazel Banks and Elo Smid. To each was awarded a valuable special prize. Miss Thompson, lady teacher at the Tokaora school, interacts spending her holidays at Rotorua and Whakarewarewa. -

My contributions of late have /been' few and far between, this being partly owing to circumstances over which I had very little control. This, too, may he my last contribution this year, and to the time-honoured custom I wish to convey my hearty greetings to the proprietary, the editor who for the past seven years has been to “my virtues very, kind and to my faults a little blind, 3 ’ the sub-editor, „the reporters, and my old friend the reader: To the compositors, the mechanical staff, and, above all, the bonnie, courteous young ladies in the front office, t'q one and all I wish them a Merry Christmas and a bright and happy New Year.

[The proprietory and staff‘ cordially reciprocate ’the greetings of our valued correspondent, who is the Star’s oldest contributor, and express the hope that he may be spared for many years to be . “the chiel amang them, talcin’ notes.”]'