OPUNAKE.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 10 March 1925, Page 6

OPUNAKE.

(From Our Own Correspondent.) TOWN BOARD. The monthly meeting of the Opunake 'Town Board was held last week, Mr C. A. Trotter presiding over a full attendance of members. The question of permanently laying down the main road and some of the most used streets is being reported upon by Mr F. M. Corkill, C.E., and Mr Skitrop. It was decided to bold a special meeting to consider the report when it was received. The feeling of the board is that authority for a loan in the vicinity of £SOOO, with assistance for the main road from the Highways Board, will be required to effect the suggested works. The secretary of the Federal Band forwarded statement of .expenditure in effecting enlargement to the band room, the work having been mainly carried out by. Tree labour. The band applied for the subsidy previously agreed to. —Granted. The application of the Seaside Society for two street lights at the beach was refused. It. was resolved to grant Mr R. Jones’s request for footpath. Accounts amounting to £1.27 were passed for payment. VALEDICTORY. Mrs J. M. Edmonds, who is shortly leaving on a trip to Rome,\ was the guest at a social .function held at the residence of Mrs A. O’Brien on Wednesday evening last. During the evening Rev. Father Kennedy, on behalf of her many friends and the members of the Croquet Club, presented Mrs Edmonds with a suede travelling cushion. Mrs Edmonds suitably replied. HARBOUR BOARD.

The monthly meeting of the Harbour Board was held on Friday, Air C. H. Hurst presiding in the absence in Wellington of Air T. P. Hughson (chairman). The engineer reported that work bn the bench had been progressing as opportunity offered. Progress on the mole had been maintained; and it was now out to 200 feet. Very heavy seas had been experienced during the month, hut apart from a small displacement of stone at the outer end of mole no damage had resulted. Plans of wharf submitted to Alaiine Department had been returned duly approved. Tenders for materials to be used in wharf construction luql been called, and on the application of firms interested he had extended the' closing date to April 1.7. The screening of shingle and sand had been ' carried out by the board’s staff,* and tenders for cartage had been returned. -The non-deliverv of 25ft beams was still causing delay, a quantity sufficient for two and a half bayes being all that was received ex schooner Holm wood. Unless assurance of date of shipment could he obtained he would recommend that balance of order be cancelled. Other firms, he believed, would guarantee date of delivery. The concrete pile made for experiment purposes was driven in the staging on February 7 quite successfully. Having no beam's to support same, it was cracked as the result of heavy seas over the week-end. The crack was spliced, but the storm which came later in the month had again cracked the pile. It. was therefore decided to remove it. Had beams been on hand to have fitted the seas would not have caused damage to the pile. While it was to be regretted that it could 'hot be used in the staging, it had. proved in every way satisfactory for the experiment. A" total staff of 34 were now employed. Mr Moore moved that plans of the wharf be placed on the table at each board meeting. No seconder. Mr Moore asked the engineer why Cyrus "Williams’s plan had been departed from.—The engineer replied that there had been no departure. In reply to Mr Moore, the engineer said that the concrete pile had been driven six feet. That it had been driven without any fracture. None had been cut off the top of it. It was driven to the proper set. Air Aloore moved that the engineer he asked to give at next meeting the quantity of stone required in each baye. No seconder.

.The tender of Air J. Hickey at 4s 5Ad per yard for cartage of shingle and sand was accepted. A deputation comprising Alessrs AV. C. Green, G. Gibson, J. Young, J. S. Toslahd and E. A. Collins, representing the Egmont County Council, waited on the board to ask that consent be given for the board’s engineer, Mr P. At. Corkill, to act in the capacity of engineer to the Egmont County, or as an alternative i,that he he allowed to act as consulting engineer with a minimum of supervision. The hoard went into committee to consider the question, and on resuming it was announced that it had been decided to permit the engineer to accept a position as consulting engineer so long as the board were satisfied that the same efficiency obtained up to the present in harbour works was not impaired. HOSPITAL COAIMITTEE.

The monthly meeting of the Hospital Committee was held on Saturday. In the absence of Mr G. AV. Rogers, Mr J. Young was voted to the chair. Sister L. Macdonald reported that two eases remained in hospital on February 1 ; admitted eight, discharged live, transferred one, remaining four. Fees collected £2B 10s.

Correspondence was read from Taranaki Hospital Board, intimating that the hoard had approved of the recommendation of Dr. Paget that the verandahs be glassed in to fit the hospital as a training school for midwifery students, and instructing the committee to have the work effected. —Resolved that Messrs C. W. Rogers and T. H. H. Sinclair ho appointed a committee to deal with the above works. Details in connection with street mart to provide funds towards execution of improvements to the hospital were discussed. The secretary reported that on Thursday evening Messrs Dawson and Bishop, proprietors of the merry-go-round, had run their machine for the benefit of the hospital imnrovement fund. Unfortunately the electric light connection failed early in the evening, otherwise the takings, would have been larger. The sum of £3 3s, the net takings, was considered highly satisfactory, and a unanimous vote of thanks was passed to Messrs Dawson and Bishop for their donation. BAND RECITAL. The Federal Band, under the baton of Mr J. Humphries, rendered a programme of sacred music at the monument on Sunday evening. The attendance of the public was hardly up to expectation, hut the night, though fine, was very chilly, \fhich ■ would account for the "small muster. Those present, however, were more than pleased with the progress made by the hand since their last recital.