PETANE.

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume II, Issue 113, 27 April 1912, Page 4

PETANE.

(Own Correspondent.)

King George’s Hail is now out ol the hands of the contractors, and the committee holds the key. A meeting was held at the Petanc Hotel on Wednesday evening last to airange preliminaries for the opening. seats have been placed in position, and the scenic artist, Mr. Joe Milne, is busy with the finishing touches, and it is safe to say that -in this respecl there will not be a more effective stage in Hawke’s Bay. The hall wil; be brilliantly lighted by acetylene gas. Mi-. Thomas Clark, of Eskdale, is to declare the hall open, and the function is to take place on Wedresday next, the Ist May, which will be a red letter day for Petnne. The new bridge over the Esk river is now open for traffic, but the day for the official opening has not yet been fixed. It is a great disappointment to the residents that His Excellency the Governor will not be available to perform the ceremony. There should be no delay in this mat ter, seeing that Mr. J. V. Brown hat already been over- the bridge w’th his motor, but if it is necessary to have an opening ceremony then nnj one of our local celebrities or their wives can cut the ribbon. Anyway the dangerous river crossing is now a thing of the past. It was a Saturday nigh t, very dark, and not even a star to be seen, when suddenly over the first bridge came a flame of light from a motor car containing a convivial crowd of students from Napier. One of them was enjoving a quiet snooze, but was awakened by the rumbling noise crossing the bridge, and, dazed a bit by the brilliancy of the lights from the car, saw what he thought was water right ahead. Seizing the chauffeur by the shoulders he sung out. “My God, look out where you arc steering to. We shall be in the river.” The chauffeur shook him off ami sai<l “Let go, you idiot. AXhal you see is the lights of the car shin ing un a new galvanised iron roof.”