SENIOR ESSAYS

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XXVI, Issue 149, 9 June 1936, Page 11

SENIOR ESSAYS

Once again I am enjoying holidays, so 1 decided to write to you. To-day some of our friends invited Isa aud me to come for a picnic and to burn manuka. We arrived, ladcu with lUuci aud all very excited, ami proceeded out to the back of the statidn. Wo hud two creeks to cross on the way out, and, as our ponies Were very frisky, we had rather a bother to get them-down the slippery banks. When we finally arrived at about ten o'clock, we tied up our ponies and gathered sticks and mauulta to make a bonfire. ’J he diili culty of lighting the lire was the next problem. To begin with, you either burnt your lingers or else in your excitement you let the match go out. At about 1-' o’clock we lit anothei lite and boiled the hilly for dinner, after which we lit more bonfires. Altogethei wo made ten fires and cleared up quite a lot of sticks ami manuka. As it began to get dark we saddled the ponies and trotted back home tired but happy after a very enjoyable Any. Love to you and all the Kiwis. (Prize of 2/- to “Magpie.” age 13 years, Crowntl.orpe.

One day during the holidays I went fishing at Port Ahuriri. Towards the end of the day trawlers began to come in, burdened with, the day’s catch, and with many a shouted prefer berthed by the wharf. Then up came the fish lorries and great bundles of shining, slippery fish were unceremoniously hauled up from the trawlers and dumped on the lorries, thence to travel in all directions to many destinations. When the last bundle was hauled up and the scales swept off the decks, a lorry load of sacks of coal arrived, and hera the lorry was skilfully backed until the tail overhung the coal-hole. A man seized each sack and pushing it over, caught it neatly by the bottom with an iron hook, and out would shower a cascade of coal down the open scuttle in the trawler’s deck. This all seemed done with great ease, and I won’t soon forget how I saw a trawler being coaled. Love to all. —Pink certificate to “Buster Brown," age 14 years, Hastings. I am again home for the holidays so I thought I would write. What a happy and exciting day we spent burning scrub. On Thursday my sister and I went burning scrub with our neighbours at the back of their farm. First of all we prepared the lunch. There was quite a long way to ride, and when we arrived we tied up our horses in the shade and placed the lunch in the shade also. We made three huge piles of scrub ready to light. When these piles had burned down we went back to boil the billy. It took us quite a while to finish and clear away the scraps of out meal. The afternoon was spent in burning dead manuka sticks which were lying about the paddock. There were seven fires of this wood made. We left for home at half-past four aud arrived there at five o’clock. With love. —Pink certificate to “Rata,” age 12 years, Crownthorpe. My big brother is a rabbiter, and from where ho works he brought home an opossum, and later on he brought home an animal which is crossed between an opossum and a eat. When we first got it no one could go near it because it spat at yoli, but now anyone would think that it was not the same cat. It has got opossum’s claws and tail, a cat’s head and wavy fur, which is as soft as velvet. It is the first one I have ever seen like it. . —Blue certificate to “Big Bill the Pirate,” age 11 years, Hastings.

Now the weather is becoming colder the uuusual birds are beginning to appear near the houses. The tui is looking for honey from the gum flowers. The othex Jay we heard some bell-like notes which were coming from the gum trees. The songster was a tui. We went to look for it and spied it among the branches. The tui is a very pretty bird; its colours are black aud white, but mostly black with a little white tuft under its throat, and is sometimes called a parson .bird. The tui is very shy, and as soon as it saw us it flew away. As it flies it makes a whirring noise with its wings. Another day I saw a kingfisher sitting very still on the telegraph wire. —Blue certificate to “Jackdaw,” age 11 years, Otane, To enjoy myself in the holidays 1 went out and helped my father with fencing. We used to go out early iu the morning on our bicycles. Some days we would be putting in posts, and then the wires bad to go on, aud after that the battens. The work that I liked best was putting on batteus because I used to hold the spade against them while my father did the stapling. Every dinner-time I would boil the billy and make the tea while father wcut on working. Wo worked on in the afternoon till about half-past four and were glad when it was time to stop. We would then ride home, usually feeling very hungry and locking forward to a nice hot dinner. —Blue certificate to ‘ 1 Rob Roy,' ’ age 12 years, Hastings. I am sorry I haven’t written before as I have been away, and I am going to describe the train journey. We left on Saturday a 9 o’clock on the express, which had two engines. From Hastings to Pakipaki all we saw were cattle, sheep and crops, and these made a pleasant scene. From then on we saw quite a lot of hills which had mostly sheep on. But on some there were trees of all kinds, which looked better than just the bare hills. Sometimes we passed between two hills ou each s >de of the line aud they inudo the carriages all dark. At Waipukurau all the people made a rush fur the tearooms for a cup of tea and something to cat. It was just 1 o ’clock when 1 arrived at my destination. —Red certificate to “Te Kooti,” age 13 years, Hastings. I want to tell you about our milking machine. There are four cups on each set. There is an engine that works a shaft, which runs the pump. This makes a vacuum to hold the cups on the cow’s teats. The cups draw out the milk, which rune through pipes and into the releaser, where it runs through into a can. Wo have to carry it out to the stand. —Red certificate to “Sheep Dog,” age 11 years, Omana, Nuhaka. Tills week I am going to relate a show week-end which I spent iu Napier. As 1 did not go to the show .1 started about two-thirty ou Show Day. 1 biked lo the station and left my biku in Dad’s care. A.t three o'clock wo started off. When Tomoaua was reached we had tu wait about half au hour for show people. Wo were constantly stopping to drop people, so we Aid not reach Napier till about 4.30. 1 went to my aunt’s house aud very soon tea was ready. I read awhile by the lire, then went, to bed. Iu the motniug after breakfast 1 took a stroll through the streets and bought my aunt a present for her birthday- on Sunday. 1 returned home to dinner and after dinner wrote a letter. On my way to my cousin’s place L posted my letter and played till teatime. Next day 1 went to my cousin’s place and played there. In the afternoon we went to the pictures. After lea we had a concert and Uncle made up a song called “Hound and round the lllinbtirli Tree.” After the concert we

went to bed. My cousin was staying, too. (To be continued). —Bed certificate to ‘ ‘ Running Elk, age 11 years, Hastings. (Continued). After a full inspection was made by us we walked up the hill and found ourselves outside the Botanical Gardens. We were soon on the lawn and found a tap which we well needed. Here the chrysanthemums were bloom ing while the bulbs peeped up through the ground. I think they must have been wondering what sort of a place they were coming to, as it was so cold. The shrubs must be lovely in summer when in bloom. From here we went to the Parade and had a look round, then to the railway station, as it was time to return home. ’ —Red certificate to “Top Knot,” age 12 years, Hastings. In the second week of my holidays we had a lot of fun. One day my sister and I went to Dannevirke in the half-past nine train. It was a frosty morning and ' everybody wa,s feeliut> cold. We reached Dannevirke about three minutes past eleven. From there we wont to a lady’s place. After having a look at her canaries, fowls, and ducks we had a hearty and enjoyable dinner. After dinner we went for a walk through the town. The boy whom wo were with shouted us a sixpenny bag of lollies, which we enjoyed going home in the train. —Orange certificate to “Cobweb,” age 11 years, Otane, , ‘ , , i ,