LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LVIII, Issue LVIII, 4 December 1909, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The Kiripaka sailed from Wellington for Patoa at 5 p.m. on Friday. Mr W. Derrett has been re-elocted . - chairman of the Patea Hospital Board. | j Waimate Plains Trotting Club hold j their adjourned annual meeting ?t Manaia Hotel on December 7. i Nominations for Stratford Eaeing ] Racing Club's annual meeting on January 1 and 3 close on Monday, December o", at 9 p.m. Mr Gr. V. Pearce, M.P., has been rc-olectcd chairman of the Patea County Council ; also of the Manutahi Domain Board. Very heavy rain fell on Friday aftcvnoon between Aurqa and Kapuni, though about Kapuni and on towards the Ahipaipa road the rainfall was scarcely noticeable. Toko Cricket Club- defeated Eltham on Thursday at Toko by nine wickets. Eltham scored 45 runs and Toko 46 for one wicket. For Toko, Parker took o wickets for 21 runs, and Cole 5 for 24. The Customs revenue at Patea for Novomber was £133. Exports during the month were: Butter, 4256cwt, valued at £20,857; cheese, 16,314cwt, value £45,679; tallow, 2- tons, value £33 ; wool, greasy, 66101b5, value £248 ; total value, £66,817. The Masonic installation ceremony at Lodge Hawera on Friday night was largely attended, visitors being present from throughout Taranaki. R.W. Bro. Cork'ill, Provincial Grand Master, was the installing master, and ho was assisted by various W.Ms. and- Grand Lodge officers. At the annual meeting of the Opunake Horticultural Society Messrs S. Forsyth, W. C. Dudley and B. -Dive, M.P., were elected patrons, Mr W. R. Thompson President, and Messrs G. McHardy, J. Judson, and ,Rev. McArthur' Vice-Presidents. Good work in outpost duty was done by the Hawera Rifles on Friday evening. The camp has been particularly successful, the attendance averaging 30 each day. The catering has been in the capable hands of Mr J. P. Keen. Messrs Stevenson (two) and a friend, of Okaiawa, whipping the Kaupokonui on Wednesday, secured between them 14 nice-condition brown trout. The fish, averaged 21b, and were taken with the fly and minnow. Messrs Russell(lnaha) and B. Clements (Hawera) got 10 brown trout from the Waingongoro on 'Thursday, averaging lflb. This catch was got with the fly. The assistant produce grader at Patea, Mr A. C. Ross, who has occupied this position since his appointment to the Commissioner's staff, has been transferred to Dunedin, where he will have charge of the grading operations (says the' Times). This is the first grader appointed to Dunedin, the grading at which port in the past has been done by the Lyttelton grader, wlio has had to travel between the iNvo points. Mr Ross will also take up instructional work among Otago factories. His position at Patea is to be filled by Mr E. C. Wood, formerly manager of Messrs Joseph Nathan and Co.'s Whakarohga cheese factory, and one of .the experts recently to the Commissioner's staff. A strawberry grower on the Frank1 ton road has adopted an ingenious v contrivance wherewith to combat the > small-bird nuisance (says the Wakatipu Mail). He has made a small wooden- wheel which is attached to a ) shaft, and by means of a jet of water -, continually revolves. One or more of the spokes of the wheel which, are apparently longer than the rest come regularly in contact with a pieqe of i tin, making a noise similar to that of a person hitting a kerosene tin. To make the contrivance all the more effective a' sham man is rigged up ■ alongside. It is keeping the birds ■ away splendidly from a strawberry . patch just now, but Mr H. Angelo, who is the inventor, says that the ' birds are so cheeky that they may drop to the little game. i For many years no community in New Zealand "floated" so much, as that of Wellington. Houses were difficult to obtain, but were very frequent- ' ly vacated and retaken by someone else immediately. It was obvious from a general disinclination "to make ponies," the lack of gardens, and a willingness to occupy "ramshackle" premises that a large proportion of people were not in Wellington- to stay. This condition has been improved- of late, and the New Zeajand Times states that at present there seem to be fewer nomads than formerly. It was discovered that "Windy Wellington" does not altogether disfavor , gardens. 'Hie Wellington City Council demonstrates this fully. Everywhere the busy paint-brush is being plied, and Wellington is becoming an abidingplace instead of a half-way house. Owing >to tho alterations in the railway time-table various alterations in the closing of mails .at Eltham will come into effect on -Monday next. Mails for Stratford and other northern offices which now close at 5.45' will close at 7 p.m. daily, and the mails which close for Wanganui and Hawera at 6.45 will also close at 7 p.m. Beginning with tho Now Year there will also be ' some alterations in the coach mail services. The mails closing now, at 10 a.m. 'or Mangatoki and Kapqnga will close \ at 7 p.m., and the mails for Mangatoki, Kapcmga, Riverlea, Awatuna, Awatuna East, Te Kiri and Opnnake, closing now at 2.50 p.m., will close at 6.30 a.m. Mails from Opunake, Kaponga and intermediate places will be received at Eltham 1 at 4.45 p.m. and from Kaponga and Mangatoki at 8.5 a.m. These changes' are necessitated by the altered running of the mail coaches under the new services which begin on January i. Mr Newton, King and a party ,of four last week made a successful trip by motor car from New Plymouth to Wellington. Tho distance between the two centres is about 250 miles^ and ' the actual travelling time was just eleven hours. The party left the northern town after four in the afternoon: of Saturday last, and Hawera was reach- ■ ed in 2£ hours, including a stop of a few minutes at Stratford. At TJLS a start was made for Wanganui, that town being reached in two hours 35 minutes. The next morning the journey was resumed, the run to Palmerston ' North occupying about 100 minutes. ] The party went straight on, arriving ' in the Empire City as the post office 1 clock was chiming the hour of 4 o'clock. * Hero the first and only mishap occurred, < a tyro being punctured as the car on- J tered on Lambton Quay. The return j journey was commenced at 2.5 p.m. on < Monday, New Plymouth boing reached « at noon next day. 1 Freeman R. Jackson and Co. adver1 tise a large entry of cattle for their Wanganui sale on Wednesday next, in- ' eluding a special line of 3 and 4-year- 1 old bullocks. ' \ Attention is directed to the N.Z. j Clothing Factory's announcement of v Christmas holiday outfits. r Young, Hobbs' and Co. hold a Strat- ] ford stock salo on December 8. ' t