THE FRANKTON WHARF

Lake Wakatip Mail, Issue 4532, 18 September 1941, Page 2

THE FRANKTON WHARF

THE prompt measures taken, after tin decision of the Railways Department to close the Frank ton wharf, to combat such an untoward step lias at least had the effect of staying the hands of the authorities. The public meeting held in Arrowtown hist week voiced it strong feeling against the abandonment of a privilege, nay a necessary shipping facility for at least stock-owners and farmers. Admittedly the wharf lost some of its usefulness

many years ago when- railway com jnmiication was established with Crom

I well, but the greater part of the stock I as well as grain grown in the district : has to be taken over the lake. The , wharf at Frankton, like side stations 1 in the railway system acts as a feeder to the shipping service and has proved of immense convenience to producers in the district. The closing of the wharf, as well as compelling the longer transport to Queenstown, it was pointed out, would of necessity add to the freight on goods and fer-

tßisers hitherto shipped to Frankton to say nothing of the inconvenience. The use of extra petrol was another very good reason advance! against the closing of the wharf and also the danger to the stock, through poisoning, when traversing the short portion of road between Frankton and Queenstown. The requisite repairs which will bo necessary on the Frankton wharf, would probably be more than offset by the extra provision which would have to be made in Queenstown. We believe that the district committee which has the full backing of Lake County producers, will be able to bring a strong enough case before the representatives of the Railway Department to ensure the retention of a valuable asset in tin' district.

After a spell of dry weather the Lakes district benelitted very materially with good rain showers on Sunday evening. There has been an appreciable growth of young grass which will be welcome by sheep'farmers.

The local Home Guard unit paraded on Friday night in the Garrison hall and about Id members proceeded to Frankton on Sunday and useful instruction was given in squad drill, section leading, Mill’s bomb-throwing and defensive measures. There has been a falling off in the attendances of late. This is not very encouraging to' the commanders and section leaders.

The drive on Saturday last for nonferrous metals and cast iron was a successful one. The following are deserving of thanks, for their assistance: Messrs D. W. Thompson, A. Tripp, E. J. Lowcn, D. Galbraith, J. B. Hamilton and the Boy Scouts.

The final euchre and dance in aid of St. Joseph’s Church was held on Tuesday evening when there was a good

attendance. The prizewinners were: Ladies, Miss E. Jones 1, Mrs Gavin 2; men, Mr Hansen 1, Mr G. Ryan i2. A dainty supper was served after which Mr Lynch announced the results of the aggregate. Mrs Doherty was first and Miss M. Collins won the sheep for the player who had the highest number of points and had not won a prize. Mr Lynch thanked everyone for their attendance. The thirty-third annual meeting of the Queenstown Tennis Club was held in the Town Clerk’s office last evening. The report and balance sheet were adopted and favorable comment was made on the club’s financial position, £l3 -l/Ji bein to the credit of the club. It was decided to hold a Yankee tournament at Labor week-end and to invite all visiting players. Owing to the numerous demands on the public purse for patriotic purposes it was decided to make the annual subscription o/- for all adult members and 2/(> for school children. The following officers were elected: President, Mr 0. M. luglis; vice-presidents, Dr Anderson, Miss White, Mr Dougherty; secretary and treasurer, Mr G. D. Cochrane; auditor, Mr W. J. Hore; committee, President, Mrs Inglis, Misses Alden and Wheatley, Messrs Bone, Pittaway, and secretary. Opening day was fixed for Wednesday, October 22nd. We have been advised that all farmworkers eligible for territorial training who are desirous of remaining on farms for seasonal work, are to send I in their names to Mr R. R. Scott, of Gibbston, who will forward same to Lt.-Col. Jeffery who will undertake to get appellants suspended from military camp until April of next year. It is imperative that all names be in by the end of this month.

At a meeting of the E.P.S committee held last night Mr H. Davies was nominated as a member of the transport section of the Advisory Committee This nomination is to be forwarddd to the Minister for National Service.

The Commissioner of Taxes draws the attention of taxpayers to the notification appearing in today's issue that the due date of payment of land tax for the current year is Tuesday, September JO, 1941, and that the demands will be posted on or about September 23rd.

The members of the Queenstown branch of the W.D.F.U. have been busy during the last week making up Xmas parcels for local and district soldiers overseas. Up to the present 45 parcels have been made up and will be forwarded to their respective distinations. The effort must be considered a very worthy one.

An amusing story was told by liis Honour Mr Justice Northcroft when lie spoke to members of the Commercial Travellers’ Association in Christchurch yesterday. It concerned a case heard in one of the smaller towns in the Dominion. The first witness gave his name, age and calling, and explained that he was from Hope. The second witness did the same, but the third, with no beating about the bush, gave her name and explained that she was a spinster of Hope. "One of the problems the Allies had in the Middle East was to dispose of the Italian prisoners,” said Capt. L. A. Radford, of Hamilton, who returned by the hospital ship Oranje. When taken prisoner and ordered to the trucks for transport they fought for position, and it was clear they had no heart for lighting. In one case where a truck broke down the Italian prisoners were left behind. They managed to repair the vehicle and drove at high speed to catch up with their captors. A new King George VI. postage stamp of .'ld denomination printed in blue will be issued to supercede the current 3d pictorial stamp, bearing a portrait of a Maori girl, when stocks are exhausted, acording to a recent Post Office announcement. It is expected that the new stamp will be issued about the middle of November. The 1<)-11 health stamps will be available on October -I.

During the last dairy season the number of bobby calves handled in Southland was 29,50t), (101 l fewer than in the previous season, and the amount paid to dairy fanners in Southland was £17,000. This statement was made by Mr 1). E. Caldwell, a member of the Southland Bobby Calf Committee, at the annual meeting of the Menzics Ferry Dairy Factory, and he claimed that the payout of 11/0 a calf was the best in New Zealand. Commenting on the costs of transport, Mr Caldwell said there would be a .still further increase this year, but their cost of 1/d was reasonable in comparison with those charged in some parts of the North Island, where it was as high ;is 2/- a head. Referring to the price for the incoming season, Mr Caldwell said a good payout could be expected on account of the increased value of skins, and the advance payment would be 7/(5 with every prospect of a bonus later in the season. He desired to impress on them the necessity of sendforward a,s many skins as possible as the veils were required urgently for the rennet industry.

During consideration of the Social Security Estimates in the House of Representatives recently, the Leader of the Opposition (Mr S. Ct. Holland) advanced a proposal that prescriptions embodying drugs, other than those included in the British Pharmacopoeia should be made available free of charge, to the public. Mr Holland said it was not the patient’s fault if his doctor prescribed for him drugs not included on the free list. He was probably suffering as much as the person who was getting free medicine, and moreover, he was having to pay twice- because he had to find an equal amount in tax and then pay for his medicine as well.

Hitler’s headquarters on the Eastern Front arc in a comouflagcd encampment in the depths of a forest, says the British United Press, quoting a report from a German source. The encampment is enclosed in barbed-wire, bristles with anti-aircraft guns and is guarded by a double line of sentries from Hitler ’,s personal bodyguard. The headquarters consists of Hitler’s armoured train, many one-story buildings and caravan-like vehicles. These provide living quarters for Hitler and his large stall’, and reception rooms for guests. Hitler spends hours daily in two large map rooms.

One hundred female members of the Auckland Houses of Entertainment and Places of Amusement Employees’ Industrial Union of Workers forwarded a petition to the Hon. W. Nash when he was Acting Prime Minister stating that it was impossible for them to secure an adequate .supply of silk stockings. They pointed out that they had to be smartly dressed and that stockings were essential and suggested, in order that distribution be fair and sales controlled, the issue of coupons or distribution by other suitable means. The secretary of the union, Mr W. T. Quealy, has advised the Rr. Hon. P. Fraser of the petition.

“This is a splendid spirit,’’ said the chairman of the Armed Forces Appeal Board in Auckland recently when an appeal by a farmer for his son was withdrawn. “The boy wants to go and the father doesn’t want to stop him.” “This man has two sons serving,” said the Crown representative “and he is making the sacrifice of allowing a third son to go.”

Most people thought thaT the Maori word “pakeha” meant “white,” commented Mr A. H. Aldrich when addressing the Palmerston North Citizens’ Lunch Club. However, the word really meant stranger, or foreign person and the word “Maori” meant “normal people. The speaker said he had noticed that a number of leading members of the native race never referred to members of their race as “Maoris”, but called them members of the Maori race or of the Maori people. The word was used as an adjective not as a noun.

About £50,000 i,s being lost to the wool industry in New Zealand every year through bad branding. This information was given to the Southland Provincial Executive of the Farmers' Union recently by Mr G. A. Hamilton, who reported on the annual meeting of the New Zealand Meat Boaard. Mr Hamilton said that bad branding materials were sometimes used and could not be scoured out.

Publication will be made shortly of a Home Guard song composed by Southlanders. The words are being written by Mr Cecil Winter, of Bluff, and the music is being composed by Mr W. L. Joyce, of Invercargill. The song.is dedicated to the group director, Lieutenant-Colonel W. Bell.

The possibility of students undertaking seasonal work on farms in the province during their vacation was investigated some time ago by a special committee of the Otago University Students' Association, says a Dunedin message. The recommendations of this committee, whicn consulted the Otago Primary Production Council, have been endorsed by the New Zealand Students ’ Association and are to be adopted for the whole of the Dominion. Questionnaires have been circulated among Otago students desiring seasonal work. They include requests for dates when the students will be available for work, the type of work preferred and the previous experience of applicants. Both men and women will be placed in seasonal employment through this system, which will be worked in co-operation with the State Placement Service.

The first smoke of the day! Can you beat it Lots of chaps light up directly they tumble out of bed in the morning; others smoke while having their cold tub; but most wait till after breakfast. Mark Twain said the only times he wasn't smoking when he was eating and when he was sleeping. Old smokers often have a whiff when they wake in the night—say it “sends them off again.” Tobacco? Of course, tastes differ, but if a census of brands could be taken it would probably be found that the most popular of all —right through New Zealand— are the “toasted” ones. Go where you will, you’ll find them on sale.—yes even in the backblocks. Sweet, Mellow, Cool and comforting, Cut Plug No. 10 (Bullshead), Cavendish, Navy Cut No. 3 (Bulldog), Riverhead Gold and Desert Gold, merit their immense popularity. It’s toasting, by eliminating the nicotine, that makes them safe for the smoker. They are so popular they’re being imitated. But imitations toasted is no good. Ask for the brands enumerated.