QUEENSTOWN NOTES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21648, 19 May 1932, Page 10

QUEENSTOWN NOTES

(From Our Own Correspondent.) .QUEENSTOWN, May 17. THE WEATHER. During the week we have had a continuation of the fine conditions , which have made the past autumn such a pleasant one. It is hard, indeed, to realise that we are halfway through the first month of winter. The early mornings and evenings are certainly sharp, but little or no frost has yet been experienced. The readings taken at the local meteorological station for the seven days ended May 15 are as follow: —

GOLF. Now that golfers are getting into their “swing,” they are appreciating more fully the great improvement brought about in the new greens laid down. The latter are now in very good, condition, and this is being reflected in the reduced handicaps which several qf the players now boast. The fairways are also playing well. Taken all round, the Wakatipu Golf Club’s links can hold their own against any outside those of the urban areas. For “sportinees” they would take some beating. On Saturday there was a good muster for the Stroke Competition ip the men’s section. The four best cards handed in were those ■ of Wilkinson 88—24 —64, Hannan 95—22—73, Griffin 92—18—74, and Reg. Romans 107 —30 —79. A Bogey Match has been arranged for this week. The ladies played a stroke round for the Belper badge, Mrs Wilkinson being the winner with the very creditable score of 97—18—79. * RUGBY FOOTBALL. Football does not seem to have got properly going in this district yet. There seems little enthusiasm among players, and spectators have in consequence had little encouragement to attend the matches. The play, so far, has been ragged, and the combination poor. With jhe object of getting in some practice in the evenings the Queenstown Club approached the Borough Council with a request for some assistance ip the way of a flood light on the Recreation Reserve. The council agreed to erect the light, making a small charge per annum for same until the cost is met. Practices are now being held, and players are receiving some additional coaching, which should bear fruit in future play. Last Saturday afternoon Arrowtown and country juniors were to have met at Wharehuanui, but the former were nnable to muster a team, hence the match fell through. The seniors of the named clubs engaged in the second match of the competitions. The Arrowtown fifteen carried off the honours, their opponents failing to score (5 —nil). LITERARY AND DEBATING CLUB.

The second gathering of the local Literary and Debating Club was held in the County Chambers on Friday evening, when there was an encouraging attendance. Mr C. H. M'Kay was in the chair. The subject of the debate was. Is There a Decline in the Chivalry and Manners of the Youth of To-day?’ The affirmative was taken by Dr Anderson, Captain Herbert, and Mr A. H. Cooke, while the negative supporters were Messrs A. F. Griffin, E. N. Mosley, and P. W. T. Cockerill. There was quite a lively argument on what proved a very popular

choice of subject. Several of the audience also expressed their views, at. the invitation of the chairman. The affirmative speakers claimed that a decline in chivalry and manners had occurrred in almost every avenue of social life—in the ballroom, in the trams and trains, and in family relations. The trio who _ championed the youth of to-day put their case extremely , well. While declaring _ that the story of Sir, Walter Raleigh read .like a pretty fairy story and that such courtly behaviour was not likely, to'be repeated in fact in this day 'and generation, they maintained that in the process of evolution the changes that had taken place included a change in. deportment that was hot deterioration. In other words', with each generation there came a change in manners, governed by the. altered circumstances and modes of . living. Chivalry was a quality that was innate; manners came with study or cultivation. On a show of hands being taken, the vote went in favour of the negative, with one to the good. UNEMPLOYMENT COMMITTEE.

A short meeting of thg local Unemployment Committee took place during the week, the main business being to receive the resignation of Mr H. 0. Barker, Government certifying officer, who has_ been transferred to Winton. The chairman (Mr W, H. Overton) referred in terms of warm appreciation to the services of-Mr Barker since the committee came into existence. He had :been most painstaking and conscientious in the discharge of his duties, and had endeavoured to be just in the treatment of all the applicants. Others present, including the secretary (G. M. Inglis), endorsed the sentiments expressed.—Mr F. W. Bailey, chief clerk in the local Post Office, was appointed to carry on until the arrival of Mr Barker s successor fromKimbolton (Northlsland). The committee were advised that 10 more men had registered for employment. Three men were detailed for an engagement in the country under the No. 4a scheme., BARLEY YIELD. The Wakatipu district has always had the reputation of being able to produce barley, in both quantity and quality. In the days gone by the torch has been held aloft by pioneering farmers whose broad acres produced phenomenal yields of the cereal which carved for them the name of " the barley kings.” Others there are who have followed the lead they gave, thus maintaining Wakatipu’s reputation in this connection. This week a record yield is reported from Mrs A. Brown’s “Islay Farm,” Lower Shotover, where from a five-and-a-half-aore paddock the mill threshed out 108 bushels to the acre. ST. PETER'S CHURCH. The work of laying the foundations of the new church of St. Peter at Queenstown is now in progress. The vicarage has been moved to another part of the church property, and the new church is being erected on the old vicarage site, a fine central one which will set off the building to advantage. The present church was built over 70 years ago, or, rather, the first portion of it —the nave. Head of the Lake timber was used, and the remarkable state of preservation of the building is eloquent testimony to the enduring quality of the beech milled from the forests in that part of the district. The new church has been made possible by the splendid bequest of the late Captain Thomas Hicks, who died in December, 1911, leaving a sum of money for the purpose. This has been accumulating since, and, as the terms of the will required that the building of the new church should be commenced within 21 years from the date of Captain_ Hicks s death, the work was recently put in hand. The building will be a great ornament to the town. LAKE COUNTY ELECTIONS. The recount of votes recorded at the county elections last Wednesday took place . yesterday. This included the scrutinising of some 50 declaratory votes which were not included in count at the close of the poll taken for the return, of a district representative on the Bluli Harbour Board. . , , In the Arrow Riding election only a slight alteration in the figures resulted, the official totals now declared being: Leo Lee 109, William Stewart Reid 82, William H. Thompson 74. Both the successful candidates were sitting members of the County Council, Mr Lee being, in addition, chairman for the past two years, in succession to Mr William Reid, who had the unique record of occupying the office for 30 years. Mr W. S. Reid has also been the council’s representative on the District Highways Council of the Main Highways Board. Strangely enough, the recount and the scrutinising by the local authority of declaratory votes cast in the BluS Harbour election increased the two eandi-

dates’ totals on a - 50-50 basis. -As a result, -Mr Peter, Reid, the sitting: member, maintained his majority of 100 on a total of 474 votes recorded. The respective polling was. P. Reid 304, J. J. MTJride 204,- Mr Reid, is now entering ou his sixth triennial term of . office. . PERSONAL. Misses Annie and Elizabeth Sputhberg, of Frankton, have gone to Wellington on a visit. , . , _ , Mr Thomas Wilson, of , the Lake ■ Wakatipu steamer staff, went away during the week on his annual leave. He was ■ accompanied by Mrs Wilson. - • •• , Mr Headlam Greenhow,' a member of the London Authors’ Society, arrived , m Queenstown this afternoon, accompanied by Mrs Greenhow.. Mr Greenhow has arranged' to speak in tKe Town Hall, on Thursday evening oh “England; the Dear Homeland.” ■ . ■ _ , Mr J. M. Romans, of the staff of the Bank of New Zealand, Dunedin is spending his annual leave in Arrdwtown with his parents, Mr and Mrs G. H. Romans. Mrs and Miss L. M, Pettersson went to Dunedin during the week on holiday., Mr Robert Salmond, of the Wellington branch of the Bank of New. Zealand, who has been staying .with his 1 parents and other relatives in this , district,.- returned north on Friday. » , Mrs L. Curtis and her younger daughter, and Miss. Noela Curtis, went to Dunedin yesterdajr; ' ' ■ .. _ ... Miss May Hamilton, of Hamilton House, returned last night from a visit to Dunedin., . . ■ , - . Mr Massey Reid, a . junior member of the Dunedin office staff, of the -Bank of New Zealand, is spending, his holidays with relatives in this.district. ;; . Miss E. Gavin is visiting friends m Invercargill. „ „• , , . Mr and Mrs D. F. Sutherland, ;un., and their family returned last night from a holiday visit to relatives. Mr and Mrs Jack Sim arrived from Dunedin towards the week-end. They were accompanied by their mothers, Lady Sim and Mrs Le Cren. They are-in.occu-pation of their bungalow; on the Eastern terrace. ' '• Mr R. Adamson, curator for the Otago Acclimatisation Society, arrived in the district early in the week for. the purpose of stripping fish from Lake Hayes.

May » 10 11 12 13 14 15 Date. 29.052 29.410 29.870 30.146 29.000 29.978 30.214 Bar. (corrected). 51.0 34.2 41.0 38.0 37.4 41.8 37.0 Dry bulb Thor. 60.9 33.0 38.0 36.2 36.0 39.0 34.0 Wet bulb Ther. 50.8 42.0 48.1 60.7 61.0 48.8 40.8 Max. Ther. 49.0 31.0 38.0 35.7 34.3 30.8 31.0 Min. Ther. 38.9 24.5 32.0 26.5 20.0 32.0 24.0 Grass rain. Ther. .38 .23 .01 Itsln. 1 1 Sun hours.