CENTRAL OTAGO

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24773, 25 November 1941, Page 10

CENTRAL OTAGO

QUEENSTOWN The Camping Season.—Several parties are already in the Mackenzie camping ground. This area is an ideal site for campers, as it is well equipped with modern conveniences and an ample water supply. A telephone is being installed for the use of campers. Obituary.—A link with the early days of Wakatipu was severed on Friday witn the death of Mrs Jessie E. Cockburn, of Arthur's Point, Queenstown. The second daughter of Mr and Mrs David Hazeel, she was born at The Branches. Upper Shotover, in 1869. Mr and Mrs Hazeel came to Queenstown in 1863 at the beginning of the Shotover gold rushes. In 1864 they moved to The Branches, 14 miles beyond Skippers' Point, and there the family lived for 18 years. Those were the days of the bridle track and the pack horse, and Mrs Cockburn as a girl shared the rigours of the pioneering life. In 1882 the family moved to Miller's Flat (now Wharehuanui) and took up a farm which they named Hazeelburn. Here she lived until her marriage to Mr John Cockburn, when she made her home at ' Arthur's Point, near the junction of the Skippers and Queenstown roads. When her husband began to take an active part in the affairs of local government Mrs Cockburn, although of a retiring disposition, encouraged and supported him in all his public service. She was active for many years in the life of the Presbyterian Church. The home of the Hazeels at The Branches was the headquarters of the Rev. Donald Ross, pioneer Presbyterian minister of Wakatipu, when he made his pastoral' visits to the Skippers district. When the family moved to Miller's Flat Mrs Cockburn, who possessed a good voice, became the leader of the service of praise, a duty she faithfully performed for about 50 years. Of a kindly, gracious nature, Mrs Cockburn possessed in a high degree the hospitable characteristics of the pioneer women. She was predeceased by her husband and is survived by four sons—Messrs David. John, James and George Cockburn—and one daughter, Mrs W. P. McDonald. The funeral took place on Saturday morning, and was attended by a large and representative gathering from all parts of the district and beyond. The services at the home and at the graveside were conducted by the Rev. D K. Boyd On Sunday afternoon in the Millers Flat Church a service in memory of the me and work of Mrs Cockburn was conducted bv Mr Boyd, who made special mention of Mrs Cockburn's long service to the church. WANAKA Doctors' Club.—At a committee meeting of the Wanaka District Doctors' Club, held on Thursday, a motion of sympathy was passed with Dr Douglas, whose brother, Dr Lennox Douglas, has been reported believed killed. It was decided to break off negotiations with the Government regarding a medical scheme for the Wanaka district, and to ask Dr Douglas to endeavour to complete a satisfactory agreement with the Government for the operation of the scheme. The chairman was given power to terminate the club's agreement with Dr Douglas when necessary. Bowling.—ln a match for the Diggers' " Bowling Cup, played at the weekend, a Cromwell rink (Mooney, Walker, Holm, Pearson) defeated Wanaka (the holders) 30—17. Two rinks from Cromwell visited Wanaka on Saturday in the centre fixtures. The results were (Cromwell names first):—Austin 20, Stevenson 26; Smith 22, Perrow 23. ' Cricket.—The local cricket team visited Luggate on Saturday and played a match with the local team. Wanaka won by 24 runs, the scores being Wanaka 144 runs, Luggate 120. CROMWELL Dredge Shifted.—As a result of the sharp rise in the Kawarau River last week, the Molyneux Gold Dredging Company's dredge, which had been unable to negotiate a narrow gorge about a mile and a-half above Cromwell, was successfully taken through the gorge by Saturday. The shifting of the dredge presented a difficult problem, as in places there was only a matter of inches of clearance. The dredge will re-commence operations today. . • -ii r Beneficial Bain.—The long dry spell of the past months was broken last week when, after strong, cold winds in the early part of the week, a light rain set in on Wednesday morning and continued throughout the day. In the evening the fall became heavier, and continued well into the night. The fall was extremely beneficial and was the best experienced locally for the past six months. Shearing Operations.—Shearing has now become fairly general in this district, and clips are reported to be coming forward in good condition in spite of the unfavourable season experienced. Consignments have been reaching the railhead fairly steadily during the past fortnight, and it is anticipated that there will be a good catalogue forward for the first appraisement. Operations are to a certain extent hampered by a scarcity of shearers. Rivers at High Level.—As a result of the heavy fall of rain experienced last week in the Lakes Districts there was a pronounced rise in the Kawarau and Clutha Rivers on Wednesday. At the town the Kawarau showed a rise of approximately 14 feet, and during the day was very much discoloured and carrying a large quantity of debris. The rise in the Kawarau was one of the sharpest for some years, and, according to dredgemen working on the river, it rose nine feet in four hours during the night. The Kawarau has maintained a high level since then. and is at present about 11 feet above normal. CLYDE Bowls.—Clyde lost the match against Bannockburn. after a close game, the scores being: Paulin 19, Campbell 22; Stevens 15, Robertson 14. Totals, Clyde 34, Bannockburn 36. Playing for the Captain Jolly Cup on Friday, Bannockburn (holders) lost to a Clyde rink (D G. McKenzie, C. J. Hanning, J. L. Davidson, W. A. Harlow) 22—14.—The Clyde Women's Bowling Club is now an active organisation, and a party of members journeyed to Alexandra on Thursday foo a friendly match. The Alexandra women will visit Clyde on Wednesday afternoon. —T. E. Sunderland's rink will have the next challenge for the Jolly Cup, with Arrow to follow. Next Saturday's shield fixtures are as follows: Alexandra, three sections to Cromwell; Alexandra, one to Omakau; Wanaka, one (three rinks), to Clyde; Roxburgh, two to Bannockburn. The Weather.—After the beneficial rain of last Wednesday the weather has been much hotter, with a thunder storm* threatening. Growth in general, and weed growth in particular, evident. TAPANUI Fire Brigade.—The annual competition by members of the Tapanui Volunteer Fire Brigade for the Lyon Shield was held on the brigade's training ground on Friday before an interested crowd of spectators. Fireman A. Munyard proved the winner with a clean run in the good time of 70 2-ssec, which with a handicap of 6sec made his net time 64 3-ssec. Second place was taken by Fireman L. McColl (handicap (6sec) with a run of 68 l-ssec. Fireman S. Varcoe (handicap 6sec) filled third place, his net time being 72 4-ssec. A further competition was held for auxiliary firemen, which was won by Fireman F. Crawford with a handicap of ssec, his net time being 76sec, closely followed by Fireman J. M. McDonald from scratch in the good time of 76 2-ssec. Fireman W. Rutherford was third (handicap 16sec) in 77 3-ssec. At the conclusion of the competition Superintendent E. Strong thanked the people for attending and encouraging the competitors. He also thanked the band for providing musical numbers and the officials who controlled the competition. The Mayor (Mr Wylie) presented the sheld to Fireman Munyard. The Mayor mentioned that Fireman Munyard was the third and youngest member of the Munyard family to win the shield. The ladies' prize was won by Mrs Stuart Varcoe, who received a trophy from the hands of the Mayor. Magistrate's Court.—The quarterly sitting of the Magistrate's Court, which was presided over by Mr R. C. Abernethy, S.M., on Wednesday, lasted only 15 minutes, as the cases set down for hearing were, with one exception, either confessed, settled out of court, adjourned or struck out. Judgment by default for the plaintiff was given in the case Wylie's Garage, Ltd. v. Theo Kitching for £2 2s 9d, for work done, with costs (£1 10s 6d).

OMAKAU Post and Telegraph Employees—On Saturday night a successful reunion of Post and Telegraph employees of the Central Otago district was held at Omakau. The large and representative attendance of members of the service included a number of visitors from the Dunedin section. The function took the form of a smoke social. The toast of tho " Post and Telegraph Department" was proposed by Mr A. McKellar, Mayor of Alexandra, who paid a tribute to the efficient manner in which the officers of the department handled their many and varied duties. Mr O. Ibbetson, postmaster at Cromwell, replied on behalf of the department. The toast of " The P. and T. Emoloyees' Association" was proposed by Mr J. M. Mackay, an exmember of the service, and Messrs S Slater, A. W. Evans and G. Hopwood replied. The toast of " Local Bodies " was proposed by Mr A. R. Harris, and acknowledgements were made by Mr A. Scoular (chairman, Vincent County Council), Mr V. Gault (Central Otago Power Board), O. Ibbetson (Cromwell Borough Council) and E. Russell (Alexandra Borough Council). Other toasts honoured were " Members Serving Overseas," by Mr E. Kerr, " The Dunedin Section, by Mr R. G. Simpson and " Kindred Organisations," by Mr E. Russell. Representatives of the Railway Officers' Institute and the A.S.R.S. acknowledged this toast. Items were contributed by Messrs E. J. Read, O. Ibbetson and A. Hunter. Mr S. Bringans was the accompanist.

VINCENT HOSPITAL MEETING OF THE BOARD The monthly meeting of the Vincent Hospital Board was held in the county offices, Clyde, on Tuesday last. There were present: Messrs J. Ritchie (chairman), J. Swann, W. Jelley, S. A. Stevens, W. Bringans, D. S. Middleton, G. T. Alexander and C. J. Spain. The Hospital Board Association advised that the Government had now agreed to abolish the time limit of 28 days during which time the War Expenses Account would bear the 5s per day, additional to the Social Security payment of 6s per day,' in respect of the soldiers of the present war being maintained as inpatients in hospital. The matter would be reviewed at the termination of the war.—Received.

The Health Department advised that the Minister of Health had determined that refunds shall be paid to hospital boards in respect of out-patient treatment on the basis of 60 per cent, of the board's expenditure on salaries and materials.— Received.

The board agreed to reciprocate with the Auckland Board in waiving any claim against another board under section 92 of the Act, in respect of charges for any out-patient treatment over and above the 60 per cent, payable from the Social Security Fund. Special Grant Sought It was decided that the chairman of the board, while visiting Wellington on other business, should discuss' with the Director-general of Health (Dr M. H. Watt) the question of maternity hospital facilities for Alexandra and surrounding districts, and at the same time endeavour to arrange with the Social Security Department for a special grant for the Lauder Combined Medical Club to assist those members of the club living at long distances from the visiting doctors. It was agreed to renew the subsidy of £IOO a year, which the board had already agreed to pay to Nurse Jesson, of the Alexandra Private Hospital, for a further period of 12 months, when a copy of the lease of the hospital property is furnished to the board or, alternatively,, in the event of a sale of the property to - the / nurse being completed, satisfactory proof of the purchase is submitted.

The Otago Hospital Board forwarded notifications of three Vincent residents admitted to Dunedin Hospital during the past month and one Vincent patient having received out-patient treatment and radium treatment, respectively. Six Vincent patients had been discharged from Dunedin Hospital during the past month. The board approved the Waipiata Sanatorium Committee's . decision to grant priority of admission to soldier T»B. patients until such time as the Government had made provision for their treatment. One Vincent patient had been discharged from Waipiata Sanatorium during the past month. Reports on Institutions

The matron of the Dunstan Hospital reported that for the month of October 34 patients had been admitted, 34 discharged, 2 deaths had occurred, and 15 patients were in hospital at the end. of the month.

The secretary was instructed to convey the board's thanks to Mrs Weaver, Earnscleugh, and to Mr C. J. Spain for donations of poles and wire netting respectively, for the hospital tennis lawn. The matron of the Cromwell Hospital reported that for the month of October 37 patients had been admitted, 40 discharged, and 26 patients were in hospital at the end of the month. , The board decided that the usual Christmas cheer for the patients and staff of the two institutions should be arranged for. * The treasurer's report showing a credit balance of £282 5s 6d, as at November 15, was approved, and accounts and salaries for the month totalling £1505 2s 9d were passed for payment. '