EIGHTY-FIVE YEARS AGO

Otago Daily Times, Issue 27568, 9 December 1950, Page 8

EIGHTY-FIVE YEARS AGO

FROM THE FILES OF THE ®ta«o S>ail£ Himes DUNEDIN, Dec. 9, 1865. At the meeting of the Chamber of Commerce, held yesterday, resolutions were passed approving of the construction of the dry dock at Port Chalmers; arguing the necessity for the steam dredge immediately being put into operation for the purpose of deepening the harbour; and appointing a committee to take up the subject of Customs duties being levied on certain articles which ought to be imported free. The harbour works at Oamaru are now in active progress. The Times reports:—“ The making of the road to the jetty is being carried on with much expedition. A considerable portion of'the distance is finished, and a strong body of workmen is engaged at the deeper cuttings, where the road declines to the level of the jetty. An experiment has been made as to Ihe suitability of the rock for holding the piles, and the result was satisfactory. A commencement was made on the sea wall on Wednesday and the ceremony of laying the foundation stone will be celebrated on Monday or Tuesday next.

The 16 Maoris reported in a telegram from Christchurch as having been sentenced to death at Opitiki, were the prisoners captured at Matata, and found guilty of the murders on board the cutter Kate, at Whakatane. The half-caste lad. White, was present at the trial and identified the actual murderers amongst the 16, the others being participators in the crime. They stood their trial before a court-martial at which Mr Commissioner Smith, and Mr Clarke, Resident Magistrate at Tauranga, were present. It is expected that orders for the whole 16 will be received in a few days. Eighteen others are about to be put on trial for the Volkmer tragedy.