DIPTON

Otago Witness, Issue 2572, 1 July 1903, Page 39

DIPTON

June 29. — We have experienced a month of very unsettled weather; ia fact, it has been the worst June we hare had for some years past. On the 29th May we had a flood, which was felt more in the eastern than in the western township, which is unusual. The water surrounded !Mr M'Curdy's store, so that in the afternoon it was» impossible to get from the railway station to his place of business on foot.

Phrenology.— Mr 0. E. Hugo fceW forth here on the lsfc inst. to rather a poor, but very appreciative, audience, and he did a g-ood, ibusiness in charts. Amusements. — The M'Lean-Sil\ ester combination had a capital audience on the 3rd inst., and they guvo a very good performance. The 1. 1) CJ. Templars are coming to lifo here again. They met on the 26th inst , when a good number of young people joined their ranks, aud they have a goodly numT>er still in view. If they would but get the official or preliminary part of their meet"rags through promptly, and have something attractive to fill tin tho remainder of their meetings with, they should bo able not only to attract, but to hold, tho bulk of Mie young people of the district. Dairying.— An extraordinary meeting of the shareholders of the Oreti Dairy Factory Company was held at the instance of the direc-tors in the Hall on the 26th inst , with the object of altering the company's articles of association in the direction of giving the smaller shareholders more power, and, if possible, more interest in the affairs of tLe company. Another moeting will bo held shortly to confirm what ha? been done.

Telephone. — A petition is being numerously signed askmg ior the opening of a telephone bureau here. This is the third attempt to get the telephone, and it is to be hoped 1 we shall be successful this time. Fire. — Mr Alexander Jenkins, an old settler here, w«i9 burned out between 12 and 1 a.m. on tho 19th. Luckily, he was insured, as he saved' absolutely nothing fiom the flames. The house, a five- roomed one, was insured for £75, and the furniture for £50, both in the National. Snow.— We bad a fall of from 3in to 4in of snow on the flats here on the 24th inst., and it haa hardly cleared away yet, but the weather eeema much more s-ett'ed at present. The flood at the end of last month did considerable damage to the bridges over the smaller streams in the district, and this has kept our surfacemen pretty busy since Trout Ova. — The Acclimatisation Society s men are still busy collecting ova. The river ha 3 frequently been out of form since they Gtarted, and bhe flood of the 29th ult. carried away a lot of prime fish they had impounded in pools, and which were iust about ready for stripping; otherwise, they would have had all" that they required for this season. As things are agoing at present, they will be some time yet before they get all they want. Entertainment.— lhe Dipton, Back Birds, whose entertainments ar& so acceptable to the public, are in training for a complimentary concert to Mr J. C Sparks, an old resident who has been in wry bad health and unable to work for a eoneidorable time past The entertainment is to come o.ff early in August, and the*e popular entertainers are &ure to drew a big audience apart fiom the praiseworthy object of their effort?