CLYDE

Otago Witness, Issue 2675, 21 June 1905, Page 39

CLYDE

June 19. — The weather hag been very changeful of late, and occasional cold' snaps have set in from the south. Tha frosts that were so regular o' nights during the preceding week broke up on the advent of a ll^it rainfall Obituary. — It is with regnefc 1 record the death of oiir esteemed resident, Mr B. Naylor. sen., who succumbed to a brief illness on Frc'day last at hia residence, Sunderland street, Clyde. Deceased was a native of Devonshire, England, and wa? 74 years of age at the time of his death. The early days of his manhood were spent in America, whence lie camp, to Victoria in the early days of the gold diggings in that State, where for yearsEc experienced 1 all the varied attractions of a digger's life. His indoiciitable energy assured him success in those days, and on new fields he frequently found that his trade, that; cf a blacksmith, was in itself a mine of •wealth, surpassing in richness the best alluvial claims of Ballarat and Bendigo. The - reported discovery of gold by Gabriel Read >an 1860 drew hundreds of diggers from the Victorian fields to New Zealand, and amongst the first part of the "new iniquity was our late fellow towreman. He brought with him a horso and dray, the services of which were commissioned to convey the swags of his shipmates to Gabriel's Gully. On the dist* co very of gold at Post Office Hill, now known as Wadtahuna, Mr Naylor established a store there, with, a partner. Prior to thi3 he had acquired land ia North-Bast Valley, and this ha sold profitably during the year the Dunstan rush set in, and als& disposing of hia ir-terest in the business at Waitahuna, once more set out to the newest field with a waggon load of general stores. After making a trip or two between Dunedin and Dunstan, Mr Naylor founded the Victoiua Store at Ciyde, -where, between the old days and now, lie has continued doing a lucrative business. Deceas«d took an active part in public affairs, h.2 being Mayc- of Clyde on several occasions, and during more recent years a member of the Vincent County Council. In all local affairs Le especially interested himself with a desire for the furtherance of th* best interests of the district. Ho was held in high esteem by the people of Otago Central, one and all recognising his sterling worth as a man and a good colonist. Mr Naylor leaves a wife and six cLildren to mourn Kh,eir bereavement, and to ihose the sympathy of the people of Otago Central is heartily extended. The funeral, ■which took place yesterday 'Sunday) was attended by people from every part of the interior of Otago, the cortege being the largest ever nten here. The Eev. W. A. E. Fitchett eJfi dated at the church and at the s rave - WAIKOIKOI June 17. — Winter set in on the night of June 2. wheii we had a very heavy fall ol snow, there being fully a foot in the pad-

docks, and som^ very severe frosts. The frosts came just after ihe snow had falien, consequently the snow lay on tb.o ground for over a week. There are a few patches left yet in shaded places, and in places where there have been -Irifts fully 3ft deep. The snow was not welcomed by the farmers, as very little ploughing has yes be-en done owing to the late haivesi. The frosts, Loo, were unwelcome, especially to graziers. Prior to the coming of ths snow, the weather had been \ery fine, which greatly facilitated the carting of grain to tha railway siding, and the carting of coal from the Mainholin coal pit, and firewood from Tapanui Bush. The Farm.— Threshing, I may say, is now fiiishsd for this season. A few stacks, however, still remain to be threshed in spring. Just before the threshing season closed, Mr Win. Mackay had the rnisiortune to meet with an accident to his mill, the engine lunning back and smashing the front of the mill to matchwood. This was rather -unfortunate, as Mr Mackay, but for the accident, wonld have quite finished threshing long ere this. As it is. he has still sonne- stacks to thresh; but aa repairs to his mill aro extensive, it may be some tima- yet before lie can get to woik again. Notwithstanding that the paddocks were for a week covered with frozen snow to a depth of several iuches, stock did not suffer much. The frosts seriously affected the grass, and owners of sheep have turned them on to the turnips. The Church. — The Church Committee have had ihe church paths regravelled- Before putliing on the gravel the paths were given a good sprinkling of coarse, salt, with the object of trying to kill the weeds and grass. Ditches also were cut to help to dTain the ground The work was done by Mt Jas. Barr, who has mad.3 a good job of it, and the gravel was carted free of charge by some of our farmers to whom the thanks of the Church Committee aro given for their kindness. School Committee. — As no committee was elected at the annual meeting of householders oa April 25, another meeting waa held on Saturday, 10th inst., when the following were elected a committee : —Messrs Wni. Lavender, G. Cooper, Jas. Cooper, Wm. Spatk, Jno. Maekay, D. M'Beath, and H. C. Chnttock. The first meeting of the n«iv committee -was held the same evening, when Mr Wm. Lavender was elected chairman, and Mr G. Cooper ■was re-elected secretary. It was resolved to hold a social in aid of the school funds_ on Friday, July 21. It was also resolved 1 to Sold the committee meeting each month on the nearest Saturday to full moon. Entertainments. — On Wednesday last we had a visit from Mr Fred Foley ("Zanioni"). The entertainment, which consisted of sleight-of-hand tricks, very cleverly performed, the shadowgraph, musical items, etc., was a real treat. His manipulation of a group of the flags of all nations was very cleverly and beautifully performed, find was itself well worth the price of admission. The shadowgraph humorous pictures were' cleverly and wonderfully made, a:nd were responsible for a good deal of merriment to both old and young. The ventriloquial dolls, in the skilful hands of Mr Foley, caused roars of laughter. The entertainment from first to lasi was of a re_-_ fined nature, and the performer well merited the 9-pplause which folio-wed each item. — The local Soda! Club is again to the foie. Two meetings have been held, and, although I was not present at either, I understand sthat thing's moved along merrily, and that the prospects of a good time at future gatherings are very promising.