SOUTHLAND NEWS.

Otago Witness, Issue 3555, 2 May 1922, Page 23

SOUTHLAND NEWS.

(From Oub Own Correspondent.) INVERCARGILL, April 29. v\ idespread preparations were made throughout Southland for the commemoration of Anzac Day, but unfortunately very stormy weather on 'I uesday seriously interfered with the services held in different parts. The sale of poppies, undertaken by the Southland Red Cross organisation, was a very great success, the total receipts of which amounted to well over £3CO in Invercargill alone. The country districts, too, have contributed loyally' to this important fund, and creditable sums are being forwarded from remote districts. It was unfortunate that those responsible for the suppiy of poppies failed to gauge the demand accurately, and in many cases and at the last moment there was a wide demand for poppies from many parts of Southland, and many eager sellers were disappointed at the inability of the Invercargill Returned Soldiers’ Association to supply poppies. Early- on Poppy Day the town supply of 6000 poppies was exhausted, and numbers of the ladies of the Red Cross Society began busily to manufacture poppies to keep, up the supplies for street sellers. The Anzac Day service in Invercargill was well attended by returned men, many of whom paraded in uniform. The local territorials attended, and there was a military air about the parade to the Municipal Theatre, where relatives and friends of the fallen men participated, with the returned men, in a solemn memorial service conducted by Chaplains Gilbert, Chisholm, and Lush. After the adult service was completed, the parade, moved to the Drill Hall, where a children’s service was held. The participation of the children in the local memorial services is a distinct feature of Southland’s Anzac Day, and the 2000 enthusiastic little citizens who were on parade on Tuesday lent a wonderful touch of interest to the whole proceedings. Considerable preparation had been made by the children to take part in the parade, and the bearing and discipline of these young citizens were very pleasing to all the returned soldiers, who watched the evolutions of the children with great interest and appreciation. The interest dis-' played by the. children augurs well for the future, and there will be no talk of Anzac Day services dying out while our young people display enthusiasm such as that shown on Tuesday. At Drummond on Tuesday afternoon a fine monument in memory of the fallen soldiers from that district was unveiled. Despite the boisterous weather, there was a large attendance of the public. Chaplaincaptain Freer, of Wintoa, was present, and with Mr A. Hamilton, M.P. for Wallace, assisted in the unveiling service. Mr A. Hamilton, M.P., also attended a memorial service, a-t Dipton on the Tuesday evening, where representatives from the Invercargill R.S.A. took part. The Southland Education Board met on Friday. 28th inst., when the following appointments were made : —Waihopai, head teacher, Wm. A. Sproat; Mataura, first assistant*. Jas. H. Park ; Mataura, third assistant; Annie T. Winning; Mimihau, temporary assistant. Ivy Newman;. Knapdale, head teacher, William Sullivan.; Edendale, temporary second assistant, Agnes Burnett; Glendhu "(household school). Jane Ewing. Mr William A. Sproat, who has just been appointed to succeed Mr D. M’Neil, 8.A., as headmaster of the Waihopai School, Invercargill, is a Southlander of the younger school. He has had a highly successful career not only in Southland, but in Otago, too. where he taught for some years on the staff of the Main School, Oamaru. Mr Sproat has, for a number of years, been headmaster of the North Invercargill School, where his organising ability has brought him success (hat has placed him in a high position cn the graded list. Waihopai, under Mr M’Neil’s administration, has occupied a very high place in New Zealand, and Mr Sproat is undertaking a big task* to keep up the splendid reputation gained by his predecessor. Such, however, is this young man’s ability, that his many friends look forward to his latest undertaking with complete confidence. A violent south-west storm raged over Southland at the end of last week, and considerable damage resulted in different parts of the province. The height of the tornado was reached on Saturday morning, when it was scarcely safe for pedestrians to frequent the more exposed corners of Invercargill’s wide streets. Hoardings were blown down, and glass windows suffered in different parts of the town. The centre of the cyclone seemed to he in the Wyndham district, where the violence of the storm reached its climax just before noon. The terrific velocity of the wind was accompanied by an alarming thunderstorm, which put telephone connections out of order throughout the whole district. Along the Fortrose coast lands the unhampered violence of the wind carried away some of the telephone poles, putting telephones out of action around Fortrose. On Mr John Wood’s farm, Wyndham Ridges, lightning struck a line of trees 20 yards from the house; ami a pinus insignis, 35ft high and 2ft in diameter at base, was completely severed 15ft up the trunk, while another big tree had the bark stripped clean off it. In Invercargill the continued violence of the wind backed up the tide waters in the

Estuary, flooding all the foreshore around the Show grounds. The gardens in the vicinity of i’uiii Creek were completely inundated. The 1922 Rugby season opens locally on Saturday. A great deal of interest is being shown in football throughout all of Southland, and country districts have organised many good team®, the enthusiasm that was displayed last year being well maintained. This season the Southland Rugby Union has made an endeavour to find competition for all the ycung people who are prepared to play, and has instituted a fifth grade competition which has already found a ready response from many ycung players. In the schools, too, this principle of providing competition for everyone has been adopted, and schools are now playing three grades. It was with great satisfaction that Southlanders learned that Mr A. Geddes, last year's popular President of the Southland Rugby Union, had been elected to the presidency of the New Zealand Rugby Union. Mr Geddes ha.s devoted much time and energy to the advancement of our national pastime, and having been a representative player himself, understands well the policy that best suits the advancement of the game. For some unknown reason the Maori hunters of the titi (mutton bird) find that this year's harvest is to be an exceptionally scanty one The usually prolific islands to the south-west of Stewart Island are yielding very poor results, and it is thought that returns will be 50 per cent, poorer than last year. In some cases parties who looked forward to making their usual lucrative hauls are faced with very poor results that will scarcely pay for their costly transport. to these inaccessible haunts. Already some of this season’s birds have been marketed. The well-known Woodlands Meat Company. till lately managed and owned by W. E. Tait and Co., has recently been purchased by an energetic Co-operative concern made up of Southland farmers. The works have been completely overhauled and enlarged, and no modern appliance is wanting to allow the management to make the most of opportunities for dealing with meat. For some years past Tait and Co. were not operating .with their old keenness, and. as a result, there has been an accumulation of the class of old stock which, formerly was taken by the company. Now the activities of the new venture has vided a keen market, and farmers have been greatly benefited by the operations of the Woodlands Meat Company. Produce has been coming forward freely, and in the first three weeks’ operations over 500 cattle were slaughtered and dealt with. Ihe cooperative nature of the new company is interesting, shareholders being restricted to 10 shares at £IC each, it being hoped by the directorate that farmers would realise the benefits of Having some interest in the marketing of their own produce.. The chairman of directors is Mr Jas. Mime, of Rakahouka, whose practical ability and keen business acumen are v.eli known in Southland. , It is i umoured that a number of Southland cattle-men, who have for a long time been discouraged at the attitude of the large Feezing companies of New Zealand towards the marketing of beef, have de cided to operate on their own account. A small pool is to be formed with the idea of removing the present surplus of beef stock that is keeping the price so low and once this surplus has been marketed there will be surely better prospects for the usual supply of beef. The venture is a bold one considering the present indications of the home market for' New Zealand beef.