WEST COAST NEWS.

Otago Witness, Issue 3755, 2 March 1926, Page 58

WEST COAST NEWS.

(From Oub Own Cobresfondent.l February 24. KUMARA JUBILEE. The centre of all interest in this district next week will be, and indeed is to-day, the little town of Kumara. Under normal circumstances one of the most forlorn and forgotten hamlets that could be imagined, with evidences on every hand of a greatness that is past, it presents this week a scene of activity and freshness. With a commendable spirit of community the whole population seems bent on making the jubilee celebrations next week a memorable occasion. Elaborate decorations of shops and streets, material for which is supplied in abundance by the magnificent surrounding forest, are being feverishly prepared. Many of the survivors of the romantic days of the early diggings will be present, and some of the foremost of the public men of the day. The sports programme will surpass anything that has been yet seen in the district. The story of the discovery of gold at Kumara is one of the most romantic in the district. Though a decade later upon the scene than some of the West Coast fields it became one of the most wealthy, the total output of gold approximating £3,000,000 in value, and the population of the town being at one time nearly 10,000. The hope of the present population, encouraged by some recent significant statements of the Minister of Mines, is that sufficient inducement may be offered to prospectors to test the conviction of many that the last of the Kumara gold has not yet been recovered. If this should be proved the jubilee celebrations will have been amply justified. GREYMOUTH SHOW. The fourth annual show of the West Coast Agricultural, Pastoral, and Industrial Association was held at Greymouth during the week. The entries were on the whole a record for quality. The West Coast exhibits in cattle were the best yet. The lambs were a good advertisement of the capabilities of the district. An unusually attractive sports programme had been prepared, but unfortunately the inevitable rain compelled its postponement. The first day of the show was beautifully fine, and there was an attendance of about 2000 visitors. People’s Day, however, when a large attendance of country people was expected, turned out miserably wet. Last year also the financial success of the show was spoiled by the weather. WEATHER. The district has again been visited with an exceptional downpour of rain. The month of February is usually one of the driest of the year. Heavy rain was general, however, last week; in some

places over 2in fell in 24 hours. In South Westland the Kakapotahi and Waitaha bridges have been damaged. On the Greyiuouth-Otira line there have been a number of washouts. Trains with large complements of passengers were held up at Otira and Moana, being compelled on one day to return to their starting places. The damage was later discovered to be not of a serious character, and traffic has been restored. A rake of trucks containing sheep consigned to Addington was held up for a day at Greymouth. MINING. The work of repairing the shaft of the Wealth of Nations Mine, in spite of numerous set-backs caused by rain and recurring runs of earth, is at last nearing completion. The prospects of this mine are considered good, a large quantity of payable stone being in sight. When work is resumed it is anticipated that 50 or 60 men w ill be employed. It is reported that several English firms are making inquiries respecting antimony ores in the Ileefton district; also that the German representatives now in the Thames district intend visiting the Reef ton and other West Coast fields. Antimony is known to exist in considerable quantities in the neighbourhood of Reefton. In reference to the demand of the Dobson coal miners ior a higher rate of pay for hewing on account of the hardness of the coal, a conference has been arranged between the management of the company and representatives of the West Coast District Miners’ Council to consider the question. At the Warden’s Court in Crreymoutli reserved decision was given during the week in the case of a claim for £6125 for alleged encroachment by a party of cooperative miners. The claim included items for wrongful removal of coal and for damage by water. Judgment was given for plaintiffs for £2OOB 13s, each party to pay its own costs. The case is <?aio* to be the most important of its kind yet heard in New Zealand. The Buller mines’ output for the week was 13,339 tons of coal. RAILWAY IMPROVEMENTS. A 50ft railway turntable is being constructed at Hokitika. Hitherto, in the absence of a turntable, it has been impossible to use tender engines on this line. . Workmen are at present engaged m relaying the Hokitika railway line from Seaview to Arahura with 701 b rails. The work of relaying the Otira line with similar rails has been in progress for some time, the work being done from year to year as Government grants allowed. This work has recently been completed. Some sections of the line have presented considerable difficulty owing to the nature of the country, wet weather, and traffic. The track on some of the curves has been improved, and the line when the ballasting has been completed will be a very satisfactory section. The work of repairing the serious washout on this line, which occurred some time ago, has been completed. The course of the river was deviated to its original channel, and protective works erected, while the line was raised. The efficiency of the work was seen during the past week, when the heavy rains did no damage here. ITEMS. Arrangements have been completed for a number of school children from this district to visit the Dunedin Exhibition. They will travel in companies of 40, leaving here on a Saturday, spending Sunday in Christchurch, and having three days in Dunedin, reaching home again on the following Saturday. A large sunfish was stranded during the week on the Hokitika beach, and excited a great deal of interest and speculation. It measured about sft by 7Ht. A spirit of reviving confidence is evident in commercial circles in Greymouth. For a time tradespeople, partly on account of the heavy blows that the t wn received through the prosecution of the new railway policy, were very despondent, but they are beginning to feel that there is life left in the town yet. The celebration of Shopping Week, which v/as heartily entered into recently, was partly responsible for this change. Evidence of leturning confidence is seen in a revival of building. One of the mos. important of the new ventures is a brick building being erected by one of the leading firms in the town on a site recently acquired from a deceased estate. The site is in the very centre of the town, a corner section, and will be occupied by «i building with a 30ft and COft frontage. The foundation work for Ihe Grey Hospital Nurses’ Home has been completed, and bricklayers are now at work.

Mr Clifton, a trucker at the Millerton mine, has obtained the School of Mines Scholarship, which entitles him to £OS a year and three years’ free tuition at the Ota ro University.