WAIROA NEWS

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 16374, 23 June 1927, Page 12

WAIROA NEWS

(Herald Correspondent.) j I observe by-recent press reports that there have been only 14 New Zealand Crosses awarded, and among these are threo Wairoa men, the late Captain G. A. Preece, .Solomon BJaek, and " Rowley " Hill. The latter won his decoration for the valiant part he played in the defence of lliruharama pa at Mohaka in April, 1869, though he gained the pa against orders. Still, he well deserved the honor. I know .me man (now .deceased), whom, it was stated, should have been awarded the New Zealand Cross. He was Patrick Keefe, of Mohaka. "On June 10," states Mr. T. Lambert in his " Story of Old Wairoa," " Trooper Noonan, of No. 1 Division, was ambuscaded and shot near Te Anki, on the route to Waikaremoana. His horse galloped back to Lieut, J. \V. Witty's camp, and Keefe immediately volunteered to ride to Onepolo and warn the. small party there. Mounting Noonan's horse, lie galloped through the narrow defile, which at that time was fringed with dense scrub (probably still sheltering the foe). Jumping over the dead body of the trooper, he warned the force i by the lake side. His commanding office! recommended the awarding of the NewZealand Cross, but it was never granted." A challenge by the Hastings subunion has been received for the Barry Cup. The date of tho match will be iixed later. The contest for the shield with the East Coast is to take place on July 2. The match Wairoa v. NapierHastings is to be played on June 29. Owing to the washout on the WairoaWaikokopu railway line, the Cumberland, which was to load frozen produce there to-day is likely to be diverted to Napier, as the repairs will not be completed earlier than Friday night. The ship, however, is to go to Waikokopu from Napier. She is to lift at Waikokopu between 10,000 and 15,000 freight carcases of mutton, beef and lamb, in addition to tallow, wool and pelts. At St. Paul's Church on Wednesday Annie, only daughter of Mr. and Mrs. C. Bunting', of Kopu road, was married to Harold Charlton, eldest son of Mr. and Mrs. Staniforth, of Sheffield, England. The bride was given away by her aunt, Mrs. B. G. Deighton. The bridesmaid was Miss Gladys Gibbs, and the best man was Mr. K, ' Chaplin. Later the newly-married couple left for Napier, where the honeymoon is to be spent, The Rev. J. A. Shardlow officiated.

At St. Andrew's Church, Avis, eldest daughter of Mr. H. W. and the late Mrs. B. Brown, was married to Eddie Holmon, second son of Mr. and Mi's. Haynes, of Hastings. The bride was given away by her uncle, Mr. 1). A Mayo. Miss Merle Brown was bridesmaid and Miss Myra Brown flower girl. The best man "was Mr. V. Drysdale The reception was held at Mrs. J: MacDonald's residence, after which the happy couple went souihson the honeymoon tour. 'Hie Rev. W. R. Milne performed tho marriage ceremony.

On Monday night, despite the rain, there was a fair attendance at the concert in connection with the Methodist Church, held' in St. Paul's schoolroom. The Rev. Mr. Larsen presided. Mr. A Perry and his orchestra rendered several items.

At Riverina on Monday the death occurred of Mrs. Arabella John Peters, widow of the late J. H. Peters, aged 90 years. Deceased,- who was a native of Penzance, Cornwall, came out to New Zealand -with her husband in 1863. She leaves a large family, including the following resident in Wairoa: Mrs. P. Frehner (Marumaru), Mrs. M. A, Geddes and Mrs. H. L. Powell (Marumaru). The interment took place at the Wairoa cemetery yesterday, the Rev. J. A. Shardlow conducting the service. Mr. M. McKay, of Te Maire, reports that Monday's rainfall totalled 2.51 in. Since June 1 there has been a total of 10in.. of rain. Some of the heavier clay lands still have not been saturated.

A challenge has been accepted for a men's hockey match to be played at Wairoa on' July 13 for the Kaiapoi Cup.

At a social and euchre tournament in the North Clyde Mission Hall in aid of the Tapuao Ladies' Hockey Club, the prize-winners were Mesclames Peakman and Gates, and Messrs. B. Reid and W. HaniDlin. Mr. Tohara's orchestra provided music and Mr. W. Kaimoana acted as M.O.

Early on Tuesday morning someone attempted to take 'Mr. W. Clow's motor-car.