Drill Hall & Rifle Range

Southern Cross, Volume 9, Issue 4, 27 April 1901, Page 12

Drill Hall & Rifle Range

Volunteers and Rifle Club members are invited to contribute to this column Items of news, diagrams of targets reports of matches, meetings, and all events of interest to volunteers and shooting men will be received. Address « Magpie,” Southern Cross Office.

Parade nights of local corps : Garrison Band, Mondays and Thursdays ; City Guards, Mondays, regularly ; Oreti Rifles, Tuesdays, regularly; Awarua Rifles, Fridays, regularly; Mercantile Rifles, Wednesdays, regularly ; the Go-re Rifles parade regularly, Government Inspection being held on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays in each month ; Southland Mounted Rifles, town contingent, foot parades every second Thursday at Garrison Hall; mounted parades every fourth ’Wednesday afternoon at Waikiwi ; Winton, Thornbury and Otautau contingent parade as per dates on cards issued to each member. NOTES BY “MAGPIEt" The Hon. J. G. Ward has been elected honorary Captain of the Bluff Guards. * * # Sergt. A. Jones, of the Awaruas, •who went away with one of the contingents, was elected Sergeant-Major directly the contingent arrived in Capetown, * * The non-com. officers of the Mercantiles had some good practice at the last parade in putting the company through company movements. * * * ‘ Pete ’ Ward, who is well known in football circles, and who went away with the New South Wales Bushmen to South Africa, has been recommended for the Distinguished Service Order. * * * Members of the Mercantiles who intend to go to Dunedin during the visit of the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall are requested to send their names in to Captain Watson as soon as possible. * * * The battalion will be fitted out with helmets at an early date. * * * Company drill books are in great demand, especially by the country corps. Local booksellers should lay in a stock. * * * Mercantiles drill with the City Guards on Monday evening, and hold their annual meeting on Wednesday night. * * * At the weekly parade of the Oreti Rifles on Tuesday the company was inspected by Adjutant Henderson, and after being exercised by officers of the corps in company and extended movements, was complimented by the inspecting officer, who expressed himself satisfied with its performance. At the conclusion of the parade, Captain Spaull announced the following appointments and promotions he had made : —Corp. Dickinson to be Sergeant, Lance-Corp. Jacquiery to be Corporal, Private Adam to be Lance-Corporal. * * * All interested in volunteering will be sorry to hear that Sergt. Dickinson, of the Oreti Rifles, intends to sever his connection with Southland volunteers, owing to his removal to Dunedin. His services will be a decided loss to his corps, with whom, he was very popular, while at the same time a most proficient and energetic non-com. # * * Sergeants Brown and Dickinson, who are severing their connection with the Oreti Rifles, are to be given a farewell social at Mrs Miller’s on Tuesday next, when every member of the corps should be present. Sergeant Dickinson proceeds to Dunedin in pursuit of his vocation, and business engagements have caused Sergeant Brown to resign his position.