Wyndham.

Southland Times, Issue 4622, 4 May 1883, Page 2

Wyndham.

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.) An incident in connection with a shooting party occurred here recently, which fortunately ended rather amusingly. A boat had been constructed for the purpose of proceeding down the Mataura in quest of game. The ceremony of launching over, the enthusiastic " two" were soon leaving Wyndham in the distance, but, alas ! behold the mighty fallen — one of the occupants, not satisfied with a cabin passage, went to the forecastle head, and sat there anxiously on the lookout for game, with his fowling piece at " full cDck." Whether designingly, or by ac- | cident, the boat struck a snag, precip"itaing the unfortunate iato the water. His foot caught in one of the thwarts, and, but for the presence of mind of one of his companions, who extricated it, his immersion would have been longer. A.3 it was, he was soon safe, and, except for a good soaking, none the worse for his dip. Tenders are called for the erection of a Roman Catholic Church here, and from the plans, I can see that the denomination will be well satisfied when their building is completed. They are to be congratulated on being first in the field, more especially when taking into consideration the paucity of their numbers in comparison with the Presbyterians in the township and surrounding district. Now that a church ia to be erected, I hear many Presbyterian adherents saying they ought to get up one also. True, but who is to blame that there has not been a suitable place of worship long ere this. Certainly not the deacons, as some persons impute, for these gentlemen called a congregational meeting last December for the purpose of repre--1 seating the matter of church accommodation to iuS Presbytery of Southland, and endeavoring to obtain a grant to go towards such a fund. And what was the result of that meeting? One elder, two deacons, and a solitary attendant. Such is the apathy displayed by our residents on church matters. Sooner or later the step towards erecting a church must be made, and there is no time like the present, so t would suggest that a meeting bo called not only for the purpose of endeavoring to secure a grant in aid of a ohurcb, but to discuss one or two other matters of moment. Last Wednesday Mr G. F. Martin, In conjunction with Messrs Oarswell, White and Co., held a large sale here. Edenbank, the property of Mr W. B. Kingswell, Was put up for auction, but the bidding failed to reach the reserve, so the farm was withdrawn. A large quantity of stock were yarded, and, though a slight downward tendency was observable, fair prices wore secured. Sales in this quarter are excitine 60 much attention that it is my intention to obtain and publish statistics of the stock yarded and disposed of for a given period . Mr Gammell, Inspector of schools for Southland, in ihe course of his duties, visited the local school on the 10th iußt., and held the annual inspection. His re* port is now to hand, and shows that the school gained 67 per cent. To use the In« spector's own words — "Although not a high percentage two things have to be considered/ (1.) Though low it is greatly in advaDce of previous examiaatioaa, and plainly shows that good work has been done under iha present teacher ; and (2.) A number of children from the infant class were presented for Standard I, who failed to pass the ordeal, and thus the teacher's laudable anxiety to push forward bjs

scholars procured for him a much lower percentage tban he would otherwise have obtained. Standard II passed remarkably well; Standard 111 was weak in grammar, history and mental arithmetic, but on th« other hand, it excelled in recitation of poetry, and answering question on the ub ject lessons of the year." When the present teacher, Mr Kelly, took charge of the school the number of pupils on the roll waR 50, now there are 84. This declaration renders, any comments from me superfluous. I see the Education Board intends to effectßeveral improvements in the Bhape of shelter sheds and outhouses. It is also high time that an addition wasjmade to the present building, as the porch has to be utilised for a detachment of the scholars. This has many drawbacks, and now that the winter is upon us, this mode of Accommodation should be dispensed with. Certainly it is not the teacher's fault, as the schoolroom is too small for th« daily attendance. I understand the committee have applied in the direction of an improvement in this state of affairs. It is not necessary for me to state how urgently the sought for alterations are required. The " Old Mill Wheel "—I presume the composer of this song had little thought that Wyndham would possess the reality. Yet, only a mile or so along the Mimihau road there stands a flour mill, erected in the year 1870, or there abouts. It has acted faithfully, performing its duties through all seasons ; but alas ! the wheel that has made innumerable revolutions may n6w be seen at a stand still, and unless it is soon set in motion will be as moss grown as the " Old Mill Wheel." If it continues dormant its want will be keenly felt, and as this mill, with some repairs, would do a season or two yet, it seems a pity to see it standing. A few weeks back I heard of an intended prospectus which would shortly be presented to the public for the erection of a company's mill in the township, if possible, adjacent to the Railway Station. However, I have heard nothing of the matter lately. Let us hope the ashes that are now smouldering will blaze up, for Wyndham is the centre of a grand district; and seeing how the old mill has got on, at times greatly handicapped, I am sanguine that success would follow if steps were taken to erect one more centrally situated. Laßt night Mr David Milne's hall was opened under the auspices of the Alma Lodge of the 1.0 O.F. For the last week, in certain circles, the ball and supper have been the principal theme of conversation. The event is past, and I feel sure that no one will call to remembrance last night without a feeling of pleasure. It is unnecessary to give a description of the hall as a local in reference thereto has already appeared in your columns, so it behoves me to proceed with my subject, the supper and ball. Punctually at 9 o'clock the doors were opened, and displayed on three long tables was a repast that excelled any previous effort in that direction set before a Wyndham assemblage. Mr John Kingsland, of your town, was the caterer, and that is sufficient to account for the excellence of the supper. Mr David McKay was asked to take the chair, and in a few appropriate remarks called upon one and all to do justice to the good things provided ; no second invitation was necessary. The tables having been removed, dancing was commenced to music supplied by Messrs Lithgow and Durie, of Invercargill. These gentlemen gave every satisfaction, and Mr Ferguson, who is making a short stay in the township, and also Mr A. Parker, assisted them occasionally. I should say there were fully forty couples, and Mr T. Bees, who officiated as M.0., performed his arduous task in a most creditable manner. It was not until the first strea's of daylight dawned that the programme was completed. The local Order of the 1.0.0. F. have every reason to be proud of the result of the night's gathering, and though both time and labor were requisite in securing such results, everyone interested and connected with the event, falls to be compliTiented on the issue. Several songs were suitably interspersed in the programme. From a financial point of view, the takings at the door totted up close on L2O. It is high time that our local postmaster and telegraphist (Mr Hollywood) received a messenger or apsistant. I have always refrained from alluding to this subject in the hope that the department would long since have increased the number on the staff. Perhaps it is that Mr Hollywood has not applied for assistance ; in that case he has no one but himself to blame. Complain he has not, but as one of the outside public, I can plainly see there is more doing in that office than one man can be expected to do, more especially now that the telephone has to be attended to. Astonishment is often expressed at the creditable manner in which Mr Hollywood performs his duties, but still the public are kept waiting unnecessarily long, owing to the telephone or telegraphing requiring all his attention for the time being. This state of affairs cannnt exist much longer, as it is liable to dishearten one who is anxious to do well for the department. We as a community have much to thank Mr Hollywood for, and, as a smart, obliging, and faithful servant, his equal is rarely met with. The contractors are pushing on with the formation on the Edendale and Toi-Tois railway, but some time will elapse ere it will be my duty to chronicle the completion of the contracts. April 28th.