MIDHURST. [FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.

Taranaki Herald, Volume XLVI, Issue 11021, 11 September 1897, Page 2 (Supplement)

MIDHURST. [FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.

[ The new hall on the Denbigh Road was- [ opened on Monday evening with a tea and concert. The hall was filled fairly w«ll, the distance from Midhirst, the bad staie of the road aDd its isolation from othor adjacent roads all tended to lessen the attendance. Tho Denbigh people had provided an ample supply of dainties, and these having been done justice to, the concert commenced about 8 o'clock. Mr Joseph Maekay, member of the Education Board, presided, and Mr Allsworth,. another member of the Board, to whom the residents are much indebted, was also present. The chairman opened the proceediogs by stating that the hall was intended for religiou3, social, and scholastic purposes, all of which met with his hearty approval, and he considered the erection of the building reflected grdafc credit on the energy and public spirit of the people. The concert was organized mainly by Mr Scott, and his efforts to> secure local talent were very successful. Several of those who had promised to assist were laid up -with concert and other colds.

" The way was long, the hills are bold,. Some minstrels were laid up with cold." Yet notwithstanding the attendance of vocalists was so large that several choice items had to be left out; in order to' bring the meeting to a conclusion at a reasonable time. Th e Messrs Birkett, Stratford,, were present with their violins, and rendered several choice selections in good style. The Midhirst Jubilee choir y represented by Misses Pedersen and Scott and Messrs Serjeant, Laurence, andHeape, gave several anthems which apyeared to be much appreciated. Mr Rapley kindly came from Stratford, and in bis own inimitable style gave several most amusing songs vrhic l ! fairly astonished the natives, especially the younger ones, who from the isolation hitherto of Upper Denbigh have had their entertainments confined to those of Band of Hope. Messrs Pedersen and Kirby gave sea songs in good style; the former rendered with much feeling, The Ship I Love, and the latter illustrated the rollicking sailor by giving Nancy Lee in a fine tenor voice. The state of the road rendered it impossible to get the help of a piauo, whicbtf was a great drawback, as the harmonium kindly lent by Mr G. Bead is not an instrument suited to accompany secularmusic. Miss Scott in Mary of Argyle,. and Mji-s Pederaen in Home, Dearie, Home, sustained their well-deserved reputations aa vocalists in this diatrict.Both are too well-known and appreciated in this district to require any praises, and I feel it incumbent on me to refer more fully to four young ladies, all more or less connected with Denbigh Road, and who on this occasion made their debut at a regnlar concert. Of these, Miss Foster came first on tho stage and gave There's no one to Welcomb Me Home. Sha has a sweet voice but suffers painfully to all appearances from extreme nervousness. This is of courso an evil for which there is only one remedy — further and repeated experience on theatage, and by thatcourae Miss Foster will Eoon be able to do herself justice. Miss Alice Foster gave The Cowb are In the Corn, and acquitted herself very creditably. She has a voice much above the average and will with training and practice become a decided acquisition at a concert. The two youngest of the quartette— mere girls, Mies Jenkin and Miss Clark, each gave two selections which received hearty and well-deserved applause. Miss Jenkin's. pieces were My Normandy, and Won't ! you Buy my Pretty flowers. She has a fine clear voice, and a most sensitive musical ea*, and by cultivating these | gifts may look forward to a good position, among amateurs. Miss Clark, though, .slightly the youngest of the four, has had considerable musical training, and her voice is much more mature than har age would lead one to expectHer songs were, The Old Rustic Bridgeby the Mill and The Pardon came tooLate, and in the last especially she exhibited much pathos. 1 feel that such. debutantes as these deserve more than a passing notice. They show ns the material we hfcve to lock to for our future concerts, and to old stagers like " your own," who remembers all these young, ladies when in a very elementary state, it ia most interesting to compare the present with the past and to speculate on the future. Mr Scott proposed that the hearty thanks of the peopl« of Denbigh Road be given to Mr and Mrs Askew for the use of a building for school purposes during the past twulvo months ; to Messrs George, Peter and Robert Read for their generous and liberal conduct in giving their time, labour, and skill to erect the Denbigh Hall, and to the Taranaki Education Jfcfoard for the prompt and liberal way in which it had responded to the wishes of the settlers in establishing a school on the road. Mr Askew was not present but Mr George Head responded on' behalf of kimself aud relatives, and Mr Allsworth on behalf of the Board o£ Education.

Mr Mackay moved a voto of thanks to the ladies who had provided the tea and accessories and assisted to disperse them. Mr G. Read moved a vote of thanks to all who had assisted in the concert, and Mr Peter Read moved votes of thanks to Mr O. Worm, manager of the Manganui sawmills, foe- his liberal donation to the hall, and Mr Mackay for presiding. The singing of ' Auld Lang Syne brought the entertainment to a con- ■ elusion. The tram from the Manganai sawmills passes close to the hall, 'and at the conclusion all pedestrians to Midhhst direc tibn found three open trucks ready to j convey them as far as the line extended. , These were soon crowded, and impelled by j a four-legged engine of one horse-power soon reached their destinations. The tram was in charge of Guard Bloxham and j Driver Hanwright, to whose thoughtfulness the provision was due. I cannot give you any further Midhirst news at present. For t*ie last week it has been " Denbigh Road first and the rest nowhere."