TEMUKA.

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXIV, Issue 18848, 10 April 1931, Page 13

TEMUKA.

* NEW RAILWAY BRIDGE. Good progress is being made with the preparation work for the new ;I railway bridge across the Opihi river . at Temuka, and now the servioe siding for the new structure has been completed. This siding branches off from the ' main line about 75 yards on each side !| of the present bridge, crossing the . ! whole of the riverbed, and will be used i ; for taking the materials to the places 1 they are required when the building of : I the bridge proper is begun. All is ; ' ready now for this to be commenced, • I but it is expected that it will be some time now before the work will be put • in hand, because tenders for the job do not close until April 25. and it is anticipated that there will be some delay after this. Even when construction is started, it will be some months before it is ready for traffic, for the new bridge, which is to be 50 feet east of the present one, wil be about 80 feet longer, besides allowing flow of water in time of flood, the rails being several feet higher than the j existing ones. Also there are 16.000 ! yards of rough work for the approaches to be done, while over 200 piles will have to be driven to stand the weight . j of the 40 feet steel plate girder spans ! which will be supported by concrete ! 1 piers. At present samples of the soil | and mud to a depth of 40 feet are ! being obtained by a special boring plant, and these are to be forwarded to the engineers so that an estimate ' of their suitability to take the foundai tions can be made. No start has yet 1 been made on the deviations of the ! main line, but the track for these, ; extending about 250 yards on either [ side of the river, has now been marked I out. The present bridge has been • ! standing since the railway was put ! ; through 50 to 60 years ago, and it is 1 considered that its economical life has come to a close. The steel work i and approaches are to be done by the Railway Department, while the con- ; crete piers and abutments will be done • by contract. Mr C. M. Benzoni, of ■ Dunedin, is in charge of the work. UNEMPLOYED RELIEF. At a special meeting last evening, the Temuka Borough Council decided to grant £25 a week for the next fort- ■ night for the provision of work for the most necessitous cases among the unemployed. There was a full sitting of ' the Council, over which the Mayor (Mr T. E. Gunnion) presided. Mr Gunnion explained that the meeting had been called because the j No. 5 unemployment scheme w r as to be suspended for two weeks from to--1 night, and the Unemployment Board j had asked local bodies to do something Ito find work during this period for most necessitous cases. If £3O to £4O a week was granted, it would help to tide the men over. There would be no subsidy for the work. It was the last meeting of the present Council, however, and councillors did not want to do anything wrong. Enough work could be found for the men. After full discussion, the decision given above was arrived at, the Unemployment Committee to have a free hand in choosing the most needy cases. SATURDAY’S FOOTBALL. The Temuka Football Club will meet the Hampstead Club, Ashburton, in a friendly game at Ashburton to-morrow, and Waihi will play Hinds at Winchester, at 2.45. The following have been chosen to represent Temuka against Hampstead. —H. Gilbert, W. McCully. T. Pember- ! ton, B. Fergusson, W. Duke, W. Gale, iA. White, N. Preddy, W. Scott, A. ! Higginbottom, T. Columb, A. Lane, P. Columb, A. Gaffaney, K. Blyth, L. Goodson, D. Hopkinson, P. Leonard, R. Arnold, L. Connolly, Jas. Connolly, V. Grant. The ’bus wil leave the Post Office at 12.30 sharp. Those selected to play for Waihi against Hinds are:—F. Turner, , G. ; South, C. Patrick, L. Woods, C. Higinbottom, A. Quirke, R. Earl, W. South, R. Palmer, C. Opie, J. Callanan, E. Taylor, D. Stewart, A. Lane, D. Callanan. Reserves: R. Townley, J. Hewson, T. Watson, W. Blissett. GENERAL NEWS. The Young Women's Basketball Club will hold their annual meeting in the Technical School to-night, at 7.30. The annual concert of the Milford Presbyterian Church, in aid of the school prize fund, will take place on April 17. Harvest thanksgiving services will be held at St. John’s Church, Winchester, on Sunday next, morning and evening. Colourful decorations and lilting music from the orchestra ensured the success on Wednesday evening of the second of the dances to be held during the winter by the Temuka Catholic Club at its club rooms. The winners of a lucky spot w ? altz were Miss May Gaffaney and Mr W. Storey, while Miss Monica Spillane and Mr J. Sullivan won a Monte Carlo. Mr W. Seeler was M.C. PERSONAL. Mr R. Richards, Birkett Street, has left on a week’s holiday for Palmerston North. Miss M. Meek, who spent the Easter holidays with her parents, has returned to the Training College, Christchurch. Miss Phyllis Bishop, of Ashburton, is at present spending a holiday with friends in Temuka. Miss M. Fitzpatrick, of Dunedin, has arrived in Temuka for a short holiday visit. The next visit of John R. Proctor’s representative to Temuka will be April 25th.