FAIRLIE

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLIII, Issue 20928, 6 January 1938, Page 3

FAIRLIE

CARE OF COUNTY TOWNS USE OF GENERAL FUND A point that struck him during a tour of a part of the North Island, Mr D. Jeune, Mackenzie County engineer, stated yesterday, was what counties were doing for small township areas. Footpaths and lighting were being provided out of county funds for places like Burke's Pass. The parochial idea was dead in the North Island so far as local bodies were concerned, and members of county councils forgot that they represented some tin-pot riding and worked for the good of the county as a whole. Mr Jeune, with Mr.. Jeune, has returned from a holiday spent in the North Island. While there he took the opportunity to consult with county engineers and accompany them on tours of inspection. Another interesting point in the North Island was, Mr Jeune stated, that counties were making a special effort to spend all the money offered by the Government The Cook County Council was spending £lOO.OOO this year on loading works alone. The general outlook was that full advantage should be taken of what the Government offered. An outstanding feature of the roads was the wonderful signposting system adopted throughout, and particular regard was paid to the safety first campaign. One example was a section of road over hills from Gisborne; in 18 miles there was not half a chain of continuous straight. It was thoroughly posted with such signs as "keep to the left,”

‘‘sound horn," and ‘don't cut in on bends.” The mileage of sealed roads in the North Island, was astounding, and the bridging programme on highways and in counties was enormous. "It appears up to the South Island to take a page out of the North Island book and grasp the opportunity offered by Government grants and finance,” he added. "After seeing what different North Island towns are doing for their inhabitants and tourists, I am convinced that Fairlie. if the people liked to exert themselves, could be made into a holiday resort and rural centre second to none in New Zealand,” Mr Jeune proceeded. Small towns under county control, were going in for the amenities of modern boroughs; electric lighting, high pressure water and sewerage, were no longer regarded as luxuries.

An instance of the system adopted by the Public Works Department was provided by one camp near the Gisborne end of the Napier-Gisborne railway. The camp housed 1000 men, and to provide recreational facilities, there were complete tennis courts, croquet lawns, bowling greens and golf courses. There were eight large Y.M.C.A. units. From Napier, the railway was open beyond Wairoa. On one section of 10 miles, there were 10 tunnels, three measuring a total of three and a half miles. Some of the fillings required a million cubic yards.

VANDALISM DAMAGE OVER HOLIDAYS Over the holidays there were several instances of vandalism in Fairlic. The gates on the Domain, too heavy for

children to shift, were lilted off their hinges and the grounds were left open for stock. The speed limit sign on the Mount Cook road was pulled up and thrown away, and the plate on the speed limit sign on the Allandale road was knocked off. In the last three weeks lamps on the Allandale bridge have been replaced seven times; evidently they have been used as targets for rifles. Added to the instances of vandalism, a number of private gates were lifted off their hinges, and gardens were left open to straying stock. PERSONAL After lecturing at the W.E.A. Summer School in Timaru, Mr H. C. D. Somerset, M.A., spent a short holiday with his sister. Mrs D. Jeune, Fairlie. Mr and Mrs H. Carlton, Sloane Street, and Mr and Mrs J. Caskey., Regent Street. Fairlie, are touring with the South Canterbury Bowling team. Miss Florence Jones, Hawarden, is on holiday at Ashwick Flat. Mr and Mrs A. Mcßeth, Edendale. are the guests of Mrs James Mcßeath, Sherwood Downs. Miss Esther, Dunedin, is also staying with Mrs McBeth. Mrs A. Rattray, Oamaru. and formerly of Kurow, is the guest of Mrs A. F. Campbell, Melville Downs. Complimentary reference has been made by members of the Fairlie Bowling Club to the success of C. D. Boulter and W. J. Whitehead in the pairs competition at the tournament in Timaru. With H. H. Wall, Boulter is attending the Dominion tournament in Dunedin. “THE DEVIL IS DRIVING” Dynamic in its dramatic force and thrilling in a spectacular way, "The Devil is Driving,” will be screened at Fairlie to-night at 8.15, with Richard Dix as the star. Dix gives one of the finest performances of his career as the young lawyer who perjures testimony in defence of a wealthy young wastrel charged with manslaughter. He wins acquittal for the drunken driver but eventually has cause to regret it. This situation develops when Dix is elected district attorney and finds himself faced with the job of prosecuting the very same boy for killing a girl in another motor accident. Variety supports include a community sing, comedy, cartoons, etc.