TEMUKA STREAM POLLUTED

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLVII, Issue 21449, 13 September 1939, Page 4

TEMUKA STREAM POLLUTED

Matter of Industry Or Sport Traffic Offences Dealt With “It appears to be a matter of whether fishermen have their sport or the industry be stopped.. The Acclimatisation Society has adopted a very selfish attitude in this case and he circumstances are similar to those vhich were revealed in the dispute I egarding irrigation between the Society I nd the Public Works Department.” In hese words Mr G. J. Walker summed ip the case in which he defended Clara Elizabeth Baker, who was barged that being the owner of a vool-wash at Winchester, did pollute he Waihi stream with effluent from i wool scourer. The case was heard n the Temuka Magistrate’s Court yeserday before Mr H. Morgan, S.M. In outlining the case for the Society Jr W. D. Campbell said that the dis’harge of weter in which soap had oeen used, from the wool scour, had i polluted the stream to such an extent; that many fish h n d died. Complain':.-, j had been made against the practice l since 1931, not only by the Society bu ’ by others who were affected. The soap which was used had the effect • of abscibmg oxygen from the water • and in this particular case many fish ! had died because of this. The manager | of the wool wash had been shown the damage done by the discharge fc-.m the scorn. The Magistrate: Was the attention of the e'efendant drawn to the pollution of the stream prio • to the date on whicn the charge was made? Mr Campbell: Yes. Ox. a (uevious occasion defendant had been shown dead fish, and it had been said they i ' had been dynamited. In the present I ■ case a sample of the water was sent to an analyst in Dunedin and the cost had oecn 18 Bs, and the analyst s find- . ing was that the oxygen had been reduced to. such an extent -hat it was I inadequate icr the needs of fisn. i The Magstrate: Surely there mu<t i be some means of discharging the water other than into the stream? Mr Walker: No sir. Everything possible has been done to minimise th? ’.etrimental effect of the soap on fi>n The water after passing through the voolwasn is conducted in the race to i paddock where it is allowed to seep away. The trouble complained of does ..ot occur often, and only when the creek is low. The Waihi is a small j , back-water stream which affords fish-1 ■ ing for a few. In this time of national stress the importance of the woolwash I cannot be overlooked. The plant is valued at £lO,OOO and the industry employs between 30 to 40 men in summer. The Department of Industry and Commerce was communicated with, and it advised the Society not to press the charge. The industry has been functioning for 70 years. The Magistrate: This is not the first time that this difficulty has been argued in court. On the West Coast I had similar cases where the sawdust from mills polluted streams and inter- i fered with whitebait fishing. However, ! nothing has been done to amend or 1 repeal the regulation. It is clear that the stream was Ladly polluted after a warning had been given. A minimum fine of £lO is stated in the regulation. The Society has been put to a deal of expense in having th? water analysed. Defendant will be fined £l5 and costs, the fine to go to he Society. Traffic Offences For driving without due care and •.ttention J. A. Cant, Christchurch, was ined £3 and costs. Sergeant M. E. Hill said that deendant was driving south on the main oad and at Arowhenua he overtook a Vlaori lad who was knocked down and eceived a severe flesh wound. There were no witnesses in the case other tnan the boy and the drr-er. According to a statement by the defendant the iad was walking two feet inside the :dge of the a:.jn- It. Statin* that that part of the road was bad. Mr L. M. Inglis, who appeared for the defen-’ant, said that Cant was troubled by the undimmed lights of an oncoming car and when h' saw the iad defendant swerved, and brushed i the boy, the handle of the door inflicting a flesh wound. Under the circumstances Cant had done well. He had made a voluntary statement to the police. It v/ould appear, said the Magistrate, that he had been driving blind. There was a blackout where the pedes- : lan had been. Mr Inglis: He picked him up with he dimmed lights and swerved in time to avoid running him down. Other cases dealt with were: For exceeding the spaed* limit within the borough, D. A. Witers, Christchurch, was fined £3 and costs; A.. E. Webb and lan Carlyle were fined 10s and costs and 12s 6d and costs respectively for having no warrant of fitness: for exceeding the speed limit within the borough, A. W. R. Forrest was fined £2 10s and costs; Richard Baker was fined £1 10s and costs for having no silencer on his motor-cycle; for operating an unlicensed motor vehicle D. H. Clement was fined £3 and costs, and for having no driver’s licence was fined 10s and costs; A. K. Hopkins was fined £1 10s and costs lor driving a motor vehicle with a load in excess of the regulation width. ENLISTMENTS AT TEMUKA Although the Ministerial announcement from Wellington stated that Timaru would be the recruiting centre for South Canterbury for the special military force, arrangements have now been made for enrolments to be taken at Temuka. Advice to this effect was received by the Temuka recruiting officer (Mr James King), who said yesterday that enrolment forms were obtainable from both the Post Office and i himself. i EMERGENCY COMMITTEE MEETS It was agreed to elect an executive committee at a meeting of the Emergency Social Committee presided over by Mr J. B. Davis on Monday evening. The South Canterbury Picture Co. is

to be approached with a view to holding a benefit picture night, the proceeds to be given to the Red Cross ; Society. It was also agreed to support the Public Works dance which will be held for the benefit of the Red Cross Society. The election of the executive resulted as follows: Secretary, Miss L. M. Ferguson; treasurer, Mr W. Spillane; representatives from the women's committee, Mrs F. Martin and Miss G. A. Brown; representatives from the men's committee, Messrs D. Thomas and G. Fletcher; ex-officio members, Mrs A. W. Buzan and Mr J. B. Davis. MINIATURE RIFLES W. Whitfield won both the trophy and th? weekly button for the highest score off the rifle, when he shot a possible at the weekly shoot of the Temuka I Miniature Rifle Club held on Monday I evening. Following were the highest scores off the rifle:—W Whitfield 80 S. Ellis 80. R. Holmes, S. Kimber and N. Joynt 79, G. Murray 78, A. Johnson 7G. E. V. Smith 74, H. Maguire and J. Kernohan 73, R. Tayler. E. Crossman and W. M'cGillen 72, R Keys 71, G. Crossman, M. Hill and D J. Walker 70. WOMEN S GOI F DFAW Following is the draw for a women's ' medal round to be played to-day for ; Mrs Tindall’s trophy:— i Mrs Mclnnes v. Miss McShane; Miss I Gaffaney v. Miss Topham; Mrs Rix v. ’ Miss Hanifin; Mrs Laurenson v. M’ss Taylor; Miss Roddick v. Mrs Tindall; • Mrs Shand v. Mrs Hughes; Mrs M’ose- ! 'ey v. Mrs Taylor; Miss Findlay v. Mrs Shaxinon; Miss Thomson v. marker. | NOTES A euchre and dance will be held in the Labour Hall on Friday night by employees of N.Z. Insulators Ltd., Temuka. The proceeds will b 3 in aid of the Red Cross. I A meeting will be held in the Vic- ! toria Hail. Winchester, on Saturday. September 16. at 8 p.m., to elect emergency committees for Winchester. “TAIL SPIN” Flying has always offered a fertile field to Hollywood producers, and the films have dramatised practically every phase of it. They have glorified the young war birds of another generation, have focused on the precision miracles of air transport and have, on occasions, even projected us in to the future. But the progressively important part being I played by women in aviation was negi lected until Darryl F. Zanuck conceived | the idea of producing “Tail Spin,” a smashing melodrama of women who fly. I which opens to-night at the Elite Theatre. “Tail Spin” is not so much an epic of the air as the simple, yet tremendously dramatic story of thr?e women who go in for flying at its most dangerous. There is Trixie, who flies because she needs the money so desperately. There is Gerry, who flies ’ - cause she loves a man who thinks it is the greatest thing in the world; and then, there is Lois, yho flies because it keeps her near her pilot husband. Alice | Faye, Constance Bennett and Nancy Kelly were selected to play the leading roles, under the direction of Roy Del Ruth, and a strong supporting cast, including Joan Davis, Charles Farrell, Jane Wyman and Kane Richmond, was chosen.