SUMNER RIPPLES.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 11669, 8 April 1916, Page 11

SUMNER RIPPLES.

(FRQIC On* Co&BisroNDm.] TIDES FOR THE WEEK. High Water. . a.m.- p.m. " Sunday . . 9.4 9.29 Monday .9.54 10.18 Tuesday . 10.42 11.6 Wednesday . 11.29 11.52 Thursday . • 0.14 Friday . 0.36 0.57 Saturday. . 1:19 1.41 THE SOLDIERS. Mrs T. F. Chambers, of Bury Street, has .received word that her brother, Sergeant F. E. Gemming, who left with the Eleventh Reinforcements, has been promoted to sergeant-major. His brother .Tom, who was unexpectedly, delayed in England as the result of a football match, still hopes to meet him on his arrival at the front. His oldest brother, 0. W. Gemming, was wounded in the Gallipoli fighting with his Aus- ; tralian regiment while his youngest brother the late Corporal T. J. Gemming, met his death in the great fight on August 8. Mr W. Keig, of Monck's Bay, has recently been advised by cable from the Defence Hospital, Melbourne, that his son, Corporal P. G. Keig, is dam gerously ill. Corporal Keig, who is twenty-nine years of age, left with the Ist Australian Field Engineers, and was with tliem at the famous landing. He afterwards went through the whole..of the Gallipoli campaign. In this district ho was well known as a rowing enthusiast during the first years of the Sumner Herring Club's existence. Corporal J. T. Withers, who received an appointment on *tho Maheno, and has since been on duty in Rotorua, has, with Mrs Withers, been visiting Mr and Mrs C. A. Ferguson. As a member of the staff of the borough school he visited that institution and/ received a very hearty welcomo from the staff and scholars, who were assembled for the occasion. In replying to the remarks of tho head teacher, Corporal Withers made special mention of the wonderful spirit of endurance as exhibited by the wounded New Zealanders.* Tho way they boro physical pain was fully the equal of anything he had l seen, and he had seen samples of many kinds during his work off the Gallipoli Peninsula. RED CROSS COMMITTEE.

The Red Cross Committee met on Monday nfter'uoon, Mrs J. B. Laurenson presiding over a good attendance. A resolution of sympathy with Mrs I. Wilson in her illness was carried, and her resignation was accepted with regret. ' Sums of £ls each were voted to the Bandage Committee and 1 to the purchase of material. Donations amounting to £l2 2s 8d were received from the following Meedames Gaiwoy, T. Johnson, Sorensen, E. Johnson, J. S. Williams, A'. K. Inwood, # E. G. ."Wood 1 , M'Clatchie, Van Asch, Gibspn, Raphael, Teape; C. • Wood, Buttle, G. F. 'Allen, Barnes, Benson, Beckett, Bonlton, Crawford, Fryer, C. Ferguson, Hamilton, J. B. Laurenson, Ledger, J. Lawrence, Lindroos and family, PI. J. Marriner, F. Marric, Mills, Maddison Paterson, Pullan, D. Batesj " Anonymous," "E. 8." Miss Campbell, Mrs Thorpe, Mrs I. Wilson and' " Anonymous." HELP WANTED. At tho last meeting of the Red Cross Committee the secretary announced that a very heavy programme ol : worK needed completing. It was stated that tho amount of support given to the. Tuesday afternoon swing meeting was not, nearly sufficient For the work-in hand. Help is needed at once ii this

very important undertaking is to bo successful. Ladies are not expected to be asked'; they should volunteer for this Tuesday afternoon work and do it quickly. Arrangements are being made to give a special display of goods, garments and bandage work in the Town Hall on May 4. CITIZENS' DEFENCE. Last Sunday about thirty-seven members of the 0.D.0. paraded on the Redcliffs, rifle range and ■•went through an enjoyable course of instruction under the officers of their individual sections. After the. drill several matters' of an-« terest to the unit were discussed by those present, and it is understood that the officer commanding the platoon,is calling a meeting of all members next Friday at Sumner, when business of importance will be dealt with. During the week the members of the No. 1 t6am fired a rifle match with Lmwood, winning by 14 points. Next Tuesday they will try conclusion? with Sydenham. ; FANCY DRESS EVENT. . .Last Saturday .afternoon the l fancy dress football match and procession from the Town Hall in support of the No. 3 Queen afforded the-residents the best bit of fun seen here for a very long time. At St Leonard's Square about 500 residents and visitors assembled to watch the sport. The teams, Club v. All-comers, represented clowns, nurses, a Kaiser, a baby Crown Prince, a costermonger, a little girl, a parson, a pierrot, a Red Indian, a swagger, a bushwhacker, a nigger, Mrs Grundy, Sir Joseph Ward, an American cowboy, a clown, an admiral, John Bull and several other amusing characters who had been splendidly made up by Mr Jones, of the city. The game was very funny, the ridiculous actions of "Charlie Chaplin" adding colour to the match. >

The afternoon tea stall*was well patronised, the following kdies assisting: Mrs G. F. Alien, Mrs F. Barber, plrs Marcantelli, Mrs W. Winter, Mrs H. W. Heslop, Mrs T. E. Whitfield, Mrs Graham, Mrs Row© and Mp W. Lawson. The following acted as waitresses: Miss Heslop, Miss M. Allen, Miss F. Ferguson, Miss E. Leithead, Miss Richards, Miss M. Hunt, Miss D. Wood and Miss A. Barber. Mrs Hunt and Miss Keyes did good service in a -well-stocked sweet stall. METEOROLOGICAL. The official sunshine records for the month taken on Oliftou show that on four days there was no sunsfune; there were 8 hours and over recorded on 7 days, viz.: 5, 6, 16, 22, 25, 26 and 31 j the maximum sunshine was recorded on the 6th as lOhrs 45mm, and thfs total for the month was 122hrs 20min, as against 173hrs 45min for® the same period last year. Tho total amount recorded for 1916 to date is 526hrs 5 mill, as against o33hrs 15min for the same period in 1915. The maximum temperature was recorded, on March 3 as 83deg Fahr., and the minimum on March 25 as 48deg Fahr. The maximum range of temperature was registered on, the 22nd as 24deg Fahr., and the minimum on March 30 as Id eg Fahr. The average maximum temperature for the month was 69.7deg Fahr., and the average •minimum 59.3deg Fahr., thus giving an average range of temperature of 10.4deg Fahr. The maximum |baromatric pressure was registered on March 29 as 30.81 in and the minimum on March 24 as '29.4 in in a nionth of very steady movements.

Rain was recorded on 13 days, 4, S, 10, 12, 15, 18, 19, 20, 22, 25, 29 and' 30, marking )Marcli as the most showery month for a very long time. Tho total rainfall for tho month waa 1.22 inches, of which 43 points fell o» March 29. During the month there were no frosts and no fogs. Tho prevailingwinds were easterly, with a very heavy sea on the 10th. Soil tempt i-atures taken at four inches depth ranged from DOdeg to 7Odeg Fahr. THE CAUSEWAY.' Tho appearance of the causeway is changing very quickly and within the next three weeks the lino should be in regular running order. All tho poles have now been erected and cemented into their cylinders on the seaward side of the work. The overhead gear and wiring are now finished, and the ballasting and the laying of the permanent rails aro both beinp: pushed on vigorously. A little blasting yet remains to be done to secure material for facing up the rock work, after which the quarry will be deserted and the steam crane and hauling gear removed from the district. VISITING SEAMEN.

Last Saturday, by arrangement with; the local GuiJd of the Seaman's Institute, Mr Booth, of the Lyttelton Seamen's Institute, brought' over about twenty sailors from the ships Arawa, Rimutaka and Celtic Glen, and marched them to the No. '6 Queen football match at Si, Leonard's Square. Here they were formally welcomed in a very hcarl'v speech by the Mayor (Me J. B. .Laurenson) and invited to tako part in the proceedings. Mr Booth having suitably responded, the men cheered lustily 'in oroper British fashion and proceeded with their sports, which included a tug-of-war, won by theArawa inert, ana a football match won by the same team. After a programme of races the men were entertained at a special afternoon tea and then made their way to tho Town Hall. Hero they played various interesting games and spent a social evening . ' Mr Booth thanked the local guild for their entertainment, and after calling a.. uiOK* cheers, goi lm party on the

tram, en-route to Heatkcote. QUEEN CROWNING. Quite the most, important event seen in . Sumner will take place at the queen crowning ceremony nest Thursday. For tli3 lirst- time a- local queen will be crowned with full honours. For ■ this ceremony the assistance of Nurse Maude has already been sought, and, although she cannot attend the function, she has kindly placed her own crown, sceptre and orb at the disposal of the sub-committee and has: given fullest directions. A procession will form and march up the hall to the snace. Here the queen, attended by her maids in waiting, will be crowned by his Worship "the Mayor- (Mr J. B. Laurenson) and the speech from the throne will be read. Royal honours will then be conferred on those deserving of it, and the procession, le-forming, will inarch out of the hall to the patriotic music of the Ladies' Club. For this ceremony a guard of honour of returned soldiers and territorials will be secured and everything will be done to make _ the procedure a memorable event in the borough's history. Preceding; this ceremony is a very attractive concert programme by the Glee Olub assisted by the scholars of the local schools and School for the Deaf. RED CROSS SHOP. This, week end the ladies of the borough are taking charge of the Red Cross Shop in the Square. This is the third time the borough lias been represented. For several days willing and tactful canvassers have invited donatioils of produce, and goods throughout the district, and have met with splendid support. Uhe way the ladies work for this cause is deserving of the highest praise. SCHOOL CONCERTS. Last Tuesday afternoon the girls of j the upper classes of the Borough School gave a very successful concert in the I Town Hall in aid of No. 2 Queen, and drew a crowded house. The items, which had been wholly prepared by the children themselves, were very well received, those taking part being Misses M. Barber, A. Barber, C. Roberts, C. Bamfoid, N. Hollow, C. Keig, M. Cairns, E. White-Parsons, J. Wiggins, V. Gocdenough and E. Gibbs. On Thursday a similar event was managed by children from the lower division, '.the performers being Misses M. Harman, O. Lawson, J. Sorensen, F. Allen, L. Ferguson, F. Boulton, E. Hislop, E. Flutey, F, Brass, O. Raphael, H. Blinkinqop, I. Masters and A. Wiggins, and Masters M. Barber, J. Wilson, F. Goodenough, 3>. Wilson, ! B. Sexton, C. l>acre, J. Graham, K. Clark, H. Barnett and H. Bishop. In this case the proceeds went to the No. | 3 Queen. i RIFLE SHOOTING. On _ Thursday evening the SunrnerRedclifFs No. 1 team met the Liuwood team in connection with the Tait Cup competition. The match was fired on the local tramway range, where 'all arrangements, tho lighting in particular, are very complete and' satisfactory. The local team, twelve men, Avon by 14 points, scoring "a' total of 772. Amongst the best scorers were PaterI son 66. Cotton 67, Garrard 6-5 and Andrews 67. As Linwood beat them by S points last time, and as their losses have been more frequent than was expected, this win has proved very popular.

QUEEN COMPETITION. During the week the position of the' Queens has not varied, the order boing: Miss Muriel Whitfield (Sumner) 1, Miss. Rene Newlxiry (Redcliffs) 2 aiid Miss Cecil Roberts (The Hills) 3. The votes recorded for the week were 5271, bringing the total up to 8831. The committees for Nos. 2 and 3 are working- very bard, that of the former arranging for a jumble sale, and that of the lubter organising another social and dance for last Thursday and a very attractive beach item and procession this afternoon,. as well as a concert this evening. The contest will end at eight o'clock on Wednesday evening next, and the crowning ceremony will take place the following evening. BOWLING. This afternoon three rinks, skipped respectively by H. Barlow, J. H. Mavuard and C. T. Middleton, are visiting the Pap anu i Club. .On Tuesday and Thursday a local rink, consisting of J. Illingworth, E. A. Johnson, F. S. Maddison and T. W. Johnson, visited Edge ware and United, and scored two wins. In the former game they played against Herd, Wilson," Beanlaiid and Marker, and were very pleased with their margin of two-

The local green is now playing vory well.

FISHING

The week has been a,phenomenal one so faa- as catches of cod are concerned. Even the pier has provided splendid baskets, the small boy getting a- good share cf the spoil. The same good sport is reported from laylor's Mistake. So "far as the pier is concerned, something will have to be done to keep the end of it clean. During the week, in spite of special cleaning by the council staff, the accumulation of scales, bait <ii.d other iishy refuse has been so conspicuous that a continuation of such a stats of affairs is likely to result in the local authorities prohibiting lishing at this spot. ELECTRIC LIGHTING .

The residents of RedclifFs met the Works Oommittee of the Borough Council on Wednesday night to discuss electric lighting matters. Mr G. Yv'. Smithson presided, and Councillor J. Barr went very fully into details of the installation and the cost to the residents. The meeting was very successful and concluded with a hearty vote of tha.ni--* to the speaker.