TOWN AND COUNTRY.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 12284, 5 April 1918, Page 5

TOWN AND COUNTRY.

L%. Ward <vLl arrive in i Cnnstchurch by the sovaM express today and will go on to Wellington bv the Jerry .steamer to-morrow. A tragic aftermath has followed on the heels of the fracas which occurred at Aokautero last week between the police and some members of the Frost Lundy, says the “ ManawatußtaS er 1 i *' 1,11 Mtempt was made to effect the. arrest of two of the Frosts a’vo! Kf thpft ' onc * Hayward Frost, a youth of seventeen, swam the Manuwatu River and made good his escape. He made for the Main Trunk district, where the police had evidently been made aware of the direction taken bv In the nlKl his r arrest ,vas effected by the Ohakune police on Sunday, on Hie Jnrge of iheft, and ho was lodged niVnt 10 Ji ohaknne Gaol - During the - v °ung Frost tori his shut into strips, which he used to poliS 88 W is |-d r .v etLt S'”"'.'t™'- > vl "-' t| CT biimnn or in.a good s J-f« „r' ’ no * r . nvcp > wa * iti.o r v?S‘;, «' ftp slr " tal *pS gsmSSA 10 ! e;nc ' Hieir cars in tlie strepf SffencS ot at r! S* at'' 0 f arg ,° d with & this moS* Magistrate s Court this morning. Sub-Inspector Mullanev said m-nk! I t0 attend the sale - they were piobably unaware that it was an pd nC iii to Tnn- VG eir motors unattended m Lone Street, and he would suggest that the local body which had jurisdiction over the street' should ere? the bv hw S informin K motorists oi A large number of cyclists appeared before Mr T. A. B . Bailey. S.AI., at tho Magistrate s Court this morning, charged with riding at night without 1 gilts. Ihe excuses offered were almost as many as the offenders. One man, alter he had offered a lengthy explanaturn for his breach of the by-law ended by saying," “ Well,- I have ridden a bycycle for many years,, but tlus is the first time 1 have been caught.” A general laugh went round the Court, but defendant explained that this rather doubtful statement was intended to show that he had ahvays 'bieen careful to carry a light, not that ha had been fortunate in dodging the, police. A boy gave the excuse than he had no matches to light his lamp with, whilst several other offenders excused themselves by saying that unforeseen circumstances had kept them out later than they had expected. In most of the cases the Magistrate inflicted a fine. Lieutenant A. AY. Gudgeon, of the Australian Expeditionary Force, has been awarded the Military Cross. He is the second son of the late Mr .1. B. Gudgeon and Mrs Gudgeon, of Holly Road. He is one of four brothers who went to the war, the youngest of whom Robert, was killed on Gallipoli. General Bird wood in a letter to Lieutenant. Gudgeon congratulating him on the honour ho had won said that the Cross had been awarded for very fine work in operations near Broodseinde froin October 1 to 9, 1917. With Lieutenant Vowels he was in command of a largp party engaged in burying cables beyond Auzac Ridge. Despite heavy shell fire the work was done in record time. Subsequently Lieutenant Gudgeon led a raid of thirty men on Celtic "Wood, capturing fifteen prisoners and a ma-chine-gun, and inflicting heavy loss on the enemy, without losing a man. General Birdwood says that the success of the raid was due . to Lieutenant Gudgeon’s fine leadership, and the complete reconnaissance which the lieutenant had previously made. The derelict German mine which was" discovered washed up on Awana Beach, ou the eastern side of Great Barrier Island recently, was rendered harmless by Lieutenant E. J. Browning, of the district headquarter., sr.aif. and several members of t lie Roy.',! New Zealand Artillery. After a lh.'rough investigation, Lieutenant Browning expressed tho opinion that the uuue' would have to be blown open About 31b of guncotton was sot at the base, and after the party had retired to what was considered a safe distance the charge was exploded. The report was resounding, and tho mine was hurled 20ft into the air and about 28yds along the beach. Huge volumes of yellow "fumes were scattered along the beach, and wore noticeable for a considerable time ■ afterwards. The explosives contained in the mine did not detonate, the only damage done to the mine being the tearing open of its base and the breaking and twisting of the mechanism inside. The explosive, which consisted of a number of hexagonal blocks, was strewn about the beach. It was yellowish in colour and with an odour" which suggested picric acid. Several samples of the explosive were secured, and the rest was gathered up, and principally as a precaution against accident to local settlers, and partly to test the efficacy of the explosive, it was placed above a small charge of guncotton, and detonated. The result was a terrific explosion, which reverberated among the hills for many minutes. Debris, consisting of sand, stones, and sticks were thrown to a height of at least 600 ft.