LOCAL AND GENERAL

Waipa Post, Volume 49, Issue 3555, 8 December 1934, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL

A party of six rinks of Te Awamutu Bowling Club members is to visit Otorohanga this afternoon for an inter-club match.

Several Te Awamutu and district sportsmen left this morning to attend the Te- Aroha Trotting Club's annual meeting.

The Te Awamutu Municipal Band intends to provide a -programme of selected items at Tokanui Hospital jo-morrow afternoon, weather permitting.

Racegoers will be interested in the Railway Department's announcement appearing in this issue regarding the cheap fares and special train arrangements for the Waipa Racing Clubs approaching meeting at Te Awamutu.

It is estimated that there were over 250 people present on the occasion oi the opening of the new public hall at Puketotara last Thursday evening. Thus it was the largest assemblage held in that locality for many years.

A short sitting of the Magistrate s Court at Te Awamutu is Ho be held on Monday morning, while at midday the quarterly meeting of the Waitomo Licensing Committee is scheduled, but as no business is likely to come before it the meeting will be merely formal.

An interesting exhibit, especially attractive to sportsmen, in Ahier's shop windows at present is the 25 guinea tea and coffee set, on a handsome oak tray, donated by Mr Ernest Montgomery, of Auckland, to the Waipa Racing Club to accompany the stake of the Te Awamutu Cup, which will be decided at the club's annual race meeting on Saturday next.

From inquiries made in Wellington it was ascertained that the Public Service list should be available witihin the next two weeks. The annual list is looked forward to by the various public servants throughout the Dominion, as it contains particulars of any alterations which are made by the commissioner during the year. It has been ascertained that departments have, in anticipation of the issue of the list, been authorised to proceed with the payment of what are regarded as the normal or statutory«increases in salary to the members of the Public Service.

A Te Awamutu business man was astonished a few days 1 ago when a customer, in paying an account, produced a dozen or more half-sove-reigns. Questioned as to where they had come from, the customer said he had been steadily accumulating them for Well over twenty years, and had something like a hundred of them still ! We know some people who would not recognise a half-sovereign if they saw one.

The new public hall at Puketotara, wlaich was formally opened at a dance and social function held last Thursday evening, is a community enterprise. The site for the building was kindly donated by Mrs J. C. Potts, and the settlers, have assumed responsibility for payment of the building cost. Small sums of money'raised by various enterprises wei*e supplemented With donations of cash and kind, and this warranted the settlers authorising construction of the hall. It (has now been opened, and will be used for various public occasions. It is not yet free of debt, but it will afford a meeting-place for further social gatherings and thus materially contribute towards extinguishing the debt. *

One of the prettiest beauty spots of the Marlborough district at the present time is situated at Spring Creek, reports the Marlborough Express. It is the garden of Dr W. E. Redman, who, it is claimed, owns one of the finest collections of sweet peas in Marlborough, if not in New Zealand. A keen horticulturist, Dr Redman has built up a collection of over 250 varieties, and, brought' along by a favourable season, every one of these bears a mass of flowers. In all, there is about a quarter of an acr/s of the plants, each one trained over a long manuka pole, and rearing itself to a height of about Bft. The blooms are exceptionally large and well developed, and many of the flower spikes are bearing six, seven and eight heads.

The Timaru Herald remarks: Notwithstanding the .outbursts of the spokesmen of the Labour Party, who are at present actively engaged in an electioneering campaign, it can be s'aid with emphasis that members of the Labour Party have no right to suggest that they hold a monopoly of practical sympathy for those fellow citizens who have been thrust upon their own slender resources by the difficulties of the times through which the country is passing. The great majority of citizens has held out helping hands, and relief societies and unemployment committees have worked for years tp relieve distress without seeking the tiniest flash of publicity and without reward, and in some cases not even the thanks of those who have been helped. The Labour members know, too, that it is not; possible by a mere stroke of the pen, or even the placing of la Labour administration in control of the national affairs of the country, to change the whole scheme of things in a moment, or bring that new heaven and new earth to this country thjait the politicians are promising.

The young Te Pahu farmer, Douglas Redfern, was again brought before the Te Awamutu Court (Messrs S. H. Dunkley'and G. A. Empson preinding) yesterday morning, to answer charges of theft of several articles from a farm at Puketurua during the month of June. The articles included a 80ft length of rope, the nozzle of a water ram, a trowel, a bridle, sharpening stone, a screwdriver,- and a 2gal. tin of benzine. Redfern admitted the theft,, and Constable Forsyth said all the articles in the charge had been recovered and identified. To a question, accused said he had taken the articles before the prosecution recently in connection with the theft of milk cans and fencing wire, when he was fined £2O. He had not stolen anything since;, and desired to have all matters cleared up. He was exceedingly sorry for his offence. The Bench decided that restitution must bo mada, and fined him £5, pointing outi also that he should consider himself exceedingly fortunate that a term of imprisonment was not imposed.

Children's health camps are to benefit to the extent of £IOOO as from the profits of the last national art union, the toted net recepits from which were £5350.

The Kihikihi Bowling Club, at a meeting last evening, drew the art union that has been in progress for some weeks in an effort to provide needed funds for the club. The winner of first prize was a Hamilton lady, while the other prizes went to Kihikihi, Waikeria and Remuera.

At a meeting of tihe Te Awamutu Municipal Band executive last evening copies were received of the music for the South Auckland band contest, which is to be held next Easter ait Te Awamutu. It was also arranged to commence a series of popular concerts earls'- in the New Year.

Mr W. J. Broadfoot, M.P., came through from Te Kuiti on Thursday night to perform the ceremony of opening the new public hall at Puketotara, on the Kawhia-Pirongia Road, in the presence of a large and representative attendance. The function proved highly successful, and after a short social and musical programme, a dance to music supplied by Clayton's Orchestra followed.

Chatting yesterday with a representative of the Waipa Post, Mr W. J. Broadfoot, M.P., expressed his definite conviction, that the parasites for white butterfly are doing their work well in the Te Kuiti district, just as they are doing it in Hawke's Bay and the Manawatu. Mr Broadfoot said he knew of instances Avhere last season's cabbages, turnips and nasturtiums had been completely stripped of leaves by the butterflies, and this season very attractive crops are in evidence. The parasites have multiplied and become fairly widely distributed already, and in one case the insects had been found ninety miles from the nearest point of liberation. Though he had not so far been able to get any parasites for. liberation in the Te Awamutu district, he was continuing his efforts, and, ho added, if backed by applications direct, ho had little doubt that a few parasites would be made available for this district.

A notable conclusion, from the viewpoint of civic interest, drawn from the figures recently issued by the Government Statistician's ' office concerning the populations of \the various urban areas of New Zealand is that if the population of Hastings increases during the next 10 years at. a rate corresponding with that of the past 10 years the town should attain the status of. a city by 1944. Figures showing the relative growth of Hastings and, Napier, during the past five years make interesting comparisons. Hastings' urban population from 1924 to 1925 increased by 1465, or 10.4 per cent, and from 1929 to 1934 the increase was 1700, or 10.9 per cent. On the other hand Napier's rate of growth actually decreased in the sect ond five year period. From 1924 to 1929 the increase in its urban population was 855, or 4.6 per cent, and from 1929 to 1934 the increase was 490, or 2.5 per cent. If the relative growth of the second five year period is maintained by both towns, it will be less than five years before Hastings surpasses Napier in the matter of population. During the past 10 years the rate of increase in the Hastings urban area was .22.5, which was greater than that of any other borough, with the exception of New Plymouth. The rate of increase in Napier during the same period was 7.3, which was the lowest among all the 14 urban areas.