RAETIHI

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 79, Issue 280, 26 November 1936, Page 3

RAETIHI

SHEARING HOIKS. I Informal ion to the effect that several farmers in the Waimarino had shorn sheep on Saturday afternoon was given by Mr. W. Harnott, Union representative in the district. Mr. Harnott said both the farmers and shearers were creating a breach ol the award, and action would be taken ‘ against offenders. A visit has been made to most of the sheds in the dis- ' trict, Mr. Harnott slating that he had ! been well received wherever he went, ; and he had not met with one refusal ’ to join the union. He pointed out that 1 tickets entitled men to work under ; other awards when the shearing was i completed. | A well-known shearer who was ap- 1 proached by the “Chronicle" repre- . sentative regarding the shearers’ opin- , ion of the shearing hours, stated that by the time Saturday afternon came ' most shearers had had enough for the week. It was hard work and they . welcomed the afternoon's respite. He ; stated, however, that this only applied to occasions when they got in a full . week, and it appeared to most of the shearers and owners that the compulsory Saturday afternoon break, when, say, operations had been suspended for three or four days owing to the exigencies of the weather, should be eliminated. It was hard for both sides when shearing commenced on Friday to be compelled to stop on Saturday , .. ~ —■-

[at mid-day. He knew personally, [where both shearers and owners were putting in Saturday afternoon with! I he machines. j Regarding the quality of lhe wool in [ lhe district the shearer stated that it was exceptionally good in the sheds where he had been shearing, the sheep themselves being in good condition. , DANGERS OF SHOOTING. The Waimarino Acclimatisation So-! ciety has received a circular letter from the Under-Secretary of the Department of Internal Affairs asking that publicity be given to the "Safety First” campaign being promoted by the department in an endeavour to oviate unnecessary accidents in con-1 nection with firearms. A list of possible accidents which may occur, by failing to observe elementary safe- [ guards was also forwarded. Mr. T. Shout, a member of the Wai- i marino Society, stated that he did not think the list was comprehensive | enough. A dangerous practice was j that of shooting firearms underneath water. This was not an uncommon occurrence, and some people “poached” trout in this manner. The barrel of the gun was likely to explode. Mr. Shout stated further that sportsmen should make regular inspections of the barrel of their firearms, for often, particularly when going through scrub, weed or vegetation may become lodged in the muzzle, causing the firearm to explode. DIVERSION OF WATER. The Waimarino Acclimatisation Society forwarded a letter to the Minister of Marine, Hon. P. Fraser, supporting the protest of the Waitaki Acclimatisation Society regarding the diversion of water from fishing rivers for irrigation purposes. A reply has been received to the effect that the Minister had laid the letter before the Minister of Public Works as desired by the Waitaki Association. The Waimarino Society is interested in the outcome of the protest, owing to the fact that authority had been given the Raetihi Borough Council to divert a stream for the purpose of generating electricity. Some members of the society consider that the position should be reviewed, as at present the stream had now only half the flow as compared with the time when the estimate was made. It was pointed out that the council were permitted to take half the flow of the stream which was at the time estimated at 10 cusecs. It was estimated to-day that the whole flow of the stream was only 4 cusecs. One of the members (Mr. T. Shout), considers that it is useless to protest as they had already obtained legal advice and the society did not have a leg to stand on. It is the intention of members of the society to approach Hon. F. Langstone 1 during his visit to Raetihi on Friday in j an endeavour to see if anything could ’ be done to amend the legislation. 1

SELF-DENIAL APPEAL. The annual self-denial appeal of the Raetihi corps of the Salvation Army resulted in the gratifying sum of £6B being raised. This represents an increase of £l5 as compared with the appeal last year. Captain Cresswell expressed appreciation with the results obtained. The usual children's anniversary will take place on Sunday next when special services have been arranged, and on Monday next the children will take part in a concert. HEALTH STAMP CAMPAIGN. The acting-postmaster at Raetihi (Mr. J. Harris) advised the "Chronicle” that the sales of health stamps had reached just over £9. The response was not so great as for a similar period last year. It is understood that there is a Sunshine Committee in Raetihi who control the appeal here, and a meeting is to be called soon to further the appeal. Mr. Harris stated that as a result of the efforts last year, a number of donations had been received, but so far this year, the only proceeds came from the sale of stamps. SCOUT COMftHTTEE MEETS. After Scoutmaster Perry had explained to the committee of the Raetihi Boy Scouts particulars regarding the recent incident when a number of Scouts had lost their way on One Tree Hill while participating in a 1 paper chase, it was decided to send a ' letter of commendation to Patrol ; Leader V. Head, who was in charge of the pack, on his action and behaviour on the night in question. A communication has been received from District Commissioner Christie ' advising the committee that Commissioner Woollams and other officials ( would be visiting the district on Saturday next, after an inspection of ; the Taihape Troop on Friday. It. was agreed that if the Rangataua Troop preferred to journey to Ohakune, a united parade could be held there, and a visit made to Horopito, but, if desired by the latter troup, a further united gathering ; could be held in Raetihi. ; As the result of a “bring-and-buy" ; afternoon conducted by Mrs. K. Baird in aid of funds to assist the Cubs, the sum of £7 had been realised. Cuh- i master G. Hunt advised the com- : mittee to this effect. < While expressing appreciation to 1 the ladies, it was considered that as ■ far as possible appeals for 11 nance i should be for a common fund, and : while donations were always accept- : able and the wishes of the donors ; respected, it was not considered de- ] sirable to encourage appeals for I separate divisions of the troop. i It was hoped to arrange an enter- ; tainment at an early date to obtain ’ funds for the troop. The scoutmaster reported that the average attendance at parades was 20, the boys taking keen interest in the work. Mr. W. H. Sandford presided at the meeting, and there were also present Messrs. L. N. Ritchie, N. Brown, Rev. C. L. Dobbs, Scoutmaster Perry, Cubmaster G. Hunt and the secretary, W. Jack. WAR ON SHAGS. In a special article appearing in a recent, issue of the "Chronicle” under the above heading, it. was stated that a member of the Waimarino Acclimatisation Society had shot a shag, which, upon being opened contained a two-foot trout. As pointed out by the secretary of the society (Mr. A. C. Henderson) this was obviously erroneous, it. being a two-pound trout that was discovered. Mr. Henderson pointed out further that Mr. Mead's 15-mile trip in search of honey-pro-ducing flora for a Wanganui resident was not undertaken on foot, hut by cycle.