Local and General

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 2, Issue 142, 3 April 1940, Page 4

Local and General

Visitors Still at Ohope. The number of seasonal visitors to Ohope Beach this year is phenonomal and. according to one peimanent resident, there appears to be little prospect of a slackening off. Prosperous Waimana. Waimana is looking at its best* the greenness of the pastures combining to make a pleasant vista of contentment and prosperity. The controlled rainfall since Christmas has resulted in the grass showing a consistent sward and growth.

Praise for Edgecumbe. A visitor to the Rangitaiki Plains after an absence of ten years stated to a BEACON representative, that outside Whakatane the greatest change he has seen in any other centre was the amazing progress shown by Edgecumbe. Since the Boys Left. A Taneatua resident slated that, since the volunteers left after their final leave, the town seemed dead. "We had," he said, "the most hectic period I can remember. Every evening there "was something on in the shape of farewell gatherings, and I don't think I averaged more than a couple of hours sleep a night during the whole period."

Leaps and Bounds. Parties in three launches off Whale Island on Sunday witnessed an unusual spectacle in these waters when a large swordfish leaped and played in the vicinity for five minutes. It is seldom that swordfish arc; seen off Whakatane. Edgecumbe Rainfall. Mr Alex McLean of Edgecumbe, reports that the total rainfall measured there for the month of March was 1.01 inches. Though small this is slightly in advance of the amount recorded last year which was .74 inch. The total for the year to date is now 16.97 inches. Rain fell oil seven days only during March. Onepu Lands Parched. The threatened rain Avill be a god-send to settlers at Onepu, where the spell of dry weather has parched the land and given it a burntout appearance. The riddle of making Onepu consistently productive is one which is exercising the minds of the Lands Department as -well as those who are settled there. Touch Them Not. In spite of a large notice appraising them of' the fact that toh-eroa-gathering on Ohope Beach is j illegal for the balance of the year, there are quite a number of visitors to the resort who flagrantliy dig, and carry away the shell fish in large numbers. It would be well to remind these pilferers that they are liable to a substantial fine, and further that they are displaying n very poor example of citizenship. French Warship. A French naval unit arrived at Akaroa on Friday to take part in the centenary celebrations, which have now been postponed owing to the death of the Rt. Hon. M. J. Savage. Officers and men were entertained by residents and conducted to pllaces of historic interest, particularly those related to the French settlement. The vessel remained at Akaroa over the weekend. Imposed Penalty on Himself. How he had once been so busjfc handling othe;- people's rate payments that he forgot his own, and had to impose a penalty on himself, was told by the Waimairi county clerk, Mr G. S. Cowper, during the council discussion on rates and penalties. Through a misunderstanding, said Mr Cowper, a former chair man of the council had also to pay a penalty. There were difficulties preventing rates being made payable by the same date each year, but dates were always well advertised. In 99 cases out of 100 where people "missed the bus," it was their own fault. Anxious Moments. It seemed at though the crews and passengers of two launches had some anxious moments when, at about 5 o'clock on Sunday afternoon, the boats attempted to cross the bar together. One launch appeared to have the right of way and it seemed as though the second was attempting to overtake it. The result was that the launches came together three times and were seen to bump rather heavily on one occasion. 'A Good Long Think.' A member of the Waimana farmers' deputation to the meeting of the Bay of Plenty Primary Production Council on Monday said that on his way to the meeting he had approached a Maori employed on the roads w r ith an offer of ment on his farm. The farmer had advised the Maori to think the matter over during the day, but when the latter enquired what the proffered w 7 ork consisted of and had been told that it would include fencing, draining, general maintenance work and —milking cows,, he had replied that he would have 'a good long think' when it came to the last part.