Local and General

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 2, Issue 229, 23 October 1940, Page 4

Local and General

Annual Bazaar. The Methodist Church's annual bazaar is being hekl in the King Street Hall to-day, In addition to tlie usual stalls there.is a country stall at which can be obtained farm produce ol' all kinds. A concert will be held this evening. Thought They Were Sharks. ! There was some consternation among those bathing at Ohope on Sunday When the school of porpoises visited the bay. To at least one group the appearance of the black fins only a bare hundred yards out gave every «ianpressioii: ° that large sharks were prowling about and they beat a very hasty retreat to the! sands. '

Large Tract of Ploughing'. Considerable' interest attaches to the ploughing now in process on ,tlie Native Land Scheme above Ohope Beach. The work is now well in hand and is a credit to the workmen engaged. Many difficult faces have been traversed and the result when the grass is established will be a very marked improvement. The Cat Came Back. Alter being removed to Whakatane from Ohope a large tomcat has found his way back to his old home. He took two weeks to do it but like old Father Thames, 'lie got there just the same.' It is considered a rather remarkable feat as the animal was removed to town in a car and having lost ali sense of direction could only have been guided by in-

stinct.

Planting of Maize. The planting of the season's maize is jiow being conducted on a largo scale. Following the recent favourable weather the soil has worked well and all indications point to a greatly increased cropping. NO PUBLICATION ON MONDAY Owing to Monday, October 28 (Labour Day) being classed as | a Statutory Holiday, there will be no publication of the BEACON. Advertisers and subscrib- I ers are asked to take note of the above. Good Gardening Weather. Home gardens in and about Whakatane are now looking at their best. Some of the floral displays to be seen in local gardens are a credit Jo the . amateur's enthusiasm. Vegetables too are responding well to the warm sunny days and there should be a plentiful supply of early spring greens. Plunket Society Concert. A very successful concert was staged by the Rangitaiki Sub-branch of the Plunket Society, when Whakatane and local performers played to a crowded house in the Green ; Parrot Hall, Edgecumbe, last Thurs- , day. The committee wishes to express thanks to both artists and pat- ' rons. The sum of £20 was raised, * and will benefit the local Society's funds. Inconvenience. I The inconveniejice caused to the J residents of the Edgecumbe district * by the fact that the service car travelled along the Western Drain 1 Road instead of passing through Edgecumbe, along the State High- 3 way, was stressed by Cr McCracken at the monthly meeting of the Whakatane County Council yesterday. Cr McCracken was supported by Cr Spence. It was decided that the coun s sil should write to the responsible authorities requesting that the ser- n rice should be made through Edge- c :umbe.

The Taneatua Bridge. I The necessity for the immediate I strengthening of the Taneatua Bridge was pointed out by Gr McGougan at the County Council meeting yesterday. Cr McGougan said that at the present time the bridge was in a very bad state and its collapse would seriously affect the settlers of a large district. The Countj Engineer had made an estimate oi repairs necessary to enable the bridge to stand up to another 10 01 15 years service, the cost being £500 The matter was left to the Works Committee. Nuisance at Ohope j If certain trampers using the old access road to the beach at Ohope Avould refrain from roiling large boulders down the cliff face and on to the sections below they would be I relieving the section holders of much anxiety and themselves of running I the risk of serious complications. On several Sundays recently there have been complaints from residents Jin this respect and one man states that a particularly large rock landed in the middle of his lawn after I accomplishing a very, dangerous passage down the cliff. J Scene From Hillcrest. Stretches of green plain, crissj crossed with boundary hedges and dotted with trees, the whole fading I into the blue distance and backed by the sprawling hills of the Manawahe plateau. To the east the golI den streak of. the coastline fringed J with the silver of the low-breaking J rollers—beyonel the endless blue of the ocean sparkling and gleaming in the sunlight, and silhouetting in I brown and green relief the outlines of the Rurimas and Whale Island. Such were the impressions of a reJcent visitor who gazed northward I from Hillcrest over the scape of land and sea. I New Zealanders Popular. "New Zealanders in England rank with the pick of the Empire. They are immensely popular and are upholding the fine reputation left by their fathers in 1914-18," said. Mr Langford High, an English business man now visiting Chrislf hurch, He was in London only five weeks ago. [ "Your boys have made firm friends all over Great Britain," Mr High said, "and we saw them on most of our railway stations, In most of the big cities anel along the roads. T-hey are conspicuous because of their distinctive uniform and are a cheerfulot. They seem to be making a great number of friends, and their presence there will help materially to bring our Empire into a .closer and more lasting unity."