Local and General

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 7, Issue 73, 16 May 1944, Page 4

Local and General

Flax Production in Australia The production of flax in Australia as a war measure has been increased from 2000 acres in 19-10, to 50,000 acrcs in 1943 and the target for 19-14 is' 70,000 acres. Since 1940, 4000 tons of fibre have been shipped from Australia to Britain. With the mechanisation of the industry and research into Australia's peculiar problems, there are reasonable prospects of permanency after th& war. Rationing in Canada "We are not rationed in clothes, or even much in food, and we should be truly thankful that we are in Canada," stated a resident of Winnipeg, Manitoba, in a letter to a friend in Christchurch, dated January 20. The writer said that petrol, tea, coffee, sugar, butter jam meat, and salmon were rationed in Canada,, but eggs were in good supply and not restricted. / Rowing Club Dane© The forthcoming Whakatane Rowing Club dance to be held on Friday evening promises to be one. of the brightest spots in the social calendar for the immediate future. All arrangements are well in hand, and from all appearances, the Caledonian Hall will be the mecea of dancing enthusiasts on Friday night. The intention in holding the dance is to raise funds in order to send parcels to old members ol' the club now serving overseas. Broken Glass Residents of Haig Street have for some time been inconvenienced by the presence of glass on the road. The worst patch seems to be. at the junction of Haig Street and King Street where glass is strewn over quite a large area of the road. In these days of tyre restrictions, motorists must preserve their rubber lor the greatest possible length of time, and being constantly obliged to run. over broken glass is not at all condusiive to this. Fishy ! Residents and townspeople of Whakatane were somewhat startled out of their lethargic indifference on Monday afternoon at. the sight of a car parading round through the Strand with two line trout decorati ing the radiator. Allegedly caught nt Rotoma by Mr J. Moore, of Whakatane, one of these should tip the scale at eight or nine pounds—but some fishermen seem inclined to discredit the: tale of wfiere they came from, believing that trout at Rotoma are usually nipped in the bud before they have time to reach the "grandfather" stage. This may be just another fish story, but still fish is fish wherever it hails from.