Local & General

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 13, Issue 43, 19 January 1949, Page 4

Local & General

Slight Power Increase The Whakatane Borough Council has been granted an increase of 4 per cent in its power allocation itj was stated at Monday night’s meet-t ing of the council. A letter was re-si. ceived to this effect from the elec- - / tricity controller, who said that the increase had been granted after careful consideration of the borough’s requirements. Large Wasp Nest Found A large nest of wasps was dug> out of the ground recently at Ohope. It is said to be one of the largest yet found in this part of the Bay of . Plenty. Wasps have been seen around Whakatane in large numbers in the last few weeks, while at Ohope they have been very common and several nests have so far been discovered. Bicycle Stand For Hotel A request by Mr N. McG. Bremner to have a bicycle stand constructed outside the Commercial' Hotel, Whakatane, was granted at a meeting of the Whakatane Borough Council on Monday night. Mr Bremnen will be required to bear the full cost and the stand is to be constructed subject to the requirements of the borough engineer. Trimming of Trees Trees growing along Domain Road are to be trimmed back to allow clearance of power lines, it was decided by the Whakatane Borough Council on Monday night. The electrical engineer, Mr F. Lysaght, said that unless something was done soon there was going to be a serious accident. There was also a possibility of a power breakdown. The , borough electrical staff are to carry out the work to their jrequirements. Concern For Water Consumption \ Concern at the amount of water that was being consumed was expressed by councillors at Monday night’s meeting of the Whakatane Borough Council. Leaking taps were said to be using a large amount of water as were lavatory cisterns. The mayor, Mr B. S. Barry, said that little could be done at present to correct these faults as the council had been unable to obtain any- y one to carry out an inspection in the borough.

Scarcity of Fish Following the . period of plentious supplies of fish towards the end of last year, there has been a dearth of fish this month. This is partly due to seasonal conditions and also to heavy offshore storms which have made sea conditions unpleasant. Fishing parties have returned with very poor catches. Flounders have not been caught in the usual numbers in Ohiwa Harbour and better catches have been reported from parties netting the local rivers.

Plenty of Grass With the exception of Poverty Bay, Hawke’s Bay and parts of the Wairarapa, there has been a wonderful growth of grass for stock in the North Island. However the heavy rain during the past week should bring away the grass in those districts which have not been so favoured as most places. The Bay of Plenty appears to have the most luxuriant pastures and around Te Puke in particular in the areas where water is close to the surface the stock has not been able to keep pace with the rapid growth. Rain Distribution in 1948

The wettest town in New Zealand last year was Hokitika, where 105 inches of rain fell on 192 days. However, the highest rainfall recorded in any part of the Dominion was at Milford Sound,. where 247 inches fell on 190 days. Auckland had 53 inches, Wellington 44, Christchurch 19 and Dunedin 31. The , North Island’s highest fall was- at Kiritahi, East Cape, where 139 inches fell and the lowest was at Puruatanga, Martinborough, with 24 inches. The South Island’s highest fall was at Milford and the lowest at Earnscelugh, Central Otago, with just under 11 inches. Rain Delays Harvesting ; The frequent showers which have fallen throughout ithe Bay of Plenty during the past fortnight have seriously interfered with the harvesting of hay crops- A local resident who passed through the Bay a few days ago considers that the area of hay down must exceed a thousand acres. In many cases the" hay had been down for some time as the grass was commencing to grow through the mown crops. Cutting of other crops were proceeding on. many farms. Some areas have been more fortunate than others and have experienced the necessary period to enable the hay to be taken in a dry condition. Some stacks built with damp hay have taken, fire and been destroyed.