NORTH CANTERBURY.

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 18902, 18 January 1927, Page 3

NORTH CANTERBURY.

RANGIORA. Mr and Mrs -A. P. Strang and daughter, who have been spending their holidays at Picton, returned to Rangiora on Sunday. • In the passing of Mrs Rangiora has lost a very old resident. Mrs Payne was born, in Lo^ 0 "." 1 1847, attd in 1863 she cam*> to New Zealand with her husband »• the ship Lancashire Witch, landing at Auckland, After spending a few months in Whanßaroa, they came to Ljttelton. Mr Payne joined the .staff of the Rattgiora Railway Station, .when the line opened in 1872. V» died in Octobef.TMS. They had ft fan »£ ° ! J?; of which there are eight survivors MP Edward Payne, foreman to the Kangiora Borough, being the eldest son Other sons are Mr A. Payne (ChnstehnrchVand Mr W. Payne (Blenheim). There are four daughters, -ill mnrriMi und living in and uround Cimstchurcli. Bowlers are, taking advnnttco of. we ane weather to oet as much p'e» su^ a » possible out of the flame, and every nfternoon sees quite a number of enthusiasts on the green. The championRhip gamrw are pracjicnllv held up owing to holidays, some of the most prom inent bowlers bein« away, lor tne rinks chamnionxlup onlv two gnrnes hare been played. Oibhs Jordan s rink won from Cudby by gin. Tn the mirs championship. mid (s) 27 bent Scott andl Keir 18.- n"d Bowse and Blair 24 beat Bonks and Rnmfield 14. In the singles championship, there is still quite a number of games to bo played.

KAIKOURA. A committee meeting of the A. and P. Association was held on Saturday, presided ever" by. Mr E. C.. Utter (president). Provisional judges were appointed for the various classes, air J 3 McGrath advised that be would provide a champion ribbon for the ppny. class, and Mr E. C. Latter a ribbon for the light horso class. Mr J. «. Morrison contributed a guinea and Ml* P. H. Flower a similar amount in the cookery section. "' The result of the milch cow class was announced as fol-

lpws:-r-H. Maekle, weight 391b, test 6.0, butterfat 2.340; J. Maekle, 26, 6.3.1.638; E. Gray, 314, 4.2, 1.323;. R W. Boyd, 25, 5.0, 1.250; C. Lee, 20; 4.3, .860; B. Burland, 18, 4.5, .810; J. Jackson, 195, 3.5, .68250; E. Sharplin, 113, 1.7 .55225. . „ A team of Rangiora., bowlers visiteaKaikoura on Saturday. Mr G. H. Cates (president) extended a cordial welcome to the, players: Johnston, Mcintosh, Wood, McKay (Rangiora) 9, wore defeated by Washington, Bartholomew, Collins, and Cates (Ivaikoura) 23. The. skipper of the Rangiora tedtn thanked Kaikonra for the splendid hospitality-extended to them, and for a very enjoyable came. He extended an invitation to Kaikoura players to visit Rangiora, Beautiful weather prevails at present, and holiday-makers are making the most of it.

OXFORD. On Saturday morning when Mr J. Allan, of Beiley, went out to fetch the; cows, he was surprised to see an albatross in the paddock by the house. On approaching it, tho bird showed some resentment, hut irta.de little attempt to escape. Ho took it some food and water, which., it refused. During tho day it made several unsuccessful attempts to fly, but in the afternoon a rather stiff nor'-wester sprang up, and taking advantage of +III3 the bird put its breast to the wind and succeeded in making a flight. It flew for a short distance against the wind and then circled round and flew in an casterly direction. Its wings, from tip to tip, had a spread of nearly 12 feet. It is a remarkable thing for an albatross to get so far inland, the locality being about two miles from the "Waimakariri Gorgo bridge. SEFTON. A meeting was held in the Domain pavilion on Saturday evening, convened by Mr J. Ashworth, .jun., to consider the question of holding a social on behalf of the funds of the Leitbfield Beach Improvement Association. Mr J. Ashworth, jun. was voted to the chair and Mr W. A. Kelcher, on behalf of the Association, outlined their policy, giving details of how the money would bo spent. It was unanimously decided to hold a dance on Februarv 11th in the Rink Hall. A strong committee was appointed to make all accessary arrangements with Mr \\. Dando as secretary.

HANMER SPRINGS. The annual football fixture between a team from St. llelcn3 Station,' composed of shearing hands and inustorors, and one from the township, was played on Saturday evening. The game was fast and even, and was fought out principally between the forwards. The result was a tic, the score being three points v each from penalty goals kicked by .P. Lumsden for Hanmor and A. J. Brown for St. Helens. Conspicuous for good play on the hitter's side were A. J. Brown and Dempster backs, and Wishart, J. Pickering, Peach, and Narbey in the forward ranks. For Hanmer, Robinson, Anderson, and Lumsden played good games.. Conditionspermitting during the shearing operations, a return game is probable.

Hanmer and Waikarl senior cricket teams met on Saturday in competition play on the local pitch, and were favoured with ideal weather conditions. The visitors batted first, and were all out for 88 runs, to which Hanmof replied wjth 149 thus winning by 01 runs. For the winners,' Luinsden' scored 58, Milliken 23, and Forrest 13, and cho bowling honours fell to Lumsden, 6 for 23, Forrest 2 for 21, and Dr. Chisholm one for no runs. F&r Waikari Cook, a boy, scored 29, Withers 19, and Wright sen., 13, and their most successful bowlers were. Cook four for .27, Withers three for 38, and o'Grady one for 29. On Saturday night a party of juveniles gave a concert in tho hall. The party was limited to six in number, and comprised winners at Band of Hope competitions held in Christchurch and other centres, and was under the auspices of the New Zealand Alliance with the approval of the. Christchurch Band of Hope Union. The concert programme consisting of vocal and elocutionary' items, and sketches, was or a high standard and was much appreciated by a large audience. An attentive hearing was given to the manager, m £• McMnrr'ov Pattorsou who, during on interval, spoke on the phases tion surrounding the i M " M, "*, n p "J r lem of the mentally backward in our schools. Tho programme was, taougt to a contusion" with the smging o M*. National • Anthem. T' e Gra^0 " lNison) were: Misses Joyce and t-racw , SWh Browns accompanist, and were the guests of Mr and Mrs H. Glass,

of Hanmer House, during their stay. The party's itinerary includes visits to other North Canterbury townships, and to Kaikoura,.and an endeavour is being mado to form committees in each place visited, to carry on Band of Hope work,'

TAI TAPU. The funeral of the late Mr T. Welsh, farmer, Halswcll, whose death occurred as the result of a motor accident, took place at the Lincoln Cemetery on Sunday afternoon. Mr Welsh'was the only son of the late Mr P. Welsh and Mrs Welsh, of Tai Tapu, and when a boy was educated at the Tai Tapu School. After ieaving school, he took up farming, and at tl.. time of his death was fanning at Halswell The funeral cortege was a very lengthy one, friends from far and near attending. The burial service was conducted at Shnnd's Track Catholic Church by Father O'Haro and at the graveside bv Fathers O'Connor, O'Hare, Doherty, and McKewan. The pall-bearers were. Messrs French, Softi'ks, Fahey. Quinaii C. Rvan, and MeDermott. The chief mourners were.his sisters, Misses Mary, Sarah, and A.-Welsh. Ho leaves a wife and little daughter, for whom the deenest svmpathv is felt. Many beautiful floral tributes covered the casket on the way to its last resting place.

MALVERN DISTRICTS. With the exception of a bitterly cold soii'-wester with .46 inches of rain, and followed by a sharp frost, the weather of the past *week has been warm and sultry, with frequent norwest winds. Cereal crops, which wero unduly retarded, have ripened considerablv. Cats are being harvested, and the curly wheat crops will be ready in ten davs or a fortnight. The people who reaped their hay late fared better than those who reaped in December. Several of the latter, crops were harvested in a very weathered condition. The prospects in general are very bright, and point to ah abundant harvest. .■•'■■• ' Mr Joe Bnker. of Homebush, who has been in indifferent health for some time, is at present in the Christchurch Hospital. Dr. D. McK. Dickson, who was mar;ried recently, has returned to Coalgate, accompanied bv Mrs Dickson. A partv of 24 airls from St. Anne's Home, who are in camp at Whitecliffs,

under camp mother, Mrs j W, Gt Roberts, marched to St. Luke's Church, Glentunnel, on-Sunday evening, "accompanied by Miss Roberts and' Sister Monica. \ Mrs J. Richardson, of Dunedin, is on a visit to Mrs R. Wills Coalgate.