PROVINCIAL CENTRES

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1063, 28 February 1911, Page 6

PROVINCIAL CENTRES

I (From Our Special Correspondents.) ' • GREYTOWN. -•-■-'.'■ . .. A very severe earthquake.was felt here onrly on Sunday morning. It- commenced, rather quietly, but" increased to a-strong shake, and then gradually died away. Rain has been fairly, continuous for over 21 hours, and will be very beneficia. to the district. The wind that acsompauied tho downpour-has-however blown down standing corn (maize),..and brought the fruit off the trees rather severely. '' .; OTAKI. Rain of a very welcome kind fell hero on Friday and Saturday, 2.35 inches being recorded. This will' prove very beneficial nml, naturally, farmers are very much pleased. On Saturday evening a rather, strange heat wave was also in evidence and, at 7 o'clock, 77deg. F. was registered on tho thermometer. ' Never have tho oldest inhabitants experienced such a thing. Following ,this came 'two shocks of earthquake, a light one at 17 minutes to t a.m., and a. sharper one and ot longer duration almost immediately afterwards. Tho weather: yesterday was delightful—a reil summer day. Thero are still a large number of patients at tho Hospital- and Sanatorium. At. the former institution several cases are regarded as serious. • ■ ~ , Tho Levin bowlers are, for the thirtt time of recent date, challenging Otaki for the Kinniburgh Feathers. - The match will take placs on AVednesdaj, when the local team will consist of Messrs. Brown, Satherley, Stevens, and O'Rourke. Tho levin team will be: Messrs. Pollock, Wilson, Brown; and Palmer. Mrs. Quill and family, who have been on a year's tour of England, Ireland, and America, and elsewhere, returned .to Otaki on Saturday evening greatly pleased with the sights seen in foreign. lands. The Manakau Land Syndicate, which hin from 8000 to 90CO acres of land, is still busy having their property cleared of bush. Hundreds in' njros- have Hen felled, burned, and gatissed, and it is .expected that the whole will be cut into lilocks and sold. , . Mr..M'Bain, headmaster of the Manakau School, has, beon Granted leave' of abssneo on account of indispesition. ;

Another party of : mountaineers,_includinL' Mr. Field, M.P., Messrs. ; Hanlon, Hildreth, and Bird, will, leave toe shortly for the top of ths ranges. They b»lieve that a fine tourist track can be cb'tained at the rear of-Pukchou..

FEATHERSTON. The rain which fell throughout the district on Saturday was exceptionally heavy in certain parts. At Kahutara, according to ft rain-gauge kept by Mr., J. U. Biowill, 5 inches fell in twenty hours, wmle, at the Post Office' here, the record showed that the fall was:4.9B inches. This is almost double that registered for the month of February last-year, viz., 2.63 inches, and, during the whole of. last year, the monthly rainfall,exceeded 5 inches only in. two instances-in June and. July. Several cases of damage to bridges are reportedone on the Western Lake road has been washed away, and- one near Jigeon Bush has been made unfit for .tranic. • The vounj: man, Arnold Ashworth; who was injured in a brake accident last week, is making a rapid recovery.,- • , Mr G. Fenwick, local manager of the Bank of New Zealand, is away m the South Island on a month's lioliday leave. Mr. R. U. Baillie is'relieving him. Mr. H. D. Bedford is.announced to give an address'here on'Masch 7. . •'• .-