UPPER GREY VALLEY.

Greymouth Evening Star, Volume XXXI, 26 February 1901, Page 4

UPPER GREY VALLEY.

[our own correspondent.]

The necessity of saying something, the lack of something to say, and the desire of saying it in an interesting manner, are considerations which have given pause to much more facile correspondents than Your Own. Besides, I should hesitate to plead lack of matter to write about, for I have a vivid recollection of an able editor having pointed out to his country correspondent that in every little hamlet and district there wore wrongs to be righted, grievances to be redressed, and wants to be drawn attention to, Therefore, give ear, ray brethren! A Want.

Our railways have been so liberalised and traffic arrangements so improved lately, that it seems almost churlish to advocate a still further concession to the travelling public. However, the want I refer to is so decidedly a case of the appetite’s growing by what it feeds on, that my drawing attention to it may be taken as a compliment to the powers that be. I allude to the feeling all along the Valley in favour of an early up-train on Monday mornings. Under the present arrangements it is easy for dredgehands, borers, builders, et hoc genus, to get to the metropolis of the Coast after work on Saturday; but, unfortunately, no return is possible before Monday night, which means the loss of a day’s work, and is consequently not to be thought of. I am well within the mark when I say that I know of dozens of men with sweethearts or wives in Greymouth who would gladly take advantage of a Monday morning train. It may be said that the Monday up-train was not well patronized when it ran in former days. Ido not know whether such is the case or not, but, as a matter of fact, the circumstances arc now so different that such an argument has no force. Until lately there was no down-train on Saturday night, and the former up-train on Monday left at 10 a.m. instead of 7 a.m. as some of them do now. Besides, fares are now so cheap that a run to Greymouth is no longer an affair to be thought over for weeks before, but a case of “On with a boiled rag and off we go.” If the business people of Greymouth only realised what money would bo sment in town on Saturday night, and if Greymouth parsons knew how full their churches would be on Sundays if the up-train were run, they would wait on the Traffic Manager en masse. In a railway carriage; on Friday evening, I heard a young lady teacher asking the comparative degree of scrumptious. “ Because,” she said, “ its scrumptious to be able to get to Greymouth after school on Friday; but what would it be if we could stay in town till morning! ” Seriously speaking, the matter is one which deserves consideration as it affects a great many people both in Valley and town.

The Totara Mill. Mr Bowater’s sawmill at Ikamatua began operation about a week a"o, having been erected in a wonderfully short time. At the opening ceremony a largo number of visitors from Eccfton were present when Miss Bowater named the mill the Totara. The visitors were well looked after by the proprietor and appeared to thoroughly enjoy themselves. In his enterprise, Mr Bowater has the good wishes of every one here, A Successful Launch.

Glorious weather prevailing, and no other inducements offering, your correspondent on the 24th journeyed to see the launch of the Grey Consolidated pontoons. Unfortunately the ship was in too great a hurry to reach her future clement, and when the largo number of visitors arrived at 2 o’clock she was quietly floating on the water. However, beyond being a little “ to previous,” the launch was a splendid one and reflects the highest credit on Mr. J. Hudson who superintended it. After the main brace had been spliced, your correspondent closely inspected the hold and found not the slightest sign of a leak, a fact which must be very gratifying to the foreman builder, Mr. Weaver. lam not going to attend any more of Mr. Jay’s launches—they are too successful. Ericksons, Sullivans, Garibaldi and Consolidated—not a single accident to cause a little extra excitement.

Monkey Puzzle. At Mr. Maoklcy’s beautiful homestead there is the finest specimen of a monkeypuzzle (Auracaria imbrocala) to bo rcon in New Zealand. The tree is fully 32 feet high, and perfectly symmetrical from the ground to the topmost bough. It is about 20 years old.

The Waipuna Dredge. Thanks to the energy of Mr. Decring and a.liberal dose of overtime, the Waipuna is ready to start again to-day, Monday. A complete overhaul has been made, the repairs considerably exceeding what wore anticipated. Among other wear and tear it was found that the top tumbler had been completely rounded at the edges. This necessitated its being sent to Grey mouth Foundry to have bands of steel bolted on. Mr. Docring seems now confident that the dredge is O.K.

Broad Tyres. Striking improvement in the state of the roads in this district has been made by the County Council’s enforcement of broad tyres. Instead of ruts wo now have bicycle trades. Harvesting. The harvesting of oats for chaff is now in full swing. Taken on the whole, the harvest is not a particularly good one. Apples, also, are scarcer this year than for many years past, the Northern Spy being the only successful kind.

Great Lead. This company’s pontoons still occupy a commanding position on the bank of the river and form a splendid monument of the slows! It would be interesting to us country bumpkins, far from registered companies’ lists, to know bow much of this syndicate’s capital has been called up, and how much will be further called up before the directors get a move on.