LOCAL NEWS

Grey River Argus, 9 October 1948, Page 4

LOCAL NEWS

The largest gathering of Chinese athletes to assemble in Wellington will meet to-day to compete in a tournamten during the week-end in commemoration of the 37th anniversary of the establishment of the Chinese Republic. Visitors are expected from Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin, and other centres.

The 24 coal trucks which were derailed near Blackball on Monday will be loaded on to timber wagons for transport to Addington workshops to-day. Some are beyond repair, but others will be ready for use within a week. It is feared that the 150 tons of coal from the waggons is beyond salvage.

Club together at the 45’s Tournament, Lyceum Hall, 8 p.m. Monday. Jink!—Advt.

A six-foot shark, weighing 701 b was caught inside the Hokitika River mouth this week. Several have been seen off the West Coast in the past few months and a number have been caught recently from a trawler and used as bait.

The Railways Department is investigating the possibility of establishing a hostel for railway workers in Greymouth. Although 29 huts have been erected in Elmer Lane, the demand for accommodation is a major problem.

Handbags, containing £2B in money, and personal effects, were stolen while four girls from the ballet of the Cecily Courtneige Show were inspecting the summit of Mt. Eden, Auckland. The girls, who were Misses G. Mack and D. Spry, of Sydney, and F. Thompson and L. Wiltshire, of Melbourne. had the articles, including hotel keys stolen from their parked car.

Have you seen Jeff’s now bar? Empire Hotel, Ross.—Advt.

Last week a party of officers of the State Forest Service, Mr J. M. McEwen, of the Maori Affairs Department, and Mr Whautere Witehira, of Hataraua, selected a kauri tree in Puketi State Forest, for conversion into a war canoe for the Ngapuhi people during the Royal visit and a totara was also chosen for carving work. The kauri selected is sft 7in in diameter at breast height and has a clean straight bole 53ft in length. It contains about 12.500 superficial feet of timber. The totara is 4ft 6in in diameter and the bole 37 feet in length. Both trees will be given by the State Forest Service. The canoe will be a sea-going craft with outriggers. It is proposed to use it to welcome H.M.S. Vanguard as the battleship enters the bay. After the Royal visit, it is expected the canoe will then be launched on Lake Omapere.

Since Monday, no further cases of poliomyelitis have been reported from the Greymouth district. Satisfactory progress is being made by the four children now in hospital.

Maggie, meet me at 45’s Tournament, Lyceum Hall, 8 p.m. Monday, Jack.—Advt.

On their way to China, some for good and some on holiday, forty-one Chinese on Thursday left Auckland for Sydney for a Skymaster plane. Some of them are to bring back to New Zealand wives and children.

Although the amount of whitebait caught in South Westland has been insufficient to' provide fishermen with an adequate return, six men employed on the Haast Pass road have left the job to go whitejjaiting. This, according to the resident engineer (Mr A. B. Bremner) was delaying the work. Fair catches were made in the Grey River yesterday, when about 100 nets were out. Prices, however, remain at 4s 6d a pint at retail shops, and 5s on the river bank.

The Trotting Club Pavilion, Victoria Park, is expected to be taxed to the utmost on Monday night on the occasion of the first annual staff ball of Messrs Harley and Co., Ltd. Many people having expressed disappointment at not receiving invitations, all of the requests for which it has not been possible to fulfil, the manager of the firm, on being interviewed, explained that the invitations, which at ’first were limited on account of the size of the hall to eight hundred, were later increased to one thousand in order to meet the requests received. The issuing of invitations, he added, was the privilege of the staff, and it was desired to acquaint the public of the fact that the directorate had not issued any invitations, considering that as a staff function the ball should be under staff control. Proceeds are in aid of the Greymouth Municipal Band for use in contests.

Don’t forget Blackball Labour Party’s Social, Miners’ Hall, 8 o’clock to-night (Saturday).—Advt.

The Chief Postmaster, _ Mr H. C. Rowe, has received advice to _ the effect that 6974 parcels for Britain posted in the Canterbury, Marlbor.Vigh and West Coast districts during the period July 7 to 26, arrived at their destination on October 3. The total weight of the parcel mail, whic.-’ was shipped from Lyttelton by the vessel Vasconia, was j69,3821b5.

Do you have trouble getting to sleep these night, as so many people do 9 But we can help you stop that tossing and turning by providing smooth professionally laundered sheets There’s nothing so restful and refreshing and besides washing and ironing, at home is a back-break-ing job. Let us free you from unnecessary drudgery. Make your ’phone line your clothes line and ring 136. Westland Laundry Ltd. Depot: Sam McAra.—Advt. ’

At the October meeting of the Hokitika Women’s Institute, Mrs Paterson presided over a good attendance, although numerous apologies were received. The secretary read several letters of thanks from England for food parcels. The usual collection was taken up for further parcels. An interesting talk upon a trip abroad was given by Miss Potts, to whom a shoulder spray was presented. Mrs Guthrie demonstrated hair-setting, and Miss Warren, as a hostess, sang a bracket of songs. The roll call, “Beauty Hints” brought a very small number of hints to light. Competitions resulted. —Wandering shilling, Mrs Montagu; best bloom, Mrs Lawrence 1, Mrs Lowther 2; flourbag traycloth, Mrs Gillespie 1, Miss Groufsky 2. The pianist for the evening was Mrs H. Thompson and hostesses were Mesdames McFarlane, Honey, James, Johns, Kidd, King, Keenan, Lynch, Misses E. Knight, Warren, • Wormington.