Otaki and District

Horowhenua Chronicle, 25 June 1915, Page 3

Otaki and District

(News Items from Otaki Mail.)

The Otaki gift auction was a very great success in every way. There was a gool attendance, and the large and varied assortment of gifts, ranging from a threepenny bit to several good lines of sheep, horses and cattle, which sold readily under the hammer. Many articles were sold and re-sold several times. The takings totalled the handsome sum of between £220 and £230. During an interval at the boxing contests lost night. Mr T. Young, auctioneer, offered several articles for sale for the Wounded Soldiers' Fund. Kidding was not spirited, and very little was sold, the attdience being more anxious for the boxing than for purchasing. Manakau has further contributed to the Hospital Ship as follows: — Per Mrs Thomas Uevan : Schoolchildren's holiday denial 'fund 1-ls (kl, Mrs J. H. Staples £1 Is, and little Miss Edna 'Hill 3d. The above has been forwarded to the Under-Sec re tary for Internal Affairs Wellington. A "patrotic goat" clothed in a painted cover, was offered at the gift auction at Otaki yesterday afternoon, and wjus instrumental in. augmenting the ,'een Carnival Fund very considerably was put up time after time, and 'realised no less than £9 ss, when 't was ultimately handed back to the donor, a son of Mr Westawav, of Te Horo. Aftenyards a guessing competition was induged in as to the weight of the goat. This was won by Mr T. McDonald, who had to pay 5s for the privilege of being declared the winner. His prize (an ornament) was then put up and disposed of several times, fetching another £2. Thus altogether the goat was responsible for a sum of about £12 being raised. During the hearing of a Court ifction Constable Satherley referred to the number of young men who did nothing hut hang round hotels, but against whom ho could not lay a charge of vagrancy. Many, however, were suspected of wholesale thefts of poultry, anil he hoped to bring some to justice at an early date. One publican, where a liumbor of natives loitered, lost practically 'every fowl he possessed. Considerable fun was provided at the gift auction at Otaki by Mrs Falloon of Waitoliu Valley, offering her baby for sale. The balby which reposed comfortably in the auctioneer's arms was sold time after time, realising £5 in all and was then handed back to its mother. This balby. by the way, won the first prize at the baby show at Otaki last Saturday, for the heaviest baby, turning the scale at 341ibs. At Otaki golf-links, while playing for the captain's prize on -Saturday, Tonihi again put up a record round. From the scratch mark he was 2 upon bogey. He will now join the small band of plus golfers, of which there are only about six in the Dominion. Trooper Fred. Kenr, evidently the smart little half-back of the old Otaki Football Club, and a prominent boxer, has died of wounds received at the Dardanelles. Kerr resided for some time at Hautere Cross, during which time he took a prominent part n various sports. He was plucky, keen and clever, and a favov rite v ith all.