KOKATAHI NOTES

Hokitika Guardian, 16 September 1926, Page 1

KOKATAHI NOTES

(From a Correspondent)

After a very long and trying winter from tho farmers point of view we are “Rain passing into spring but as usual the wet season has followed which makes it very bad for c-alving season arid owing to the very wet summer and Jong winter the cattle are not in the pink of condition to stand the had weather. 'I he K oka (Jin Dairy Coy. is now collecting cream twice a week that has been running all through the winter. Now the cream is coming in pretty freely the manager was able to turn out 19 boxes of fresh butter which I am sure will be pleasing to the housewife to get some new season's make.

Tho sheet) farmers h'.ivo had very good weather for lambing season and there is a lot of young lambs to be seen anil doing well and I understand a very good percentage has been obtained.

The plough teams are busy on many of the farms ploughing and getting the ground ready for various crops and there will be quite a big area under crop this season. This district is making another step towards progress as twenty of the settlers in Kokatahi are being linked up with tho telephone exchange at Hokitika winch will no doubt ho of great asssistanco to those settlers, so it is to he hoped that the settlers of the Ivoiterangi district will take advantage of the present opportunity that is offering .by the post office department and bo linked up with Hokitika as it would be a great boom, for all the district to he on the exchange.

The pig industry is becoming ,a very important business in this district, thanks to the railway connection with Christchurch which brings us within reach of one. of the best markets in the Dominion. East summer over 80!) pigs wero railed to Christchurch by various settlers in Ibis district and sold' at saisfaclory prices unit it is expected that there will ho over 1000 go to the market this season. Already many of tho settlers have imported pedigree stock for l breeding purposes and intend going in for mere pigs and loss calves. The settlers lust season erected up-tn-dato pig yards at Kokatahi, and also installed a weighing in'u-liine for the convenience of settlers sending pigs away, as they can he weighed alive and loaded and no further trouble.

Tho twenty-seventh annual general meeting of the Kokatahi Dairy Coy. was held in the Public Hall on September 4tli, there being a very large and record attendance of suppliers. The meeting passed off very quietly, the suppliers being of tho unanimous opinion that the directors had done excellent work during the year. The chairman, Mr J. Fleming, during the meeting touched upon the Dairy Control Board and pointed out some of the good work that Pad been done lor the producers of this Dominion in respect to the saving in shipping freight and insurance and he saw no reason why the Dairy Control Board should not be a success, and also recommended that it was to the interest of every supplier to make every effort to help tho Board by sending a first class quality of cream so that their manager would make a superfiinc article for the Dairy Control Board to place upon the London market for sale and so reap tho Ixmcfit of the ’d per lb that is offered as a premium for superfine butter hy VTie Control Ron r l!. "rl : n chairman also informed the meeting tlihit there had been some amendments to the Dairying Act whereby every supplier would he compelled to cool bis cream as it came from the separator and also would be graded at the factory when received. THiis was a matter that the directors of the Ivokatalii Dairy Coy. had been trying to impress upon their suppliers to install a. cream cooler. However, it will ho compulsory since the Act lias boon amended.

The milling industry is also looking up in the Koka tali i district as of late a new and up-to-date sawmill has been erected at Upper Kok'atahi hv dr Higgins and quite a little township has sprung up within a. few months and judging hv the amount of timber carried to Hokitika by' the popular lorry man. Mr A. Naucekivell, I should say that timber orders were not scarce. I ■'understand that Mr Higgins’ mill has enough .timber in sight lor the next fifteen years. The Lawn Tennis Club has of late been making some improvements to their court in the way of enlarging and improving the grounds. The upper Koiterangi residents concluded their fortnightly euchre and dance last Tuesday evening with a Bachelors Ball which was very largely n itended. The bachelors wont to no end of work towards making the dance •t, success. The decorations looked exceedingly well in the new and up-to-date hall. The floor was m good hum for dancing and . the merry crowd danced to the early hours oI the morning and pronounced the hall ■ „ reat success. No doubt there would be a few proposals through the evening.