THE HUNTLY PRESS. PUBLISHED WEEKLY AT 1 P.M. Friday, February 27 1914 Notes and Comments.

Huntly Press and District Gazette, Volume 3, Issue 6, 27 February 1914, Page 2

THE HUNTLY PRESS. PUBLISHED WEEKLY AT 1 P.M. Friday, February 27 1914 Notes and Comments.

Just as water is never apprecirp HE ated until the BRIDGE. t, anks ru . n dr y- u so the services of the punt, unwieldy and slow though it is, are never acknowledged until an accident occurs, and by putting it out of action, makes the transport of goods, cattle, vehicles and horses impossible. Hitherto, accidents to tl.e craft that afforded the only means of transport from one bank of the Waikato to the other, or the falling of the river to such an extent that the ferry service had to be temporarily abandoned, were born a with admirable equanimity. But that was before the bridge had become an accomplished fact. The completion of that fine structure renders the position acute, and, though it is, and has been for some time, open for pedestrian traffic, its presence seems to mock the efforts of those who desire to get their produce to and from the market, as well as those who are obliged to “ let things rip,” because the absence of the approaches, of the eastern one especially, renders the £20,000 i structure comparatively unserviceable. The completed bridge stands solidly between heaven and the surface of the river, while the settler and the stock- ■ driver, in order to cross their . sheep or their cattle, have either to drive them to Rangiriri or to . Ngaruawahia, or take them back . whence they came. It was ex- . pected that the approaches and the bridge would be finished simultaneously; but, although the private contractor for the latter has completed in the most satisfactory manner his portion of the work, the Department are badly behind with the former, so that, from all appearances, it will be months, if not years, before the bridge can subserve the main purpose for which it was erected. The mills of the P.W.D. really grind slowly, if they' do . rind surely. It seems a pity that the rowing THE club which was so i ROWING popular at the time ' PT TTT J of inception that it had over 80 members, should be about to be wound up, especially as it possesses property in the shape ot boats —one of them almost new —-a shed, and the other etceteras required by rowing men —everything in fact, that a club of the kind requires. During the second year of its existence, the membership decreased and, as the years rolled on, kept decreasing until the number necessary for registration as a club could not be made up. The shed now remains unused, while the boats are seldom on the water, with the result that at a meeting heid on Tuesday night it was decided to sell the club's property, and divide the proceeds among various other institutions. This decision has evoked an amount of adverse criticism, and opinion is veering round towards an attempt to resuscitate the club. Every resident would rejoice to see the pristine vigour and enthusiasm revived; and, even at this belated hour, to do so might not prove a Herculean task; but the critics, who were cognisant of the existence of the club, should long ere this have come forward, and by way of showing their interest in this manly sport, it was their obvious duty to help the officials to carry on the work. If the boats and other property of the cinb are not being put to the use for which they were bought, it is

certainly better to devote the proceeds of the sale to useful purposes than to allow the property to go to ruin from lack

of use and supervision. It was to prevent such useless waste that the meeting was called, and decided in the manner indicated.