Local.

Huntly Press and District Gazette, Volume 3, Issue 6, 29 May 1914, Page 2

Local.

■| & \ ,. ~ . !; 1 , ■. ■ Ml 1 . : nHHi > ■HHBii RHrBH"I’'. HB HBHHBB !'-i. i the appearance of the street during the day the number of unemployed appears to be unusally large. The only accident that occurred in the mines during the past week was that which happened to Mr Oliver Redshaw whose right eye was injured. At the beginning of the week severe frosts were experienced locally, and, though cold, the weather was a marked contrast to the rain, hail and high winds that had been prevalent previously. The encroachment of the sand-bank on the course traversed by the punt put the service out of action at the beginning of the week. On the removal of the sand on Monday morning, the service was resumed. The passage way still requires constant attention. A considerable number of men from Reefton and Hikurangi arrived in Huntly on Monday and Tuesday in search of work in the mines or on the construction work being done in connection with the Huntly — Awaroa railway. Mr J. Elliot held a highly successful sale last Saturday when a large qa mtily of household furniture was disposed of at reasonable prices. First class dessert apples were in great demand and sold readily, though the same cannot be said of the second class lots offered ; pumpkins and onions sold well, and all the potatoes offered were cleared. Fowls brought 2/ld, each.

Shooting on the west side of the river on Wednesday, Messrs F. Littleproud and L. Brockw;ay Rogers secured a fair mixed bag which included a brace of ? pheasants, and a number of quail, pukeko and rabbits. The sale of the residential sites r on the Huntly Estate, as held ! in the King’s Hall on Saturday " by Messrs Gould and Hethering- ; i ton did not prove as successful ' as was anticipated. The reserve 1 price not being reached, the ‘ majority of the allotments were 3 withdrawn. i 6 There was a record attendance t at Darbys’ Quadrille Assembly a last week, the accommodation of t the Miners’ Hall being taxed to ;l its utmost. Excellent music s was supplied ,by Miss Fallon 1 and Mr W. Darby, while the ex1, tras were played by Mr F. 7 Farrell, t, ,1 The output from the mines s keeps on increasing, and, owing 3 to the large number of men who t have recently made a start, o should soon reach a record. The r amount paid in wages last “pay” .- day approximated £3500, a sum e which compares favourably with s the pay for the corresponding h fortnight last year. t We have been asked to 1 request our readers to save • - their spare cash for the :, grand Rainbow Fair to be ;- held in the King’s Hall on June i- Bth and 9tb, when, they will n be able to purchase all sorts of li useful and pretty things at d moderate prices, as the usual ul bazaar prices will be avoided, the 3 buyer getting full value for all J moneys expended. A reader, most likely a Scotch ,t one with an eye to a cheap a advertisement, propounds the n following conundrum : “ Why will the Presbyterian Rainbow 0 Fair resemble the Queen of i, Sheba, King Solomon and . Joseph ? ” Life being too short 3 . to solve so complicated a puzzle, . searchers after an answer are 1 referred to the stall-holders. f _ Tickets for the art union in--1 stituted for the purpose of augT menting the funds of the Huntly Athletic Club are now on sale, and can be procured from the ’ secretary (Mr Dixon),or from any t member of the committee. The ’ hand painted pictures and , mirrors offered as prizes, which j- are excellent of their kind, an 1 , which have been judiciously ’ selected, will be on view shortly ’ The annual meeting of house- ) holders called for the purpose of , electing a school committee for the current year having proved ’ abortive, the Board of Education has called for the same purpose another meeting which will be I held in the district school on , the evening of Mm lay, Is:h ' June, when, it is to be hoped, that in the interests of local ( education, there will be a representative attendance. Owing to the small attendance 1 the meeting of the Huntly Parliament which was called for Monday night had to be ad- ; journad. The lack of interest displayed does not augur well for a successful session—a great ’ pity, seeing that the first session was well attended and provided intellectual enjoyment of no mean order-. It is to be hoped that at jyixt meeting the benches will be with eager parliamentarians. On Wednesday morning Mr M, F. McLoad, driver, and Mr T. Robertson, fireman, of the shunting engine, did some q lick work which is worthy of recognition.’ Summoned early in the morning to take Doctors Low and J. C. Macdiarmid t,o tin scene of the railway accident at Whaagamarino, they set to work and Well within an hour had the fires going and sufficient steam ready to commence .lie trip. The engine and truck were held up at Te Kanwhata where the doctors awaited the arrival of the special train in which the injured, under Dr Cheeseman, of Tuakau, were despatched to the Waikato Hospital, Hamilton. A fire that was, fortunately suppressed before much damage was done, broke out in one of the bedrooms in Mrs Albert Green’s Boarding House, William Street, on Friday morning about 1 a.m. One of the boarders, awakened by t e smoke, noticed that the bedding on which a fellow boarder

slept was on fire. Prompt measures were taken, with the result that the fire was confined to the single bed, the mattress and clothes of which were destroyed, while part of the oil cloth on the floor was also damaged. It is conjectured that a spark from the cigarette which was smoked in bed started the fire. The Brass Band, under the baton of Mr G. Millar, gave one of their enjoyable open air concerts at the railway gates on Saturday night, and repeated the programme at Harrisville on Sunday afternoon. The various selections played were highly appreciated, the progress made recently by the Band being very marked. The addition to its ranks of a new cornet and a new trombone player, both of whom are excellent instrumentalists, is a very welcome one, and should make for increased efficiency. At the conclusion of Sunday’s programme, Mr Harris senr, in a few well chosen and graceful words, thanked „the members of the band for their visit to Harrisville, and express; ed the pleasure with which the music had been listened to by himself and the other members of his family.

Owing to a scarcity of, waggons, the Extended (Mine knocked off yesterday at 2 o’clock. The Huntly Post Office will be closed in all branches on Wednesday next, 3rd Jane, The King’s Birthday. All mails usually despatched on Wednesday will close at 10 a. m. The Huntly orchestra, under the conductorship of Mr J. Berry, provided the music for the military bail held at Mercer last Friday nigiit. The music supplied was the theme of the many congratulatory encomiums that were so well deserved. On Wednesday night the orchestra visited Harrisville where the members were accorded that hospitali\y which is characteristic of Mr and Mrs Harris, sanr. To players as well as listeners the evening was of a most enjoyable nature. There are more ducks in China than all the world outside it. They are kept on every farm, on the private road, and on all the lakes, rivers, and smaller streams. There are many boats in which as many as two thousand are kept. Their eggs constitute one of the important articles of food. They are hatched in establishments fitted up for the purpose. Some of these establishments turn out as many as fifty thousand young ducks every year. Salted and smoked ducks are sold in all the towns, and many of them are exported to countries where Chinamen reside. Last Saturday as the auction sale was proceeding at the King’s Hall, a young man, who was a complete stranger to the town, took up a position close to the auctioneer, and demanded some money, stating that refusal would mean the stoppage of the sale. His attitude and language becoming more menacing, Constable Wright was asked to intervene; but as soon as he came in sight the intruder showed his respect for the representative of the law by taking to his heels and doing a sprint that would put many a professional runner to shame.