THE Hauraki Plains Gazette With which is incorporated THE OHINEMURI GAZETTE. Motto : Public Service. MONDAY. WEDNESDAY. & FRIDAY. FRIDAY, JULY 25, 1924. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXV, Issue 4729, 25 July 1924, Page 2

THE Hauraki Plains Gazette With which is incorporated THE OHINEMURI GAZETTE. Motto : Public Service. MONDAY. WEDNESDAY. & FRIDAY. FRIDAY, JULY 25, 1924. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Tiinbe’r for the Waitakaruru church has arrived and is being carted to the church site.

Small birds on many parts pf the Plains have been noticed building nests. This is recognised as an indication of an early spring. The Thames Valley Power Board’s electric power poles have now been erected as far as Waitakaruru and a stait lias been made with the erection of the wires. A sum of £26,455 having already been expended by the New Zealand Government on account of the British Empire Exhibition, the Department of Industries and Commerce provides an additional £50,000. The construction of the WaihiAtbenree section of the East Coast railway irs rapidly nearing completion, and, according to a published report, the rails will be at Athenree in six weeks' time. The Kopuarahi school was officially opened by Mr A. Burns, deputy-chair-man of the Auckland Education Board last Tuesday. There was a large gathering of residents of the district, and a pleasant afternoon was spent. A dance was held in the school in the evening. Some time ago the Thames Harbour Board deieded to have the Turua wharf redecked to counteract any permanent damage being done by the cartage of metal/' However, only a few longitudinal planks were laid where vehicles usually travel, and these tended to make it difficult for vehicles to turn. On this being demonstrated to the board instructions were given to have the whole surface covered, and the timber arrived on Tuesday last. Woods’ Great Peppermint Cure. For Coughs and Colds, never fails

A vsiit to the Dunedin store wherein rabbit skins are laid out for fortnightly sales gives a vivid impression as to the importance of this trade. In Brydcne Hall, for instance, about 35 tons of skins are lying in graded heaps, the total value being estimated as the best part of £20,000, and this only a fortnight’s accumulation. Skins come to Dunedin from all parts of New Zealand. Every skin has to be sepalately handled for grading, and there may be 40 grades in one bag.

The Kopuarahi school building, which was officially opened by Mr A. Burns, of. the Auckland Education Board on Tuesday last, is undoubtedly a credit to. the district, as for its size it is probably one o ft he best designed and equipped schools in the country. The Education Board authorised a structure of the most modern design, and the settlers of the dlali'lct ua'.sed sufficient funds for ft'illier improvements. An active interest In .school matters is much appreciated by the Education Board and the Department, and when this is accompanied by voluntary labour and subscript:ons from residents, as at Kopuarahi, the school invariably gets belter treatment than those where no spirit of self-helf prevails.

The British Empire Exhibition at Wembley, which was opened in May last by His Majesty the King, affords striking proof of the Empire’s means of self-support without recourse to foreign countries, states the “Budget ’’ Some disappointment has been expressed with the exhibits in the New Zealand Court. Apparently the Exhibition was opened before the buildings were completed and before all the Dominion exhibits had arrived. Great improvements have since been effected in our court, and recent visitors have expressed themselves as being very favourably impressed, especially with reagrd to the excellence of the display of refrigerated products. The New Zealtnd Court is now thoroughly representtative of our most important industries, and no effort is being spared to see that New Zea-land’s-display is worthy of the Dominion.

The Budget states, that the various land reclamation projects under construction in New Zealand have been energetically prosecuted throughout the year, and with the aid of the recently imported excavating machinery much work has been accomplished. On the Hauraki Plains some 43,000 acres have been reclaimed and settled in small areas. This settlement has been, as a whole, most successful, and now comprises one of. the most prosperous dairying centres in the Dominion. The capital value of the reclaimed portion of the Plains to-day is in the vicinity of £2,000,000

The amount raised by the Government during the past year for the Waihou and Ohinemuri Rivers Improvement Scheme was £60,000, and for the Hauraki Plains Settlement Account £BO,OOO. The total of the Public Debt of the Dominion is £208,642,333.

Of distinctive note is this week’s itssue of the “N.Z. Sporting and Dramatic Review,” its wide variety of illustrations calculating tp appeal to all sections of the community. It is an admirable number to send to overseas friends, as it gives an excellent idea of the manner in which sport is catered for in New Zealand. Snapshots of the big Rugby test match in Sydney will be attentively perused, and a. unique feature is the Chinese Soccer football team, showing the players and various points of the game in progress in Wellington. The Wellington Colts v. Bush districts is also of interest, while another match shown is Ponsonby v. Grammar at Eden Park. The centre pages are of topical happenings and social events in England and America, while the other overseas pictures cover a wide held. The concluding day of the Wellington Racing Club’s meeting is represented, and boxing has its own niche.