THE Hauraki Plains Gazette With which is incorporated THE OHINEMURI GAZETTE. Motto : Public Service. MONDAY, WEDNESDAY, & FRIDAY. FRIDAY, JANUARY 8, 1926. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXVII, Issue 4923, 8 January 1926, Page 2

THE Hauraki Plains Gazette With which is incorporated THE OHINEMURI GAZETTE. Motto : Public Service. MONDAY, WEDNESDAY, & FRIDAY. FRIDAY, JANUARY 8, 1926. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

To-day marks the tenth anniversary of the .withdrawal, of troops from the Gallipoli .Peninsula,

Superintendent Hendry, Auckland, \>nd Inspector Wohlm ( ann, Hamilton, of the Police Department, are at present making the annual inspection of the police stations in the province, and arrived at Paeroa yesterday morning. The officers expressed satisfaction with the work of tt'e officer in charge of the local station during the past twelve months. From Paeroa the party proceeded to T« Aroha.

The standard of safety of life a,tsea, so far as the use of wireless is, concerned, is not lowered by the new regulations which came into effect bn January 1, but in the opinion of the Minister of Marine (Hon. G. J. Anderson) they represent the highest standard in the world, as '’the provisions, embrace every ship which has 25 persons on board, whether they be crew or crew plus the number of passengers the ship is authorised to carry.

Knox College, Dunedin, the theological, hall of the Presbyterian Church of New Zealand, is just now in recess. The opportunity has, therefore, been taken by the Paeroa Presbyterian Church session to secure the services of Mr Rossi for .the next few Sundays. Mr Ross is regarded as. one of the Church’s ablest students, and will, be warmly welcoiined to Paeroa. Church services will be held at 11 a m. and 7 p.m.*

Mr Philip Williamson, of Whangamata, has sustained a serious loss by the destruction by lire of a plantation of 28,000 pinus insignia upofii his property in the Whangamata township. The trees, were quite young, and formed the nucleus of a plantation oft a. large scale which Mr Williamson intended to establish. The fire also destroyed a nursery adjoining. The origin is a mystery, but as a girdle of scrub and fern surrounded the pine area this is probably where the outbreak occurred.

Exciting contests at Ellerslie on Boxing Day and New Year’s Day form a remarkably interesting portion of the illustrations in this week’s issue of the “N.Z. Sporting and Dramatic Review,” while the Auckland Trotting Club's meeting at Alexandra Park is allotted generous space. Glimpses of Albert Park make up a picturesque page, and portraits of Maoris at Rotorua and Ngaruawabia also appear in artistic setting. Outdoor sport in England and America occupy .the fine centre pages, and miscellaneous subjects, are chosen with their usual exclusiveness. The stage and motion picture worlds are . specially active with striking portraits, and the whole forms a highly desirable afterholiday number.

Weather permitting, the Brenan Memorial Shield competition will be continued by the members of the Paeroa Bowling Club to-morrow afternoon.

The Ngatea Factory Tennis Club opened its courts for the season in the presence of a large number of vis.iting players on Tuesday last.

Out of 4 2 applications for the position of assistant town clerk at TO Aroha Mr J. Cumming, a clerk in the Te Aroha post office, was the successful applicant.

The concrete foundations for the new municipal offices in Normanby Road were completed yesterday, and a start has been made with the erection of the outside walls.

Ratepayers are reminded that Monday, at 4 p.ni., is the las.t day on which borough rates can be paid without incurring the ten per cent, penalty.

A reminder is given of the railway excursion from Te Aroha to Waihi which is to be run on Sunday. The special train leaves-Te Aroha at 8 am., and on the return journey leaves Waihi at 5.30 p-m. Children under 12 will be conveyed on both train and bus at fcalf rates.

The six occupants of a Ford motorcar, which was being driven along Hauraki Road, Turua, on Monday last, had. a miraculous escape from injury when, in endeavouring to dodge a dog, the car was overturned into the roadside drain near the saleyards. The car was extensively damaged, but the occupants were uninjured.'

Wellington’s, municipal, milk depot sold £1375 worth of cream in Christmas week, eaten mostly to 1 the accompaniment of Auckland strawberries, which soared in price from Is 8d to 3s 3d a punpet on Christmas Eve. The cream was extracted from 13,750 gallons of milk, equal: to the full city milk supply for 3% days.

With the continuance p£ the present dry spell of weather .the local water supplv is causing the authorities some concern. The Mayor i(Mr W. Marshall) and the borough foreman, have paid several visits to the reservoir, and the position is being carefully watched. Consumers are notified by advertisement in this issue that conservation of water at this juncture is of the greatest importance for the safety of the town.

Work pn the Ngatea Tennis Club’s courts is still at ai standstill on account of the impossibility of obtaining supplies of metal chips.

The warrant for the Te Aroha traffic bridge has been received by the Borough Council. It gives the council. sole control, and apportions the cost as, follows : Borough, 79 per cent.; Piako County Council, 30 per cent.

.What is, considered to be the "star” property of the North Island comprises 9000 acres. It carried 19,800 sheep last year, of which 3000 were breeding ewes, and aljo 2000 head of cattle. The whole of the adult sheep clipped an average of 111 b of wool. The property is situated in tlie Pbrangaiiau district. I’t certainly takes beating.

Some indication of the volume of tlie motor traffic through Taupo during the holiday season may be gained from tlie fact that one oil dealer alone sold 560 gallons, of benzine in five days.

A cablegram received by Dalgety and Co., Ltd., from their London house in connection with wool sales, states that the list of arrivals will be closed at 4 p.m. on the Bth day preceding the opening of the series. The quantity available for the next series, including old stocks, is estimated at 180,000 bales.

Tlie fact that New Plymouth, with a population of about) 16,000, had six bowling greens constituted a record for the population, s,aid Mr L. Husband, captain of the Scottish section of the visiting British bowling team, at the civic reception at New Plymouth on Saturday night (states the “Daily News”). In his home town, with a population of 40,0'00, there were eight greens. The annual subscription/ of four of the clubs was 5s per annum.

The Hauraki Plains Tennis Association’s inter-club competitions will be continued on Saturday next. Patetonga and Kaihere will meet at Patetonga,, Kerepeehi and Tuma “A” grade at Turua, “B” grade at .Kerepeehi, and Waitakaruru and Hopai *“A” grade ,at Waitakaruru. If the Hopai club can get a “B” grade team a match will be played against Waitakaruru at Hopai. A

A Maori at Jerusalem, up-river, was lined £lO and costs for cruelty to a horse and pig (states the Wanganui Herald). It was alleged that he had ridden a horse to Raetihi, and througn the absence of stuffing in the saddle the tree had penetrated the horse’s, back and caused, a. wound. The story of the pig was that this animal had been tethered in the pah by a piece of wire, and the dogs, of the vicinity were allowed to make occasional visits and take a piece out of .the animal. It was found to be minus its ears and a portion of the hindquarter.

The January meeting of the Turua Town Board, which was held bn Tuesday last, was of short duration- The chairman, Mr J. Mules, presided over a full attendance. An alteration in the conditions of the bitumen roads contract wag authorised. Mr Conway, the N-Z. Roads, Co.’s foreman, attended the meeting, and it was agreed that the Turua end of Piako Roa<s should be completed first, and that it be left in first-class order by tlie coiltractors on the completion of the rest of the road. The bitumen will be spread over the whole of the 14ft of metal comprising .the road and shoulders. Indignation was expressed that the notice boards restricting the speed of motor vehicles, ordered several months ago, had not been placed in position, and the chairman was authorised to obtain notices from another source and have them erected as soon as possible.