THE Hauraki Plains Gazette With which is incorporated THE OHINEMURI GAZETTE. Motto Public Service. MONDAY, WEDNESDAY, & FRIDAY. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 5, 1927. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 5071, 5 January 1927, Page 2

THE Hauraki Plains Gazette With which is incorporated THE OHINEMURI GAZETTE. Motto Public Service. MONDAY, WEDNESDAY, & FRIDAY. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 5, 1927. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Motorists coming through from Tauranga complain very bitterly of t,he stat?, of the main highway between Tauranga and Katikati.

Tenders for the erection of the publican's booth at the racecourse for the Ohinemuri Jockey Club close with the chairman, Mr P. E. Brenan, at five o’clock on Friday next.

Motor traffic through the Hauraki Plains has not been so great during this Christmas and New Year time as in. the previous year. 'This was. no doubt due to weather conditions and the bad state of the road a few miles from Waitakaruru.

Records at Waihi show that during December 10.61 inches of rain fejl, which is nearly double, the average for that month. Nearly 10' inches were recorded from December 22 to 26. The total fall for 1926 was 97.92 inches, compared with an annual average Oi 83.95 inches.

An unusually large number of motor-cars passed through Paeroa during the last ’few days. An interesting study was the weird and wonderful loads stacked on some ctf the cars, clearly showing that the owners were returning to their homes from camping expeditions.

Yesterday the slogan at Paeroa was. “Business as usual.” All the trades.pe.ople re-opened their premises after being closed for the New Year holidays. Generally, yesterday was a busy day, and, contrary to the. usual first day o’f work after holidays, brisk business. was transacted during the day.

A large stingray was caught In a net at Puru Bay on Saturday last by a party of fishermen. The stingray measured 7ft 6in long and sft l%in wide, and had two stings, one 10in long and the other 3in long. It took nine men to haul the. fish up the beach.

The final game in the, Christmas bowling pairs competition was played oh the local green on New Year’s Eve. The game, which was fought out between Morland and Hale (skip) and Perston and Power (skip), was won comfortably by the former by 27 points to 21.

The, Ohinemuri River has been looking- its best during the past ten days. Through mining operations being suspended at Waihi during the holidays the water has been clear and ’freshlooking. Several local residents have been able to indulge in a swim in the Ohinemuri lately, which is something of a novelty these times.

Information has been received that Mr R. L. McClinchy, with the Grebe synchrophone wireless outfit, was successful in picking up Chicago on Monday evening shortly after 7.30 o’clock. He states that the statics were vejy bad, but a musical item could be heard indistinctly by using the-earphones. This constitutes a new wireless record for. Paeroa.

Exceptional interest is attached to this week’s issue of the “N.Z. Sporting and Dramatic Review,” as a pictorial record appears of the. opening of the Auckland Cup meeting at Ellerslie and t.he Auckland Trotting meeting at Alexandra Park. Very artistic are the centre pages, set off with a miscellany of theatrical, sporting, and social celebrities in the Unified States. An outstanding feature is the Royal wedding at Brussels. The Wellington Swimming Centre’s carnival is the subject of a graphic set. of photographs, and other full pages are devoted to Continental dancers, 'fashions, and humour.

The volume of railway traffic has increased during the last couple of days, and with the arrival and departure of each train the scene at the Paeroa station is a busy one. On Monday over 200 passengers 'from Waihi transferred at Paeroa. It is understood that the railway traffic locally has shown a decided decrease compared with corresponding holiday periods.

Whe.n a steamer arrived unexpectedly at Terakohe, near Nelson, recently, and heralded her arrival by vigorous blasts of her whistle, it was little thought that the noise would be the indirect cause o'f saving a man’s life. The whistling aroused a workman, who got up and went to the boat. During his absence a huge stone 'fell from the hill on to his tent, and buried the bed where he had been sleeping.

The. experience of a Wanganui timber firm illustrates the extent to which the motor truck has displaced the railway in small transportation jobs to outlying districts (remarks the Chronicle). Nowadays the. tiny her for nearly every job is delive,red direct to the scene of operations by motor instead o’f to the nearest station by rail, as formerly. Consequently the, clerks do not make out nearly so many freight notes as they did in other years.

Matters generally were very quiet at Paeroa on New Year’s Eve, and nothing untoward happened. Although there was a fair crowd parading the streets during the evening there was nothing like the congestion that was in evidence on Christmas Eve. It is pleasing to record that no arrests were made during the holidays. Constable McClinchy, on being interviewed yesterday, stated that the be*haviour of the crowds was most orderly and a great improvement on previous festive seasons.

When the steamer Carinthia was, at Auckland a large number of people endeavoured to gain admission to the wharf <for a. close-up view, but, the man on duty at the. gate replied to all queries: “No admission !” Time was everything to a young Wanganui reside,nt, who was on a brief visit to Auckland. Waiting by the gate, he saw some of the liner's passengers admitted, and when a lady with a high-pitched voice said “Carinthia” he knew what was a sure password. He made a stragetic retirement from the locality, put on a pair o'f hornrimmed glasses, joined the next party passing through the gate, said “Carinthia,” with nasal intonation, and then had the pleasure of viewing the vessel from the wharf.

In an interview with a Manawatu Standard reporter on his return f lO m South Africa, Mr?. A. McHardy, of Fitzherbert, stated that there were over 6000 lawn tennis courts in and around Johannesburg, all made out of bard material and with an aht-heap covering. Nearly everybody, he mentioned, went about with a lawn tennis racquet,, much in the manner in which golf clubs are carried at St. Andrews,’ “They are O'f the opinion,” Mr McHardy addeff, “that our game of lawn tennis on grass courts must be slow 1 , and that we are out off date, but my reply to this was that we do really play lawn tennis, on beautifully cut lawns, and that. our. best games are played on the grass ; further, that so far we had turned out many first-class players, including one world’s chamnion.