THE Hauraki Plains Gazette With which is incorporated THE OHINEMURI GAZETTE. Motto Public Service. MONDAY, WEDNESDAY, & FRIDAY. WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 1927. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 5219, 21 December 1927, Page 2

THE Hauraki Plains Gazette With which is incorporated THE OHINEMURI GAZETTE. Motto Public Service. MONDAY, WEDNESDAY, & FRIDAY. WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 1927. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

On Friday evening last the mem-, bers of Loyal Jubilee Lodge, led' by Sister E. E. Fieemap, N.GI, and Bro. J. M. Fox, P.G., a complimentary tea to the childreir of Paeroa Oddfellows. Despite./ the wet evening about 35 children and a number of parents attended' at the Centenary Hall. After the children had done full justice] to the good things provided, a number of games were played and competitions held. During the evening a real live Santa Claus arrived apd was. affectionately greeted by the little ones, many of] whom eyed him wondrously. After a chat with the children Santa Claus distributed a toy to each child from a beautiful Christmas tree that had been decorated by Sisters Freeman, Taylor and Berte'lsen.

Au .announcement appears else-, where in these columns notifying that from January 1 the firm of! Messrs W. Fleming and Son, Ltd., will carry the mails to and from Paeroa, Ngatea, Kerepeehi, and Netherton. They also notify a reduction in the fares. An up-to-date passenger bus will be placed in the service, and orders for goods handed to the driver will be delivered free; of charge the same day.

For a vacancy recently filled on the staff of, the Levin District High School there were no fewer than 50 applicants.

“This by-law is not generally known, is it ?” Queried His Worship, Mr Wyvern Wilson, S.M., in the Hamilton Magistrate’s Court, in ordering Thomas Tasker to pay costs 10s. Defendant, while sheep were crossing the traffic bridge, drove his lorry on to the, bridge, whereas he should have pulled up at the approach to the bridge and waited for the sheep to cross.

A fair amount of support is being accorded the co-operative pig-market-ing scheme on the Hauraki Plains, and now that the systepi is working smoothly large numbers of pigs are being handled weekly. By uniting into one group the districts of Ngatea, Waitakaruru, Pipiroa, and Kopuarahi, regular loads of pigs can be obtained. Over 150 jvere sent away by this group last week. The system whereby the cartage contractor bears the risk of 'loss between the farms and the railway is now generally recognized throughout the area as sounder than the association’s' insurance scheme.

The closing of the business-places in Paei-pa this afternoon without giving the outside Public ' notice was severely criticised by a-number of settlers who came in spec’ally to do their Christmas shopping.

On Monday afternoon Santa Claus paid a visit to the Paeroa District High School, where he was warmly received by the headmaster (Mr Gu H. Taylor). The visitor was later conducted to the infants’ school, where, with the assistance, of Miss K. O’Grady, infant mistress, lie distributed a toy to each child. A huge ChrisU mas tree was provided, unbeknown to the children, and on opening the large folding doors their surprise and delight to see Santa Claus tying the last of the gifts on to thq tree can better be imagined than described.

Firebliglit has appeared on fruittrees owned by several settlers nqar Ngatea. the blight was first noticed some weeks ago, samples of affected branches jvere forwarded to the orchard inspector, who .at first expressed a doubt as to it being fireblight, but later confirmed the suspicions of the fruit grower. However, beyond advising him by telephone to cUt off all affected branches, no action has been taken, and it is possible that the blight is rampa t, without the owners of the trees being aware of its existence.

There has, been some controversy latojly concerning who is to have the honour of having growai the largest mushroom on liis farm (states an exchange). Recently Inglewood claimed the championship of New Zealand with a mushroom 9in. in diameter, and 28in. in circumference, with a stalk 6in. long and 3%in. in circumference. Following this came a claim from Cheviot ; Circumference 33in., diameter at widest part 12in., at narrowest part Ilin., stem 9in. in circumference:, and 3%in. in diameter. Mr R. W. Gainsford, of Cave, left at the Timaru “Herald” Office a mushroom which in circumference measured 36in. Its diameter is 12in., length of stem 7in., circumference of stem 9%in., and diameter of stem 3%im

A resident of Timaru .who had possessed, for a good many years:, a picture of which the owner was not greatly enamoured, was persuaded by a friend to send it to Christie’s (London) for sale (says the “Herald”). The; owner did this:, and had . the pleasure of receiving, in return, a cheque for £5OOO, the picture having proved to be a genuine Rembrandt. Another resident of Timaru, in the hope of meeting similar good fortune, also sent a picture of considerable age and merit, to Christie’s for sale, but in this case, instead of a cheque for a substantial amount being received, the owner . received a debit for costs incurred in connection with thq sale.

Pleasure at the improvemeint in the standard of tennis shown on the Hauraki Plains was expressed by Mr E. WGriffiths, of the Auckland team which visited Ngatea op. Saturday when replying to the welcome extended by Mr E. L. Walton on behalf of the Hauraki Plains Tennis Association. Mr Griffiths) also expressed pleasure at seeing the improvements in the courts of the Ngatea club since his previous visit .and mentioned that chip courts were the coming type in most countries of the world. The Davis Cup matches in France would be played on chip courts for the first time this year. Grass made the ideal court, but where this was not possible; chips or sand courts were the best, provid-, ed ample water was available in the summer months.

Auckland Cup candidates figure prominently in this week’s illustrations in the “N.Z. Sporting and Review,” forming an outstanding source of interest. Snapshots of the Waipa Racing Club’s meeting at Te Awamutu •. .o form an interesting series. Tita centre pages depict outdoor sport in different lands Mussolini and Ut. fnllcwi u, hunting season in Ireland. Of New Zealatiil interest are the series of snaps devoted to the disastrous timber mill fire, and scenes at the Parnell swimming baths. The stage and motion picture sections have their customary selection of bright and attractive photos, featuring scenes from “Rose Marie” and “Ben Hur.” The overseas section is also of exceptional merit.