THE Hauraki Plains Gazette With which is incorporated THE OHINEMURI GAZETTE. Motto Public Service. MONDAY, WEDNESDAY, & FRIDAY. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 18, 1928. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXIX, Issue 5228, 18 January 1928, Page 2

THE Hauraki Plains Gazette With which is incorporated THE OHINEMURI GAZETTE. Motto Public Service. MONDAY, WEDNESDAY, & FRIDAY. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 18, 1928. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

After having had no rain locally since December'' 29,' 1927, on which date the fall was only .19 of an inch, there was a very light shower of a few moments’ duration shortly before midnight last night. During the last three days there has been no change in the barometer, and at 9.30 this morning the reading was 29.9.

Tlie New Zealand Rail, ways Department has accepted a tender for the supply of three big Garratt articulated: locomotives, which will be the most up-to-date, and one of the most powerful typejs used on any 3ft 6in gauge in the world. They are intended primarily for use on the central section of the North Island ’Main Trunk line.

Billiard enthusiasts will be pleased to learn that Mr Clark McCbnachy, the New Zealand professional billiard champion while; in Paeroa on Monday last made arrangements to give an exhibition of his skill at an early date at the Central Billiard Saloon, Theatre. Buildings.*

This morning the contractor (Mr W. N. Chamberlain) made a sjtart with the concrete work in connection with the erection of. the new municipal baths. The work has been commenced with the floor at the 9ft., or deep e-nd ofi' the baths. The total area available as a floor, ankl to be concreted measures 100 ft by 40ft. In addition to the opening for the main drain from the baths provision has to be made f°r several smaller drains or veints. It is estimated that 40 tons of cement, and about 180 cubic yards, of metal will be required for the job.

An ambitious project to establish a 12-storeyed hotel in the centre of Auckland, involving capital, of £200,000, has collapsed owing to the failure of the promoters to secure capital from Australia when appealed to, wheni local, subscriptions proved, in-, sufficient. The owners propose to subdivide the site fo : r sale.

A party of about 100 Canadians will arrive at Auckland on August 13 by the Niagara, from Vancouver on their way to the Eucharist Congress at Sydney, which begins early in Sfeptember. This party will disembark at Auckland, and special arrangements will be made for them to visit Rotorua, Wairakei, Waitpmo Caves, and Napier.

“The unemployment dole in England is, not a dole,” said a speaker at . a meeting of unemployed in Wanganui. “I have only recently arrived in New Zealand and I have paid towards the dole for years. Workers and employers pay into a fund, and. when the worker draws money out he is only taking what he Jjas put away for a rainy day.”

The question why Wartganui exceeds Invercargill in population has again been raised (says the Southland Daily News). The explanation is simple. Practically all the business from the back country of Wanganui is centred in that town. It has no inland centres to ; compare in regard to business blocks and residential. quarters, with Winton, Otautau, Wyndham, and Gore, and the seaside towns of. Bluff and Riverton, ntot to mention Orepuki, Tautapere, Lumsden, and other smaller townships. Southland’s trade is distributed over all these towns. If it centred in Invercargill, as is. the case with Wanganui, then the population of Southland’s capital would materially exceed that of its northern rival, anid it would easily become the “fifth city in the, Dominion.”

Tlie first meeting this year of the Paeroa, Borough Council 's to be held

to-morrow night. A special meeting will also be held to declare the statutory half-holiday for the borough for the ensuing twelve months.

A flounder was brought into Thames on Monday by one of the boats which, while it does not comstitute a record, is at least worthy -of mention, as regards,' its size. It measured 19% inches long by 10% inches wide, and weighed 4%1b when cleaned.

A start was made this morning by the borough workmen on the bituminising of the first six chains of Te Aroha Road. Tlie work is being commenced just beyond where the approach to the new traffic bridge will come, and is to be continued to the borough boundary, near the railway line. Given good weather, it is hoped to have the total length completed in about a week’s time.

An interested visitor to Paeroa at present is Mr F. C. Thomas, of Papatoetoe. Mr Thomas, who .w'as in business at Paeroa for eleven years, and who left here nearly six years ago, expressed .his pleasure at seeing the solid progress the town was, making. He particularly referred to the fine type of buildings which now graced tho main street, and paid a tribute to tlie Mayor for his work in connection with the putting down of tlie bitunien-sea 1 exl streets.

The fire? which commenced tn the Awa’iti some time ago has now spread westward as far as the Piako River and is working southward beyond Patetonga and eastward towards Tiroliia on long fronts. During the last few days hundreds of acres of scrub south of the Elstow canal on the boundary of tlie Kerepeehi block have been burnt, but no damage has. been done. On. Tuesday it was feared that the fire might cross the Piako River, and Lands Department workmen were sent to investigate and check it if necessary. It was found that there was no danger. The denseiiessof the smoke was such yesterday that the dairy company’s launchmen could not see the bows of their boats and ran into the bank on several occasions.

The work of bituminising Thames Road from Normanby Road to the borough boundary wag completed yesterday , afternoon by the; borough workmen. The total distance bituminlised is approximately one and a quarter miles, and is the largest undertaking of its kind carried out by tlie council to date. Aided by favourable weatfiesr, and under the personal supervision of the Mayoi - (Mr W. Marshall), a splendid job appears to have been done in record time. The whole of the new work is now available for traffic, and motorists appear to greatly enjoy the run over the smooth and level surface.

At all points of the compass a dull red glow appeared in the sky at Paeroa last night, the cause being bush and swamp fires. In the east, particularly, a large bush fire appeared to light up a considerable area of the hills. The stiff easterly wind which prevailed yesterday was no doubt largely responsible for the increase in the fire area.

The new registration number plates for motor cars have been received by the local postmaster, Mr P. Jaspers. The plates., which are numbered from 24,901 to 25,200, will be available to motorists after February 1 next. -

A new and labour-saving means of clearing the grass which so quickly and luxuriantly grows along the sides of most of the Invercargill streets is now being tried out, and appears to be; .working excellently (states the Southland Times). Formerly a gang of men would work laboriously down the. street with shovel and. grubber at the rate of a block or t.wp a day. N p w the tractor road leveller simply forces its way along the side of the rbad and the flanks of th« road are shorn clean. All that remains, to be done is to shovel the debris into the waiting carts.

There are; 1800 returned soldiers’ homes in Christchurch, and a total °f nearly 2000 in Canterbury, in which the State is the mortgagee under the advances to koldiers scheme (states the “Sun”). The Governmeint is liberal in dealing with men who find it hard to keep up payments, but.inevitably some house properties come back on its hands, there being a number in that position at present. Usually the man who makes little effort to keep up payments also neglects the property, and most cases of foreclosure have really been forced on the Government in order to protect its security. Before submitting such properties to auction repdirs are effected. Returned men can buy such houses by taking over the old mortgage, but 'other purchasers have to accept a new mortgage at the same rate of interest as under the Advances to Settlers Act.

About 20,000 sheep are now on the road from Poverty Bay to the Waikato and Bay of Plenty districts. A line of 800 ewes xvas landed at Tauranga this week from thei steamer Mako, and is being being driven across the Kaimai. These ewes are for a Tirau farmer.

The largest motor-bus in all the world has just appeared upon the streets of London!, like some invention out of a tale by Jules Verne. It is made of aluminium, and it has two decks and six wheels.. For the comfort of the passengers, and to lessen the wear and tear of the streets, the usual solid tyres 'have been discarded in favour of pneumatics, and the upper deck of the ’bus is covered in to protect the occupants from the ram. There are seats on the two decks for 66 people ( , an/d the vehicle is long. It is beiing tested now with another huge ’bus some four inches shorter and made of steel. Whichever of the twin mobsters proves to be the most reliable will be selected as a model for a fleet of others to ease the traffic problem on the streets of London.