THE Hauraki Plains Gazette With which is incorporated THE OHINEMURI GAZETTE. Motto Public Service. MONDAY. WEDNESDAY. & FRIDAY. WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 29, 1928. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXIX, Issue 5245, 29 February 1928, Page 2

THE Hauraki Plains Gazette With which is incorporated THE OHINEMURI GAZETTE. Motto Public Service. MONDAY. WEDNESDAY. & FRIDAY. WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 29, 1928. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

That the present weather locally is most unseasonable is indicated by the' fact that there, wag. a light frost in various parts of the borough this, morning, followed by a day of bright sunshine.

Despite the unpleasant weather conditions a large number of turf patrons left Paeroa for the Te Aroha races on Monday morning. For about three hours the motor traffic in the main! street was very heavy, and the blinding rain caused the drivers to proceed with caution. Several cars and a large char-a-banc made the trip from Auckland to Te Aroha via Paeroa.

It is pleasing to record the successes gained by locally owned, and trained horses at the Te Aroha Jockey Club’s annual meeting. On Monday High Pitch, owned an<d trained by Mr J. Irwin, Paeroa, won tlie Tourist Handicap, of £2OO, seven furlongs, by a length from Te Koroke, and in the Wairakau Hack Handicap Ohinemuri, owned by Mr H. I. Spinks and trained by J. W. Cafchro, ran second to Adjuster.

The total absence of the customary mud and slush in Normanby Road was most noticeable during the heavy- rain this week, when the first wet weather was experienced since the street was bituminised. Small pools of water on the surface showed up several indentations and irregularities where the wear was heaviest, but such places are bound to occur from time to time. A repair gang was over the area yesterday and judicious patching was done with a special mixture. Considering that the bitumen-spraying does not result in a. first-class street, careful watching ;and patching from time to time will be necessary, but even so, the maintenance of streets so treated will be infinitesimal when compared with that required on a macadam road, and the comfort and appearance of a bitumen street are much superior.

During the heavy rain which fell on Monday ,an inspection was made of the new drain in Upper Normanby Road which crosses the road opposite the. transformer and discharges into the Ohinemuri River. The volume of water passing through clearly indicated that it was performing a great service. A visit to the inspection pit opposite the transformer revealed that stormwater was actually running back into the new drain from the Bank of New Zealand corner. This was considered very satisfactory, as it would relieve the stormwater drains leading through the domain to the main outfall draim

A fair measure of success has attended Mr H. Simmonds, secretary of the Paeroa Defence Rifle Club, at the Dominion Championship Rifle Meeting at present in progress at Trentham. At the 1925 annual, meeting Mr Simmonds won the Dominion championship. Mr R. I. Wells, of Paeroa, is a'lso a competitor at Trentham, and has got into the prize-money on several occasions at the meeting.

The work of bituminising Puke Road from the intersection of Hill Street to the borough boundary near Whitmore’s drain was continued this morning. While this work is in progress traffic to the wharf and Hauraki Plains is being diverted from the borough down Thames and'Hubbard’s roads, and vice versa.

“ The newspapers go straight to the doors of the consumers and they provice the best medium we have. We often get cuttings from the newspapers referring to our advertised goods,” said Mr J. J. Rogers (Auckland) at the fourth annual, conference of the Gas Institute of New Zealand at Christchurch last week.

Mr Bert Hinkler, interviewed at Bundaberg, said that the flight to Australia had cost him approximately £55. It was difficult to work out the, exact cost, because the price of petrol varied from Is 6d a gallon in Britain to 3s 6d at Basra.. He did 25 miles to the gallon, and used 450 gallons. The oil consumption was very little.

Local interest in the recently formed Paeroa Defence Rifle Club is steadily increasing. On Saturday' last eight members were at the range and the afternoon was spent >in useful practice; A further practice will be held on Saturday afternoon next, when firing will be carried out on the 300, 500, and 600’ yards ranges. Competitors are asked to be on tihe range not later than 1.45 p.m.

“ Motor cyclists who drive with their cut-outs open are a perfect public nuisance. Besides that, they bring abuse on all decent motorists. They do not seem to realise what effect their actions have on people in hospital, on invalids, or op mothers who have been up all night with sick children, and who, when they are just getting a much-needed rest, are a’waked by noisy motor cycles. I believe there are some motorists wiho know about the position, but they do not bother to think about it. There have been three cases before me to-day, and .1 want motor cyclists to khow the court will deal severely with offenders' in the future. I 1 .will go to the maximum penalty until the nuisance is stopped.” These were the remarks of Mr C. R. Orr-Walker, S.M., at the Tjmaru Magistrate’s' Court (says the Herald) when imposing fin'es -up to £2 oh motor cyclists who were charged with making noisy explosions’ of gas, calculated to annoy tihe public.

An auction sale of used furniture, carpenters’ tools, drapery, ebc. } swill take place on Saturday morning next in F. Ward and Co.’s rooms at 10.30 o’clock. Full particulars will be advertised in our -next issue.*

On the occasion of the South Auckland Schools’ Athletic Meeting at Hamilton on Friday next, the usual 3.40 p.m. Frankton,-Paeroa train will be delayed to leave Hamilton at 4.20 p.m. See Railway Department’s advertisement in this issue.'*

A conference between Mr W. .Bongard (Mayor of Thames), Mn H. f/>we (chairman of the Thames County Council), and Mr E. L. Walton (chairman of the Hauraki Plains County council), took place on Friday, when the question of fittingly celebrating the opening of the Hauraki Bridge, now nearing completion, at Kopu; was discussed. After going into the matter, the following programme, proposed by Mr Walton, was tentatively adopted :—Official opening on or about May 1, to take place at the bridge at 2.30 p.m. Invitations to attend are to be sent, through the .member for the district, Mr T. W. Rhodes, to the, Prime Minister the Right Hon. J. G. Coates, and the Minister of Public Works, the Hon. K. S. Williams, the former to perform the opening ceremony. All prominent men in the district will be invited, while the public will also be cordially welcomed to take part. Alter the ceremony 7 a short drive over the Plains will, be taken by the Ministerial f party, and in the evening a dinner will be tendered to the Ministers at Thames, at which all members of local bodies and their wives will be invited.

As it is easier Tor women to get work in America than men, many of the unemployed males -are staying at home to mind the baby, do the housework and the cooking, while the wives go out to earn the daily breadi There are 4,000,000 workless in the United States, and the number is increasing, despite the country’s wealth and apparent prosperity- Benevolent societies are at their wits en'd to supply the demand for £°od and coal, while many hospitals are crowded with homeless and workless men suffering from exposure and starvation.

In another column the Railway Department advertises the issue of holiday' excursion tickets in connection with the Waikato Trotting Club’s meeting at Claudelanlds on March 3 ; also the train arrangements in connection therewith.