THE OPOTIKI NEWS Friday, June 24, 1938. LOCAL AND GENERAL

Opotiki News, Volume I, Issue 48, 24 June 1938, Page 2

THE OPOTIKI NEWS Friday, June 24, 1938. LOCAL AND GENERAL

Pedigree Jersey Sale. A pedigree Jersey sale on account of Mr W. J. Paul, will be conducted by the New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Co. Ltd. on the farm, Verrall’s Hoad, Opotiki, on Wednesday, 27th. July. Catalogues will be available at the end of June. ~

A Worthy suggestion. During the Orphans’ Club evening last night a suggestion was made by the president, Bro. A. 0. Stevenson, that at each eyening a collection be made limited to 3d per member, for the purpose of buying books and magazines for the hospital. The suggestion was enthusiastically, received and immediately the sum of 17s (3d was collected. *

Blockage Under Bridge. Workmen at present husllv engaged clearing logs and other debris from beneath the Waioeka bridge are experiencing great difficulty. The rubbish is being removed with a winch and chains, and already several chains have been broken. M'ost of the logs have been brought down the river by recent freshes. City 3rd. Grade Team. The City 3rd. grade team to play agaiiist Woodlands at Uonnellys paddock on Saturday is as follows: Backs, Abbot, Thompson, biartsho. no. Ball, Warren, Goldsmith, Patterson; forwards, Lovell, Abbot, Hutt, Morgan, Fleming, llusscll, Cooper, Kelly. Emergency, \ ouiig.

Heap of Ice. A Waiotahi resident whose attention was attracted by' a barge white patch au the side of one of las hills', decided to investigate, and found it to be a large heap of ice which had eot‘lected as the result of the .bail storm on Wednesday afternoon. The ice was still on the hillside yesterday.

Sharp Frost. The first sharp .frost of the season was experienced in the Opotiki district this morning. There was also a frost yesterday morning, but this was rather, patchy in the vicinity of the borough. Lower temperatures have been general this week, readings in different centres of the North island at !) a.in’ yesterday were: Auckland 46 degrees. Tauranga 48. Opotiki 42, Last Cape 43, Gisborne and Napier 47, and Wellington 44.

Protecting New Railway. The use of willow cuttings for consolidating and holding new filling work on the railway route between Gisborne and Waikokopu will consume much time and labour during the next few months. An earnest or the Public Works Department's requirements in this connection is given by an advertisement, calling tenders for the supply of 13,000 cuttings. Normally the cuttings needed by 1 lie department are obtained without resources to public tender, and departure from the usual system is merely for convenience, as a good deal of planting must be clone within a restricted period.

Dear Living in the East. “Whoever says that living is cheap in the East is most decidedly wrong.” was the comment made by Mr E. C. Bright, a New Zealand fruit-grower, Avho has returned to Auckland after a visit to the East. Mr Bright said that unless bazaar goods were bought, places in such places as Singapore and Saigon were about 30 per cent, higher" tlnm they were in Auckland, it articles of similar quality were purchased. When shoes were priced at 20 guilders, be said, they seemed to be cheap until it was discovered that the guilder was now worth about 2s 9d. Pukcko Mienace. If decided steps were not taken soon wild duck in the Wairarapa would be completely exterminated in two years. This was the opinion expressed by an experienced Masterton. sportsman. In his opinion, the rapid increase of pukeko over the past two seasons was a menace which should be immediately checked. The pulqeko, besides being a nuisance to farmers’by the damage it caused to young crops, broke the wild ducks’ eggs, preventing any natural increase and thus ultimately causing the birds’ disappearance.

Aerodrome Work Delayed^*.,; Through the /unsettled state of the. weather the levelling of the. Opotiki aerodrome has been hold up .for one inonth, and the tractor and carry-all scoop have been taken to private contract work near Mt. lUatuigamu. The sowing- of the grass will probably be delayed until the spring, - ' 1 '> : '' v- ' A-. ■■ ■ Size of Pumpkins, ' . 1 The biggest pumpkin ,at the Manawatii Winter Show last week/weighed more than 90H). In commenting on this weight the Gisborne Herald says: Farmers in the Gisborne district will not regard that us a heavy pumpkin, particularly as a pumpkin which does not exceed ICOlb. is a small one. The heaviest pumpkins at the - Poverty Bay Winter Show invariably, tip the scales at nearer 2001 b., and the record for the district is over 1901 b.

Second Raspberry] Crop . A resident of Gisborne was able to make a picking of ripe ferries from the raspberry vines in her garden on Monday. This is unusual for this time of the year, since the fruit is normally in season about Christmas and New Year. Further evidence of the mildness of the season, in Gisborne has been noticed by gardeners in the fact that many tender plants have not been cut down by frosts. Circus in Winter Quarters. Opotiki residents who recently had the opportunity of seeing Sole Bros.’ circus, during its tour of the Fast Coast, will learn with interest that the circus has gone into winter quarters in Dannevirke, where the menagerie is housed at the showgrounds. a group of circus workers will remain in charge of the animals, and the organisation apart from these men will return to Australia until the opening of the new season. There are a nuim her of young lions in the menagerie, whose training will he continued during the winter rest. Railway Gap. , A statement that the chamber might have been a little ‘“hasty or lukewarm” to the suggestion of a survey as a first step, towards completing the Taneatua-Motuhora gap in the railway was made by Mr It. W. J. Edwards at the quarterly meeting of the Gisborne Chamber of Commerce. The suggestion had collie from the Auckland chamber and "the request for support had not been given the consideration it warranted, he held. If the outlet to the north became blocked, as well as t-lio south, Mr Edwards said that Gisborne would he in a serious plight and he suggested that the position be reviewed. Members agreed, but they said that it had been agreed to wait until the completion of the southern link before pressing for connection with the north. On the other hand, they did not feel that the attitude of the Gisborne chamber ( had been altogether off-hand with the Auckland chamber’s suggestion.