LOCAL AND GENERAL

Opotiki News, Volume I, Issue 72, 19 August 1938, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Opotiki-Cisborne Highway. Efforts are to be made to have an improvement made in the highway between Opotiki and Gisborne, and at a meeting of the Gisborne Chamber of Commerce this week, dissatisfaction with the present state of the northern outlet from Gisborne and a request for its improvement in the near future was expressed. Jt was decided to take the question up with the district engineer to the Public Works Department, M*r 0. G. Thornton.

Boat Delayed. The Northern Company’s boat arrived off the Opotiki harbour to-day but was unable to enter the river and had to retui'n to. Kutaref^. Pleaded Water Tables. During the heavy downpour in the borough on Wednesday afternoon, the borough foreman made use of a lorry to travel ax’ound the streets, so that workmen could keep the watertables clear. This action was very much appreciated by residents. Sheets of Surface-water. One of the results of the deluge on Wednesday, was tiiat some of the district valleys' were turned into great sheets of surface water. The Opotiki flats were also covered with large sheets of water and the ground ,is once again thoroughly waterlogged. To-morrow’s Football. The Opotiki ltugby Union’s competition to-morrow will be the knock-out matches for both seniors and juniors. The senior match will be the Anal for the I)e Luxe Cup and will he played between To Huia and City and should the weather be line, some ' first-class football should be seen. In the event of the reserve not being in a suitable condition for play, this match will be played on the showground, and one of the junior games will be transferred to Connolly’s paddock. Motor Collision. A collision between two motor-cars, one driven by Mr S. Neil junr., and the other bv Mr S. Joplison, took place on the Waiocka bridge yesterday afternoon. Although the right hand mudguards and undercarriage of both vehicles were badly damaged, nobody was injured. Highway Sealing. .Lt is understood that the sealing of a portion of the main highway between Opotiki and Taneatua will be commenced during the summer months. The sealing will start at the western end of the Waioeka bridge. During the summer months the dust from the road is a nuisance to farmers and residents-near the road and the sealing of a large portion of this road will be greatly, appreciated.

Third Grade Football. A City, third grade team will play a combined High School and "Woodlands ‘team on Cbnnelly’s paddock at 1.30 p.m. on Saturday. The City team will be as follows: L. Abbot, Thompson, Goldsmith, Ball, Lake, Warren, Patterson, Young. Fleming, Hutt, Morgan, Hartshorne, Kelly, N. Abbot, Cooper, Russell and Lovell. Heavy Rainfall. Focceptionally heavy rain 101 l in the Opotiki district on Wednesday, but as the fall was not as heavy in. the hills as the previous* heavy rain the rivers did not rise to any extent. The total rainfall for the 24 hours ending at 9 a.m. yesterday morning was 2.18 inches, bringing the total to elate for the month of August up to 5.57 inches, this being one point more than the total for the whole ol' the previous month. Terri«s Wind. •To drive downhill in low gear is a somewhat unusual performance, but it was the experience of a motorist on the Takaka Hill during the recent heavy weather, states the Nelson Mail. Gale force winds accompanied by a downpour of rain necessitated a wide open throttle in lew gear before any progress could be made. The conditions during the storm were anything blit pleasant as the heavy weather brought down much loose rubbish and stones from the hillsides above the road. Low Prices of Copra. Copra at one time fetched £35 a ton, stated the Bishop of Melanesia, the Rt. Hon. W. H. Braddelev, when speaking in Wellington about the natives in his island diocese. As copra production was the natives’ main source of income, the fall in prices had brought about difficult times for them. Their only other industry was the collection of shell for buttons, but the Eastern market for this was now closed. Europeans in the Solomon Islands,, he added, had been distressed by the. transfer to the West Indies of Sir Arthur Richards, High Commissioner for the Western Pacific. They had felt- that lie was beginning to get a grasp of the situation, and would have been able to assist them in many of their problems, said the Bishop. Now that he had been transferred they felt that they would have to begin all over again.