MANAKAU.

Otaki Mail, 31 January 1919, Page 3

MANAKAU.

SUCCESSFUL GARDEN PARTY. FOR NEW METHODIST CHURCH PUND. The succoss of a garden party always depends largely on the weather conditions, and last .Wednesday could scarcely be called an ideal day for such a function. However, although the weather was decidedly mixed—sunshine, a light thunderstorm, intense heat, and a steady downpour of rain following in qiuek succession—the garden party held at Manakau on Wednesday afternoon last was a decided success —socially and financially. Fortunately for the promoters, the few slight showers of rain which fell early in tho day ceased just after midday, and the sun shone brightly, inviting many from a distance to venture out, but, at about 0.45 p.m., steady rain fell, which somewhat dampened things. The function was held in Mrs Richard Robinson's beautiful grounds, situ- : ated on an eminence in a delightful j situation in Manakau. Tho grounds arc very attractive, while a magnificent piece of native bush at the rear of tho ' place adds greatly to the beauty of the spot, and makes it a very suitable place for a garden party. There was a splendid attendance, among those present being many visitors from Otaki, Levin, Ohau and other parts of the district. |

A number of stalls, with a good dis- I play of bunting, made the scone attractive. The work stall, in charge of Mesdames Les. Staples and Les. Atkins, was well stocked with a nice assortment of useful and pretty, articles, sold at most reasonable prices, < and good business was done. Mrs [ Howard Andrew, and Miss Ruby Bevan, assisted by Miss McHarrie, were hept very busy at the sweets and cake stall, while Mesdames Bramloy and Keats had an excellent dis»lay of fruit, vegetables, etc., which sold welL The fish pond was a source of great amusement to tho children, the anglers being delighted with their hauls. Misses Keats and Pearl Ohlsen had charge of this department. On such a warm afternoon naturally tho strawberries and cream were iri keen ' demand, Mrs Bramloy and Miss Houghton, who were responsible for this important stall, being besieged with customers. Afternoon tea was also freely I patronised, and greatly enjoyed, the ladies in charge (Mrs Clifford and Miss Violet Bramlcy) being entitled to much credit for the dainty spre'd provided. A special attraction for the afternoon was the baby show, for babies under 12 months. There were six entrants all magnificent specimens—and Dr. Hutkwsiitc, who kindly acted as judge, had a most difficult and unenviable .task. After a very careful and mature deliberation, the judge [ awarded first prize to Mrs Falloon 'a I baby, with Mrs .T. Nicholson's second, j There was very little indeed between j these two entrants, but the extra 1 weight of tlic winner, and its develop- j ment compared with its age, gave it ( tho deciding points. Mrs Nation (piano) and Rev. Haslam (violin), of Levin, very kindly supplied a number of musical items, which were keenly enjoyed by all, present, and added materially to the afternoon's enjoyment. At the close of the afternoon a sale was held of various articles, and Mr Andrew, on behalf of the management, heartily thanked Mrs Robinson for the use of her grounds and home for the function. He also thanked all who had helped in any way to make the affair such a success. Following are the results of the .takings for the afternoon: — £ s. d. Cake stall 2 16 11 Work stall 11 2 0 Strawberries and cream .... 2 6 1 Produce 2 4 3 Afternoon tea ; 2 14 3 Gate takings 3 0 0 Pish pond 3 1 0 Sale of goods 2 11 6 All the above, together with sundry j small items, should bring the total pro- j ceeds to nearly £35, which must be con- , sidered very satisfactory, especially ! seeing that the expenses are very light. I The cake-guessing competition realised £1 Is 9d. Tho exact weight of the cake—kindly donated by Mr Hornig—was 71b 9oz, and the winner was Miss Bramloy, who guessed the exact weight. The whole function was organised by tho Manakau Methodist Church Ladies' Guild, to raise funds for the j new Methodist Church at Manakau, • and the ladies deserve great credit for the success of the function. ! NOTES. ' Mr'J. O'Connor opens his new butchery at Manakau to-morrow. New premises nave been erected, and.everything is now spick and span. The new butchery is an acquisition to the township, and doubtless will be well patronised. Miss Kay, of Christehurch, is on a visit to Manakau, the guest of Mrs Les. Staples. / Mrs Knight, sen., of Lower Hutt, who has been on a visit to her son at Manakau. returned home yesterday. Master Knight, eldest son of Mr E. Knight, of this town, left for the city vesterdav to attend Banks * College.