LOCAL AND GENERAL

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 1, Issue 60, 2 November 1931, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Timber to Manawahe "You must admit that these Departments do some strange things. They built a school out at Manawahe with three sawmillers right alongside and went all the way to the King country to get their timber and carted it in 12 miles from the railway, to put it down beside the mills," said Mr. W, Steele, at- a meeting held in Rotorua on Friday in connection with the establishment of a dental clinic. Territorial Association Colonel J. E. Duigan, commandant of the Northern Command, met a number of Rotorua business men on Saturday morning, under the chairmanship of the Mayor, Mr. T. Jackson, to discuss the formation of a territorial association in Rotorua. After Colonel Duigan had outlined the steps necessary to form an associa'tion those present formed themselves into a provisional commdttee to forward the project. A puhlic meeting is shortly to he called in con- . nection with the matter. Hockey and Football Wind-Up. To mark the ending of the hockey and football season, an interesting wind-up function was held by the Taniwha ladies' hockey club and the Whaka Football Club, at Whaka on Saturday evening. The initial part of the entertainment took the form of a banquet which was largely attended by members of both team's, and also, by speeial invitation Miss K. Carnachan and Mr. C. Casey representing the Ladies' Hockey Association and Mr Windeler, coach of the Whaka football team. Mr. G. Mason, president of the Rugby Union was unable to he present at the banquet but later attended the dance, which was held in the Wahiao meeting house. Addressing those assembled at the banquet Meta Taupopoke welcomed the visiting Poroporo hockey and football teams and also the representatives of the controlling assoeiations. Congratulations were extended by him, to the Whaka players, each team being " the proud possessors of cups won by them this season. All present later attended the dance in the- Wahiao meeting house. Alsation Dogs. The questi'on of prohibiting the importation of Alsatian dogs into New Zealand was recently raised by the New Zealand Farmers' Union. In a ' reply which was read to the Dominion executive of the union recently the Minister of Agriculture stated that no sufiicient reasons for prohibiting the importation of Alsatian dogs had been' adduced, bnt the position was being carefully watched, and the executive would be advised of any developments. Numerous Porpoises. Porpoises are so numerous on the north-east coast of England that they have become a pest to salmon fishers. Porpoises chase the salmon, and spoil the grounds for the fishermen, while steam trawlers and drifters are also suffering damage to their gear, in which a porpoise occasionally gets entangled. Kowhai and Tuis. A ranger of the Gouland Downs Sanctuary, in the Nelson . district, says that now that the beautiful kowhai trees in the sanctuary are showing a wealth of bloom there can be seen daily dozens of tuis flitting from tree to tree taking the nectar from I the blossoms. It is, he said , a pretty | sight to see the trees, and the tuis, j in high revel amongst them. The I weka, he reports, has increased remarlcably in numbers, the birds having been seen everywhere in the sanctuary with broods of young ones. Maori Cuckoo Myth. "The opinion expressed by Dr. H. A. Chatfield with reference to the shining cuckoo is well worthy of investigations, for some of the Maoris of the North Island have some , strange ideas aout the habits of this bird," writes Mr. H, J. Fletcher in the Otago Daily Times, "I knew an elderly Maori woman who firmly believed that the birds, instead of migrating, passed the winter in New Zealand in the forms of lizards. I found that it was the common belief among her people." Drinking by Women. "There is no sight so sad, so dis- i tressing, and so revolting as that of . a drunken woman," said Father P. F. Kane, preaching at the Roman Catho- . lic Cathedral in Christchurch. "There . is no sin that. endangers her purity . more than the , sin of drunkenness, i and the reason is clear, because in- . . • ( toxication, even partial intoxication, weakens the will power and then the reserve is thrown aside. This is partieularly the ease with girls. Hence they should take a firm and uncompromising stand against the modern evil of spotting whisky and sipping wine, and should refuse all intoxieating 1 drink with the courage of their own * conviction. Above all, let them boy- ' cott every dance where drink is per- - mitted or to which drink is carried. 1 In sueh matters parents should he ] ever vigilant in the protection of thier daughters." ] The Sunny Side. ^ "There is a sunny side even to the ( clouds of depression," an Auckland business man remarlced this week , "Have you noticed," he asked, "that since we have been in the throes of economic vicissitude there has been a ^ marked change in the habits and cha- , racter of the people? There has been . less drinking, less racing, less betting, • less joy-riding, less smoking, less theatre-going; in fact, less of every- * thing in the way of luxuries and a ^ greater appreciation of home."