OUT EAST.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXIV, Issue 29, 27 September 1912, Page 5

OUT EAST.

(By Our Travelling Reporter.) Mr. C. Massey, manager of the Bank of Australasia, at Stratford, visited Whangamomona on Tuesday for the purpose of,the half-yearly inspection of the Whangamomona branch. ~, rr Sergeant-Major Hesp held a territorial parade at To Wera on 1 uesday, and proceeded by evening tram to Whanga, whore a parade took place on Wednesday. , , Arrangements are now well in h«uu* for the ball to bo held in the To VVera Hall on Friday evening, in aid of the funds of the Stratford Hospital. All that is required to make tne function a success is a fine night.* iho object* is a worthy one, and it is to be nopea the promoters’ ambition to incieasj the hospital funds will be rewarded with a bumper house. , The very heavy rains experienced durum the past rnontn in the >-nangamomona district have made matteis very unpleasant. The roads are in a terrible condition j in fact, they are worse now than they have ever been, especially in the township of Whanga. Tne footpaths are nothing but a sea ot mud. Great inconvenience is experienced in getting about, especially by the women and children,, and visitors to the district, the latter of whom are not accustomed to the /mud and slush. It is to be hoped that the Whangamomona County Council will do something in the matter of giving a little better means of transit than at present exists. A slip occurred on the lino a short distance oast from the Whahgamomona tunnel the other day, and it slightly interfered with the railway traffic. The filling at the side of the line gave way, with the result that the rails had to be shifted, and the engine was unable to get through to its terminus at the Mangaro Road rail head. The horse teams took up tne running of the seven chains affected by tile slip while the repairs wore being effected. The heavy rains of late have been responsible for causing a great number of slips on the roads, Tutikituna, Mauku, and Whangamomona roads 'having suffered thereby. The lower portion of the first-named is blocked, and both the last-mentioned roads have slipped badly. A very dangerous slip also occurred on the Kohuratahi Road. Miss M. Aylward, of Kohuratahi, has left on a holiday trip to Auckland.

The annual meeting of the Whanga-momona-Kohuratahi sports Club takes place on Saturday evening at the library rooms, when the report and balance sheet of the last gathering will be submitted. Necessary steps in connection with the forthcoming gathering will be discussed.' Dr. Paget, Mr. W. D. Anderson and Mr. T. A. Lonergan paid their usual 'visits to Whanga on Wednesday. Rain has fallen continuously. with occasional hail, for the past min Whangamomona, and anyone who knows the district can wed imagine the state of the roads at the present time. If the weather continues’ as at present settlers are sure to have a bad time.

.Of the seven bridges to bo constructed before the railway line can lie completed to Whanoamomona, none have yet been finished, although three are in progress. Mrs. W. Harris has left on a short holiday visit to Toko. Mr. R. J. Scott has secured the contract for the erection of a Government cottage in the Whangamomona township. A meeting was held the other evening to discuss the forming in Whanga of a Young People’s Guild. A good attendance was present, and the meeting was presided over by Mr. G. M. Mills. An' address was given by Mrs. Parker, of Stratford, on the benefits of such a guild as proposed, and a resolution that the guild bo started was subsequently agreed to. It is proposed to hold meetings on Sunday afternoons for the study of Biblical subjects, and a week night meeting for the study of current events or anything interesting and debatable. Mr. T. Aylward was elected leader of the guild, and Miss F. Hill, secretary. A committee is to bo elected at a subsequent meefing. Miss Olansen,. of Wellington, is at present at Whanga on a visit to her sister, Mrs. G. M. Mills.

The school residence is now well in hand, aijd will be finished and ready for occupation at about the end of October. The present school fence has been found to be inside the road line about 12fb.,_ so steps are being taken to remove it to its proper position. This will give the children more play ground space.

Whanga is not as yet altogether free of mumps, 'the last victim lo got them being the local blacksmith, upon whose stalwart form such a. juvenile complaint as mumps seems to sit awkwardly.

The only premises closed in Whanga on Dominion Day was the Bank, and not even a flag was flying in the township to mark this (to some) red-letter clay in New Zealand,

The cheese factory has made two efforts to open for business, but partly owing to the late spring and to the had roads, it has been closed again for a week or so. A definite start will be made on October Ist. Messrs. Court and Cottier had the misfortune to lose two of their pack horses last week, owing to wet weather having made the papa roads verv dangerous.

The footballers’ fancy dress bell to he held on October 25th is going to bo the biggest affair ever attempted in that lino in Whanga. Liberal prizes are being offered. The music end catering will be several grades higher- than Usual, and the proceeds will be devoted towards improvements in the Domain.

. A tram horse belonging to Mr. Ban Wildermoth got a fright the other day, and tried to run away with the tram. _ A general entanglement followed, in. which the horse got severely cut 'about the legs, necessitating it being put “out of action” for a week or two. Mr. Wildermoth bought the horse only a week ago. A team of horses were sent out this week to the Hawera Horse Fair from various owners. Horse work seems out of the question to all except those who must work them— viz., storekeepers and the Public Works Department. There has not boon a gig in the town for months. Mr. E. W. Hoddm-’s residence is well on the way towards completion. Soon there will he quite a large population on the Whanga Road, as house after house is being erected on this, the only, road round whore sections are available for building. > Mr. O. McClu ggago is at nresent paving a visit to the township.’ Mr. C. Lowe has let the contract for his residence in Maranga Valley, and expects to enter into possession about November Ist. Mr. Geo. Syme, the contractor, will put the work in hand immediately.

The township was astir yesterday, It being railway , pay day anil County Council day, and a parade of the Territorials took place. The railway pay will not ho so high as .usual, owing to the great amount of lost stime caused by the incessant rain.