OHUTU NEWS.

Taihape Daily Times, 1 May 1919, Page 6

OHUTU NEWS.

(From Our Own Correspondent.)

Owing to typographical errors, several 'of our local school committee ■would not know themselves by the names published. The names in error should read: Messrs Casey, Clinton, and Toney. , The attendance at the householders meeting on Monday night was disappointing, but fortunately those present LTLnly interested in the children's welfare, so that they will not suffei by this lack of interest. Various mem bers of the committee paid a welldeserved tribute to Mr Goldsbury the head teacher, for the great interest he takes, not only in the children, but 5n everything that pertains to the school. Great credit is due to the committee for the interest that they take in the school, and several improvements that they have in hand will add to the comfort of the children. A somewhat absurd anomaly exists in the naming of our local schools, for we boast of two The name of the township and post office is Ohutu, and the school, only a few chains distant is called Torcre, while the Gorge Road school, three miles away, is called Ototu. Seeincr that th e Torere school is m the heart of Ohutu, it would be a sensible thing to call ft the Ohutu school, and find another name for fhe Gorge Road school. Perhaps, if the matter was brought before the Education Board they would see the absurdity of it. . .

Some of our sportsmen -are giving an extra polish to their guns in anticipation of the opening of the shooting season. “Your Own” hopes to hear of record bags. A link with the early days is being severed with the departure of Mrs J. T. Matthews, of Utiku. Though living in Utiku for the past two yea,rs. Mrs Matthews has been vath Ohutu since its inception, 21 years ago, bcng one of the first to arrive, with her late husband and family. Mrs Matthews has shared all the hardships of a pioneer's life, and locks back on the time when the nearest railway station was Mangaonoho, 24 miles away, when the necessaries of life had to be carted on pack horses from Mangawoka, when there were piactically no roads, and conditions generally were of a heart-breaking nature. Durirg the past two years Mrs Matthews has passed through the dark Valley of. Affliction, having lost her husband und three sons, two of whom made the supreme sacrifice in the Great War, while the youngest, Arthur, a returned soldier, fell a victim to the dire epidemic of last year. Having leased her farm, it is Mrs Matthews’ intention to "travel about for a time prior to settling down in Auckland. A wide c< ircle of friends will wish her a pleasant time, and trust that her future will be unclouded by any further trouble.^ In writing of the early days, it is interesting to note that out of about 2o settlers who formed the Ohutu Improved Farm Settlement, only six or seven remain, the rest have either sold out, O|T have passed to ‘ ‘ that undiscovbred country, whom whose bourne no traveller returns. ’ ’