HELPING THE BELGIANS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 255, 7 April 1915, Page 3

HELPING THE BELGIANS.

IiAHOTU'S FIXE EFFORT

Residents of Rahotu liavo at varioil!

times since ttie outbreak of the

.shown that they fully realise tlicir obligations to tlie Empire, and also to tlie brave Belgians. Quito a number of young men from the district have volunteered for and gone to the front, whilst tlie settlers of the district have done their share in raising money for the various patriotic funds, over £30(1 having heen collected as the outcome of concerts, gift sales and cash subscriptions. On .Master Monday a sports picnic was held in the Recreation Ground, followed by a concert and dance in the evening, and so well organised was it by an enthusiastic committee, and so nobly were their efforts backed up by local residents, that, despite the fact that similar functions were being held within a few miles on either side, the sum of about £IOO will be added to the Belgian Relief Fund.: There was a very good attendance, the' sum of £l3 being taken at the gatesby Mr. J. 13. Groom. Tlie various committees, both gentlemen and ladies, vied "with each other in extracting the 'nimble sixpences from t!i<- i 't!s or taose present, and the iii:\;i\ty were only too pleased to respond freely. The weather at times was inclined to he unfavorable, but this did not interfere greatly with the arrangements. A very large, committee of ladies worked hard, and were kept busy attending to the different departments. Tlie committee comprised Mcsilamcs W. I?. Wright (chairman), TTughson, Willcox. Phillips, Williams, Hill (2), Robertson, A. Thomas, A. Baker (sen.), T. Parsons. Misses Dew, Billing and Mackay, with Mrs. J. Ti. Groom as honorary secretary. The luncheon, which was all given by the ladies of the district (who have to thank Mr. for a donation of ten dozen of cordials), realised £2O. It was set in a spacious canvas structure loaned by Momona, H. Stonex and W. H. Wright. The ladies in charge were Mesdames Hill (2), Williams and Wright. Mrs. Robertson, Mrs. Parsons and Miss Dfcw had charge of the lollie stall and competitions, which realised '£l3. Miss Hilda Wright raised £4 with her Belgian doll, the correct name of which, " Beatrice," was guessed by Miss Mabel TTuglrson; and she also reai-

ised £1 os by the sale of Belgian rosettes. The men did their share well, tlie sheep-guessing, in charge of Messrs. Annis and Frank Baker, realising £1 Is. and the lamb-guessing, in change of 'Miss C'are and Mr. F. Baker, producing £2 14s. The sports nominations added £5 Is. It was found impossible to get through the complete sports programme, but the majority of the events were contested. Messrs. J." Coliner and Tj. Fischer were judges. Mr. W. R. Wrifjlit starter, and Messrs S. Willoughby and A. Phillips were handicappers. The general committee worked well, Mr. T. K... 'Parsons keeping liis end up and attending to all details. He was assisted by Messrs. S. Candish and J. Bradley. The results of the events were:—

Slow Cycle Race: M. Coffey 1. Fifteen competed. Egg and Spoon Race: J. Schinckcl, Fifteen started.

Ladies' Egg and Spoon Race: Miss Mabel Hnglison 1. Seven started. Obstacle Race: Joe Tamakaha 1, Fred Chapman 2. Ten started. Wheeling the Barrel: Bert Sharrock 1, Fred Chapman 2. Twelve started. Married Ladies' Race: Mrs. M. TTill and Mrs. W. Morrow (tie) 1. Five started.--

Single Ladies' Race: Miss Joyce Tvlee 1, Miss May Cassis 2. Seven started. Threading the Xeedle: B. Sharrock 1, Joe Tamakaha 2. Twenty started. 100 yds Race: 11. Barlow 1, .Joe Tamakaha 2. Twenty started. Race for men over -10 years: W. Fleming 1, A. D. Fielder 2. Seven started.

Boys under 10 years: I!ert Hopkins 1, R. Fleming 2. Ten started. Children's Race: P. Fleming 1, R. Fleming 2. Girls' Race: E. Tylee 1, G. McLean 2. Barrel Race for liovs: A. Gillioolev 1, B. Hopkins 2.

A number of other events for small children were run off.

Stepping the Chain: IT. iStoncx and Archie Phillip* tied, having stepped the exact -distance. Fifty-four competitors. Sheep-guessing (two sheep, actual weight 2S0II)): J. Gilmer, correct weight. Lamb-guessing ((!21b): Leo de Forges (fl2</>lb) and 11. Kirby (01%lb) divided the prize money. Two sheep and a lamb were donated by Messrs W. R. Wright, Lysaght and G. R. Tylee respectively. The lamb was given as a prize in the races. One of the sheep was sold to Mr. .T. Colmer for £2 2s. and the other was sold and resold to W. R. Wright (£1 IGs). T. T. Hughson (£1 14s) and L. Fischer (lis). Cash donations amounting to over £25 were received.

THE CONCERT

The concert and dance in the hull in tlic evening 'proved' a fitting finale to the, day's gathering, and also added its quota to the genera] fund. There was a very large attendance at the concert, the sum of £l!l being taken at the doors. Mr. T. P. Hughson presided, in the absence of Mrf'W. C. Green who, he stated, had been the chief instigator of the gathering. On tiie motion or the chairman, a vote of appreciation of Mr. Green's efforts, and also of sympathy with him in the sad accident to his son which prevented him from attending. was passed. An excellent programme was submitted, the majority of the items being encored. The items by the ••company" (Mcs»T.<. .Manning, W. •James, Evans, lllingworth, Fielder and T. I'. Hughson, ;jun,). found general favor, whilst the singing by the school children rellected great credit on their training by the headmaster (Mr. Manning). The programme comprised: Piano duet. Misses F.. and R. Cook; song, " Little Irish Girl," Mr. Evans; recitation, 'Master R. Hudson; march,

Moil (ii Harlech.' school children.; so«K. Jfr. Illinjfwortli: rlw, " The Ringtailed Ciioii," company: recitation. Miss IJobinson; song, Mr. .Manning; song, "Come, Follow 11,.," niiiitrci; song, T. Ilughson, jini.: glee, - Playing on tin- 01,| lianjo," nnnjtjiji: piano solo. Hiss 11, Cook: son;;, Mr. O'Sullivan: glee, "A l.ittlc_ Farm .Well Tilled/' company; song, ■'l e Mariners of Kngland,"' school children: son;:. Mr. lllingworth; glee, " (lood-night," eonr ( iaiiy. .All the accompaniments were playecl sympathetically by Mr. J. JJ. Knowles. Before the concert concluded, tile liev. Feathcrston, in a short speech, referred to the attitude adopted bv'the Belgians in the war, and emphasised the bcne!:t that their magnificent stand had been to France and Britain. On his motion, a. vole of thanks to the Pelgians tor the si and they took was carried by acclamation, amidst a seme of great enthusiasm. The chairman, on lielialf of the Belgians thanked tile people ol \ew Zealand, and of llahotu in particular, for the assistance they had rendered Belgium in the time of trouble. During the speech, Mr. Jlughfioti was decorated with a TJclgian Hag that had been presented by Mis S F. Tyrell, and had been bought earlier in the dav for 7s by Mr. T. 'Parsons, who put it up for sale again. It was purchased and resold in succession by Messrs. W. U. iWright (335), iA. D. Fielder (21s) and

W. A. Manning finally falling to Mr. G. R. Tylee for 20s, thus realising in all £5 2s; and there were others who would have purchased it had it lieen resubmitted. Votes of thanks were passed to all who had assisted at the concert. Mr. J. B. Knowles being specially thanked for generously playing all the accompaniments and the dance music free, —as he had willingly done on so many previous occasions at coastal functions for patriotic and other purposes. _ •

Supper, provided and dispensed by the ladies, was then done full justice to by all, after which the hall was cleared for the inevitable dance, without which no country gathering is complete. The hall was crowded, and all had ail enjoyable time. Mr. W. Rothery, as usual, made an efficient M.C. The committee who arranged the concert comprised Messrs. Manning, IllingwortV, J?vans, J. B. Knowles and T. P. Hughson, jun., and they did their work well.

TilE PUNTHO EUCHRE PARTY.

The euchre party and dance,held in tile Puniho School on Wednesday night proved a huge success, there being a. packed house. Okato and Warea were well represented. The gentlemen's prize, a tobacco pouch presented by Mr. W. Binnie, was won by Mr. A. 'Muir. The ladies' prize, a 2">ih bag of flour, presented by Mr. L. Wells, was won bj Mrs.- P. Rowe, who returned it to be 'sold on behalf of the Belgian lieliel Fund. Mr. F, Green way purchased it for 10s, and it passed through several hands, realising £1 15s before being finally sold to Mrs. A. Muir for r>s fid. The total receipts were £ll <ls —door takings £5, tickets sold £2 14s, sale of flour £1 lus, donation (Mr. A. Wells) £2. iAs the expenses amounted to only £2 Is, thjrc is a clear £5 left for the Belgian Find, after paying the balance of £4 Bs' owing on the piano—a iino performance, of which Puniho should bo proud.

RAISING MONEY AT OKATO.

(From a Correspondent.)

All Okato rolled up on Easter Monday to the annual sports and dance, and every item on the varied programme was keenly contested. The proceeds tliis year are to be equally divided between tlie Domain Improvement Fund and tlie Belgian Fund. The actual figures are not yet available, but a good profit will be deeelard on tlie day's fmil Tlie tug-of-war was won by Oxford Road after some exciting pulls, notably between Okato and Punilio. The farmers' milk-cart horse trot resulted in Mr. <P. Putt's grey horse beating a larg field, and the same horse annexed the open handicap. Various other events, too numerous to mention, were competed for, the whole of the programme making a good afternoon's sport. The dance in the ball in the evening was a great success, music supplied by Mr. Barnitt keeping the dancers going till the early hours of the morning. A great deal of credit is due to the energetic committee and secretary, Mr. Larsen, for the success of the outing, also to various donors of prizes, etc. In fact, all formed themselves into a huge committee, and did al] possible to make the, day n, success. One reminder of the trials of others was in evidence. Our Mr! John Clark was present from the Trcntliam camp on liia last leave before proceeding to the front. We all wisli him good luck and trust lie will be able to do a little toward the termination of the present trials and tribulations of our Allies before he returns.