MOKAU NEWS.

Taranaki Daily News, 18 February 1921, Page 2

MOKAU NEWS.

HARBOR BOARD. (From Our Own Correspondent.) The ordinary monthly meeting of the above was held on the 10th inst. Present; Messrs. A. W. Sole, A. G. Sampson, J. R. Terrill and S. Whitehead (In the chair). Inward correspondence was read and dealt with as follows: From Mr. T. W. Ball, Resident Engineer, P.W.D., advising th’e balance of authority for assembling the snagging punt, and commencing the actual snagging work now stood at £551. A proposal to remove snaggs in the vicinity of the wharf was approved, cost to be charged to the sum named above—the Departanent is to be thanked. From Mr. J. 1 8. Roy, solicitor, New Plymouth-, referring to the valuation roll for the special rating area of the Mokau Harbor District.—Received. From the Marine Department, enclosing a copy of the Harbor’s Act 1908 and amendments thereto.—To be acknowledged. From the treasury, subsidy signal- ! man’s salary.—Received. From' W. T. Jennings, M.P., enclosing as- . irances from the Prime Minister that the request of the board for the report on ; Mokau and Awakino limestone, as well as Dr. ■ Henderson’s report on the lower coal seam on. the Mokau River, would have his early attention. —Received. A circular letter froon the Taranaki Progress League, regarding stone from Mt. Egmont quarries received a sympathetic hearing, though members decided the quarries from this distance were rather outside the scope of the Harbor Board. From the Awakino-County Council, advising the board it had at its last meeting appointed Messrs. William John McKeown and George Sage to fill the positions on the board rendered vacant by the ireslgnatlons of Messrs; F. ! Carrington and H. Maine.—Received. From W. T. Jennings, M.P., with regard ; to arranging for the Minister of Lands (Hon. iD. H. Guthrie) to visit the district, more : . especially with a view to inspecting the j Manga-Awaklno Block on the Mokau river, and decide on its suitability or otherwise, for closer settlement Left In the hands of the secretary.

With regard to assembling the snagging punt, one estimate had been received aqd another was expected Immediately. The matter was left in abeyance meantime. With respect to wharfage and handling charges on cream, it was decided that the secretary write to members of the board residing on the river, asking them to make a point of attending the neit meeting, when the matter will be fully gone into. The revision of wharfage dues was held over until next meeting; and will be discussed in conjunction with tlie matter mentioned in the preceding paragraph. Several small sums wore passed for payment. GENERAL NEWS. Mokau as a scenic resort, and as a place where the "rest cure” can be most successfully carried into practice, is becoming better known with every year that passes. This summer the river and sea-beach have been explored by patrons as far apart as Auckland and Wellington, while excursion parties from various parts of the Taranaki district have been of weekly occurrence. To the city man suffering from brain fag, to the house-wife saddened by the worries of domestic life, to the 'Tired Tims’ and 'Weary Willies’ of every age and clime, Mokau offers a haven of refuge.

Next to its adaptability for living the simple life—Mokau is justly becoming popular as a fishing place. Schnapper up to twenty pounds weight, kawhal up to eight pounds, trevalli up to five or six pounds, are frequently caught. Flounder, sole, perch, mullet and the modest herring are so common as to be hardly worth mentioning.

One some days, days that must be Specially attracted, the river literally teems withfish —hundreds of thousands of them. At such times kawhai in thousands chase the smaller fry, and the latter flee in terror, even to the extent of rushing up on to the sandy beach, which reminds one of the fish that was compelled to climb a tree because a dog was after it I

The Mokau Dairy Factory will soon be an accomplished fact. The walls are up, the roof on, the floors down. The freezing chamber will yet take a little time. Then there are the doors to hang and the sashes to put in. Afterwards the Installation of machinery. The factory is in reinforced concrete. Mr. Mclntosh, the foreman on the job, has had considerable experience of the labor problem since first he made a start, so much so, that not a man remains of the original gang that commenced with him. The contractor and directors met on the 13 th, and discussed final arrangeinents.X The directors are naturally anxious to get the factory going, for at present shareholders have to send their cream by coach to Okau, a fact which entails considerable expense.

The settlers on the river have recently formed something in the nature of a Progress League. Its object is to forward the interests of the soldier settlement. Among the matters to be kept steadily in view is the establishment of a bacon factory and a co-operative store. Both would be run in conjunction with the Mokau Dairy Factory. Mr. T. Radford is chairman of the league, and also a director of the dairy factory. Friends in Mokau will be sorry to hear that Mr. Jas. B. Carr, formerly secretary and treasurer to the Mokau Harbor Board, has recently had to spend a period of enforced idleness in the New Plymouth Hospital. This was due to an accident to one of his bauds. Those who know ''Jim’s” energetic nature can imagine the patience with which he would lay up for repairs.

This tale is true, for the last man that told it is living yet. A native, imbued with European ideas, had a quarter acre o 4 oats to cut. He borrowed a reaper and binder to do the job. With the aid of six ladies of his own race, he dragged the machine into the field. When he put the horses in, their noses touched the other side. He turned ttelr heads, drove three steps, and their noses touched the fence at the end. Disgusted, he faced the whole caboose at the gate, carried away a post in getting through, then returned and finished the job with a tabloknife.

An enterprising urchin who had presumably been doing a tight-rope performance on the edge of the wharf the other day, overbalanced, and fell overboard. The splash attracted the attention of Mr. Victor Sjolund who was in his ‘dinghy at the time, and who has the useful ha/bit of always being about when anything like that happens. In a couple of * seconds the youngster was in the boat, set on the wharf again and packed off home, little the worse for his submarine act. It is rumored that one of our returned soldiers, Mr. Alf. Wllliscroft, is about to take over an old-established blacksmithing business here, and commence on his own. In addition to blacksmithing l?e will fill a long felt want, v!ms. —doing repairs to auto-cycles and motorears. We wish Mr. Williscroft success. The Minister of Lands, the Hon. D. H. Guthrie, and party, accompanied by Mr. Jennings, M.P., are due at Mokau on the 17th inst. They proceed by launch to the MangaAwakino Block, Whjch Block the Minister will decide as to being suitable or unsuitable for acquisition by the Government for closer settlement. The Minister, himself a farmer, will have a very fair idea, as soon as he sees it, as to whether It should be taken, or left.