OPUNAKE NEWS.

Taranaki Daily News, 29 November 1926, Page 2

OPUNAKE NEWS.

THE HAWERA SHOW. (From Our Own Corespondent.) A fair number of Opunake residents went to Hawera. for the show on Thursday. A special train ran to Hawera. Tlie weather was not as good as it might have been, and this affected the attendance to some extent. There is some talk of the flax-milling industry being revived along the coast, as prices for flax have risen of late. It is gratifying to note from the advertisement calling tenders for the new wharf that the work is likely to be expedited, and that apparently only the labour will be required, the material being already on hand. It is confidently expected that the wharf and breakwater will be completed by June next to enable shipping to be accommodated. Time will then show the wisdom or otherwise of those who have fought for the harbour, and it will be interesting to learn whether the Opunake Harbour will prove a payable proposition, as the board predicts. A large number of shops at Opunake close during the lunch hour, and as several of these have a staff sufficient to enable them to remain open, it would seem that it is a lack of progress that permits this state of affairs. It does not by any means improve the look ,of a town to see a large number of business premises closed during the lunch hour, aud travellers would not be impressed at the sight. This is apart from loss of business which results from being closed. Perhaps it is a sign of prosperity that an hour in the middle of the day caw be thrown away in this manner. I feel that there are several other ways that the Opunake shopkeepers could be more alive to their opportunities, as, for example, the community lighting system. It has also been suggested that hoardings by the toads near the boundaries of the county, advertising Opunake would be conducive to business, as also is judicious advertising in the Press.