No Rangataua horses paddocks

Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 6, Issue 273, 7 February 1989, Page 16

No Rangataua horses paddocks

by

Dennis

Beytagh

Turning back the pages of the Waimarino County Call to today's date (February 7 1908) provides some interesting insights into what concerned readers of the local paper 81 years ago. Here is a selection of news items extracted for readers of today's "Our History" column.

School Needed For Rangataua. "The matter of getting a school for Rangataua is well in hand and a school is badly needed. Quite a large number of married men with families have arrived here recently and have to send their children to the Ohakune school three miles away or let the educating of them stand over until a more convenient season. This is a great drawback to a progressive place and many children cannot go the distance to Ohakune to attend school. The question of getting horses for them to ride cannot be considered for there is no place where horses can be kept (in Rangataua) without being hand fed. It is to be hoped that the Rangataua people

will be successful in this most important matter." Karioi Animal Races...a great success. "The Karioi Racing Club held it's annual meeting yesterday when the day was fine and there was a record attendance. The trains from Taihape and Ohakune brought a large number of visitors whilst there were crowds of horsemen from all other parts of the district. The meeting generally was a record one and the club is to be congratulated on it's success. Sixteen bookmakers and their clerks attended the meeting and created a lively scene. The racing was good and good fields went out in each event. The Karioi Cup in which

there were five starters, was won by Belario who fought out a great finish with Snip." (There followed a detailed account of each race with riders, horses and placings but this is hardly surprising since the Editor of the Waimarino County Call in 1908 was the grandfather of one of today's best known Waimarino puntersf) Late Pass "A. Campbell of Ohakune was poisoned by eating fish at Wan-

ganui on Wednesday, and is in a serious condition." Wireless Telegraphy... first link between Australia and New Zealand. "A Sydney cable message states that a wireless message was received on Monday night by the Psyche in Farm Cove, Sydney, from the Pioneer at Wellington. When the flagship Powerful left Wellington for Sydney on Frlday it had been a;

ranged to endeavour to connect New Zealand and Australia by wireless telegraphy, messages being despatched from the Pioneer in the port of Wellington to the Powerful in mid Tasman, thence to the Cambrian outside Sydney Heads and on to the Psyche in Port Jackson. Sir Joesph Ward (NZ's premier) on Tuesday sent a message by this route to the Hon. A. Deakin (in Australia). No reply was received "