EKETAHUNA

Wairarapa Times-Age, 26 December 1939, Page 7

EKETAHUNA

FLAG DAY APPEAL OVER £4O DONATED. ("Times-Age" Special.) 0 The Flag Day appeal in the Eketa- , hunt) County resulted in a sum of £4O 1 13s 7d being obtained. Nireaha headed the list with £l4 17s (id. All'redton being next with £l2 0s 7d. > TIRITAHI PRIZES y THIS YEAR’S WINNERS. r The annual competition for the Tiri--4 tahi prizes donated by the late Mr 3 W. B. Matheson was won by Eric s Sparkes with Maurice Wilson second I and Hector Morrison third. Eric e Sparkes and Audrey Parker gained •j higher leaving certificates at the Eker tahuna District High School. The r latter is to enter the Wellington g Teachers’ Training College. c OwfS'O'JX-' «.*' * • CHRISTMAS SHOPPING A RECORD FOR EKETAHUNA. Christmas shopping was a record for Eketahuna. On Friday night the shops were particularly busy. ; SOLDIER FA&EWELLED ' GATHERING AT RONGOKOKAKO. The Rongokokako Hall was a scene of gaiety on Thursday night last the occasion being a farewell to Corporal - N. ("Jan") Suter. Dancing was ini dulged in to the music supplied by Mrs > Roach (piano) and Mr D. Thompson , (clarionet). A very old and highly respected resi- . dent of the district, Mr A. Hughan. addressed the gathering, making reference to the high esteem in which the guest of the evening was held. He asked Mr Suter to accept a gold wristlet watch and a well filled wallet from the Rongokokako Tennis Club. Mr Frank Goggin added his good wishes. Mr W. M. Morriss spoke in a similar strain on behalf of the Returned Soldiers Association. Mr C. E. Sigvertsen. on behalf of the Rongokokako Hall Committee, handed to Mr Suter a silver cigarette case suitably engraved. Musical honours were accorded to the guest of the evening and a short community sing was indulged in, the songs being those which were favourites with the soldiers in the Great War. Mr D. Falkner, of Kaiparoro, gave pleasure with his singing and had to respond to several encores. Supper was supplied by Mr J. A. Taylor and a most enjoyable gathering was brought to a close in a fitting manner. “EKETAHUNA EXPRESS” LAST ISSUE PUBLISHED ON SATURDAY. The "Eketahuna Express" published its last issue on Saturday. Personal Items. After spending several weeks holi- : day in Wellington, Mrs E. Christie has returned to Nireaha. Mrs N. E. BJomfield, of Hamilton, is the guest of Miss Bell of Nireaha. i Mrs C. Kebbell has returned to < Alfredton from a trip to England. , Mrs E. McAnulty has returned from - a visit to Rotorua. The engagement is announced of Dorothy Elizabeth Dick, oldest daughter of Mr and Mrs John Dick, of Kaiparoro, to David Henry Searancke. ; fourth son of Mr and Mrs H. J. Sea- j rancke, of Newman. Messrs V. Carroll (Medical School. c Dunedin) and D. Fallaver are the ' guests of their aunts. Misses Ander- ' son. t Mr and Mrs W. Duffill are spending £ a holiday at Paekakariki. Mr Connor (Wellington) is spending c a holiday with his daughter. Mrs K. D. Marenzi. Mr Robert Hornblow has joined the ( Bank of New South Wales staff. Mr and Mrs H. Bodie, of Hastings. ' are visiting the latter's parents. Mr and v Mrs A. Falkner, Kaiparoro. ) 3 A social will be tendered to Mr a Eric Wright in the Nireha Hall to- s night when the guest of honour will t be made a presentation. Mr Wright is r cn final leave from camp. Mr and Mrs D. Reid and family left 1 on Saturday on a visit to relatives in r Napier. Mr Pat Parsons will leave on Thursday to visit relatives at Levin. Mr and Mrs W. Dawson and son are . spending Christmas at Khandallah. 11 Mr and Mrs A. Hansen and family are spending the holidays at All'redton. l - Mr and Mrs G. Foster, of Waipuku- 6 ran. are in Eketahuna. visiting relatives. o Mr and Mrs L. Green. Seatoun, are g visiting the kilter’s mother in Eketa.- a huna. Mr S. Worthington, who recently re- v turned from a trip abroad, is spending the holidays with Mr and Mrs W. Old- 0 ham. of Parkville. c Miss Joyce Waterreus, Auckland, is s visiting her mother. I k

Mrs J. Spring, Alfredton. who has been an inmate of the Pahiatua Hospital, has returned home. Mr and Mrs D. Wedderspoon. Wellington. tire visiting Mr and Mrs R. Dickson. Miss N. Fredericksen, of Christchurch. Mr C. Fredericksen. Hastings. Mr M. Fredericksen and Mi- and Mrs J. Fredericksen are spending the holidays with Mr and Mrs A. Freredicksen. in Anderson Street. The Misses Wilson. Parkville, tire visiting Mrs M. C. Clurg. Khandallah. Mrs and Miss P. Doherty are on a visit to Hawera, being guests of Mrs Cunningham.

Mrs Boundy, Wellington, is the: guest of her daughter. Mrs C. Parsons. Mr J. Rowden, Wellington, is visiting his parents for the holiday period. Mr and Mrs G. Voight are the guests of Mr and Mrs R. Fafeita. of Parkville. IN THE EARLY DAYS WHEN THE TRAIN WAS A NOVELTY.

SOME INTERESTING HISTORY

When the writer made the acquaintance of Eketahuna over forty years ago it was not the neat well laid out r and progressive town it is today. The s railway had only reached as far as Eketahuna —that was in 1893—though track work in the direction of Newman was in progress. Many of the later prosperous settlers of Mauriceville, Mangamahoe and Eketahuna worked on the railway line thus assisting to pay for the small .farms they had been > able to take up under the then sym- ? pathetic Liberal Government. Many I of the sons of those early settlers arc continuing the good work of farming 1 those nroperties. I I An Unpleasant Journey. It was a long dreary journey in an ’ uncomfortable smoky train from Wei* , lington to Eketahuna in those days—- ' to a town with post and rail and wire fences breasting the main street, with . sections right in the business area con- , taining stumps and charred logs. . muddy roads and alleged footpaths. The coach services and waggon deliveries from Masterton northwards along the route of the railway to Eketahuna were gradually driven further north as the railway progressed. The railway line had reached to Newman just before 1396 though the coaches still started from there, no hotel or accommodation house being in Newman. Peculiarly Laid Out. A writer in 1895 describing Eketahuna stated that: "The town was most peculiarly laid out. If continued the present business street, which may be said to compose the town, might be in the form of an octagon, some four or five sides of which are already built upon and contain few, if any, blanks. One or two stores are fairly large concerns and there are at least two very comfortable hotels besides John Carter's Temperance Hotel." There was then a bank in Eketahuna which opened twice a week, and a newspaper which published on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Branches of the Masonic. Odd Follows and Foresters Orders flourished in the town and there was a Farmers Club as well as Anglican, Roman Catholic and Wesleyan churches. There were no resident solicitors ini Eketahuna in those days, and there was] one doctor (Dr. Murray Aynsley) and one resident minister (the Rev. Mr Ryan. Methodist). A Scandinavian Village. Eketahuna was originally settled 57 years ago and was then a Scandinavian immigrants village being known as Mellenskov. Many of those excellent Scandinavian families were connected , with the sterling pioneers who settled . the Mauriceville district and made i such a success of farming.. ; Progress has marked business in all ( directions in Eketahuna. Forty-odd I years ago the stationmaster was also 1 the officer in charge of the post and 1 telegraph office, while today there is a separate building to accommodate a , very efficient post and telegraph staff. The stationmaster of over 40 years ago. a Mr T. Lewis, was one of the first stationmasters in New Zealand —if no! the first —to cultivate flowers round the railway station, and the surroundings of the station, as the writer well remembers. was a picture in those days.

Minstrel and Dramatic Society

There was plenty of musical talent in Eketahuna then, and a noted institution was the Eketahuna Minstrel and Dramatic Society formed in 1896. which gave many performances in aid of local charities. There was a membership of over thirty with Mr R. J. McLean as general manager, and Mr .1, Hollow as secretary and treasurer, while Dr. Murray Aynsley was-president. There were six or eight instruments in the orchestra, of which Mr McLean was conductor. Mr McLean had had considerable experience as bandmaster. Minstrel shows were very popular in those days, doubtless due to the Hugo Brothers famous Buffalo minstrel troupe and the even more noted’HicksSawyer minstrels, of whom the late Harry Thomas, subsequently a resident of Martinborough and well known throughout the Wairarapa, was one of the principal singers, headed by the late Wallace King. They were undoubtedly the finest body of negro singers ever to visit New Zealand, and

many old Eketahuna district residents will doubtless have heard them in Wellington in the days when the railway to Eketahuna was a novelty.