EKETAHUNA

Wairarapa Times-Age, 23 March 1943, Page 5

EKETAHUNA

COUNTY AFFAIRS MEETING OF COUNCIL. ("Times-Age” Special.) At the monthly meeting of the Eketahuna County Council notification was received from the Labour Department that Wednesday had been fixed as the closing day for shops in the county. The chairman intimated that he had attended a meeting of the Zone B Patriotic Committee to finalise arrangements for conducting the 1943 appeal. It was agreed that the appeal commence on March 6, every endeavour to be made to close the appeal by March 31, 1943 k Several collectors had commenced a canvass of the county and were meeting with an excellent response. Advice was received of the formation of the Manawatu Catchment Board under the provisions of the Rivers Control Act. The area included the whole of the watershed of the Manawatu River extending as far south as Mt. Bruce. It was proposed to hold a meeting of representatives of all local bodies within that area and the council appointed as its representatives the chairman and councillors C. T. Richardson and T. R. Hancock. The chairman explained that the proposal should greatly benefit the Eketahuna county, particularly in the locality drained by the Mangatainoka River. Every year this river not only caused damage to roads and bridges but was also a serious menace to the farm land adjacent. Unfortunately it did not seem likely that much work would be carried out while the war continued but, the present proposal was to establish the organisation so that an immediate start could be made when the time was opportune. The chairman referred to the loss of the Stirling bridge in the flood on February 6. Since then the Public Works Department had been consulted and it has asked for a general survey of the locality adjacent to the river and extending from Redpath’s bridge to Larsen’s bridge. This survey was needed on account of the bad nature of the river and the necessity of exploring all possible alternative sites with a view to obtaining the best. Arrangements were in hand to have the survey commenced at the earliest possible date. The replacement of the Stirling bridge would take some time but the council's object was to obtain the site least likely to be affected by river erosion and so save future expenditure on protection works. Arrangements were made to call a meeting of the settlers concerned so that the present situation could be explained to them.