LOCAL AND GENERAL

Waikato Times, Volume 125, Issue 20950, 1 November 1939, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Drummer for “A Runaway Girl” Mr Claud Smith, of New Plymouth, who has toured New Zealand with most of the J. C. Williamson productions in recent years, is drummer in the orchestra with the Hamilton Operatic Society’s production of “A Runaway Girl.”

Record Wool Clip Forecast The shearing season in eastern Australian States is drawing to a close, and it is expected that the clip will be a record one, 20 per cent heavier than last season’s. The official estimate of the Australian crop is 3,596,000 bales.

Pohutu Geyser Active Pohutu Geyser, Whakarewarewa, gave a great display yesterday. At 5.30 a.m. it sent up a shot of 80ft, but later it dwindled to 40ft., at which height it played without intermission until 1.30 p.m. It was the geyser’s longest display of continuous activity for several years.

Leg Broken By Axe A compound fracture of the leg and a deep wound were received by Mr John Reginald Abbott, aged 24, of Cambridge yesterday, when he slipped while cutting wood and was struck on the leg by the axe. The injured man, who was admitted to the Waikato Hospital, is progressing satisfactorily.

Snow in Poverty Bay A fall of snow occurred at Whakatutu, Poverty Bay, on Monday. The flakes were unusually large, but soon melted. The minimum grass temperature on Sunday night was 49 degrees and on Monday night it dropped to 3.3 degrees. The cold spell has caused concern amongst owners of newly shorn sheep of which there are many in the district.

Collection in Street The collection in Victoria Street yesterday on behalf of the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals realised £25. Mrs A. E. Savage, who was in charge of the stall in Victoria Street, stated that considering the cold wind the collection was satisfactory, the result being only about 30s less than that of last year’s.

Bankruptcies in Hamilton Four bankruptcies were filed in Hamilton last month, compared with three in October, 1938. Last month’s bankrupts were a carpenter, a milking machine dealer, a mill hand and a motor driver. Those in the coresponding month last year were a contractor, a salesman and a commission agent.

Forgery Alleged At New Plymouth yesterday Wilson Reid, farmer, of Tongoporutu, was committed for trial on a charge of forgery. The charge arose from a letter, purporting to be signed by a neighbour of Reid, and sent to the Forestry Office, Palmerston North, alleging damage by another farmer to a forest reserve.

Newspapers Praised “If the Waikato Times is a sample of New Zealand’s provincial publications, I think they are highly creditable. The copy, even to an outsider, is most interesting and shows real understanding of readers’ demands,” remarked a wellknown Australian educationist, Miss Beatrice Manser-Stapley, of Melbourne, in a recent letter to a Hamilton resident.

Fire at Huntly Mine The fire at the Glen Afton Mine yesterday had a very strong hold when first discovered and all efforts to save the large building, in which there was a great amount of expensive equipment, were without avail. The shed, which was totally destroyed, was fitted as an engineering workshop and contained lathes, power-plant and other engineering equipment, valued at well over £IOOO.

Farmers’ Mass Meetings With a view to discussing the re-cently-introduced Marketing Amendment Act and the guaranteed price for dairy produce, a mass meeting of farmers, organised by the Farmers’ Union, will be held in the Cambridge Town Hall on Friday at 11 a.m. A similar meeting will be held at Matamata on Thursday of next week, and arrangements are in train to hold meetings in Hamilton and Te Awamutu.

Strange Fish Washed Up An unusual fish, said by fishermen to be a species of the sunfish, was washed up on the foreshore at Tararu, Thames. In shape it was something akin to a flounder, although across it measured approximately 4ft and in length about sft. At the head it was some 18in to 2ft in thickness. The fish had two eyes almost the size of cricket balls. From the head the fish tapered and standing out on the back portion was a bone arrangement similar to the keel of a yacht. Offer to Work Longer

An offer to the banks to extend working hours up to four hours weekly should this be found necessary has been made by the New Zealand Bank Officers’ Guild as a contribution to the country’s war effort. “It is vital that banking routine should proceed with as little interruption as possible,” states the guild’s official organ, the New Zealand Banker, published yesterday. “If we are to do our part in assisting the community in this way an offer such as has just been made was most necessary.”

Queen Carnival The St. George’s queen carnival resulted in £347 0s 3d being collected. The individual returns were as follows: Miss Connie Radford (Forest Lake Queen) £168; Miss Joyce Coombes (Country Queen) £9O 10s; Miss Una Beckett (Young People’s Queen) £BB 10s 3d. At the social last night at which the announcement was made, songs were £un£. by Mrs Colin Wilson, Miss Valerie Porter and Mr H. Warrington. Mr J. Warrington gave a piano solo and Mr J. Bolton entertained with card tricks. Miss Joyce Coombes and Mr J. Warrington were the accompanists.