DIRTY GISBORNE.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2444, 8 March 1909, Page 6

DIRTY GISBORNE.

A NEW BROOM WANTED. REFUSE ANd’rUBBLSH EVERY-; WHERE. The recent epidemic of typhoid in ; ihe town and district has caused the • ocal health authorities to publish advice tv> Householders as to the best. means of keeping their back yards md out premises clean and to deal .vith the fly nuisance. A “Times reporter yesterday took a walk around various thickly populated -portions oi the Borough'with a view to ascertaining the degree of cleanliness attained and the manner generally adopted by householders to dispose of their rub>ish. The condition of things _ -was not found conducive- to the m-aintcn-uice of a high state of health among die inhabitants of the town, but, on he other lianctj rubbish, filtn, stagnant water and an abundance or flics xore found everywhere. Even the nain thoroughfare, Gladstone' Roacl, the busiest portion of -the town, was found in a very undesirable condition, and the' appearance indicated that flushing of the water-channels is an operation earned out only at infcervials. .givttGirs arc unocjutil "to the carrying away of surface water, and in many places it 1-ies m stag nant pools in. front of the open doors of business premises. On the top oi the water there is, continually a thick coating of dust and stable manure, and the swarms of flies hovering around visit, at regular intervals, these pools and tlie open shops. J-ho o-utiers were being swept on Thursday about midday, and the dust and refuse was merely brushed with a broom into a heap to wait some hours until a cart came along to take it away, it was suggested by a shopkeeper that the sweeping could be better done ‘ early in the" morning. The water >haniiel in front of the Post Office was thick with rubbish, torn envelopes, old newspapers, banana slims, ■paper bags, and other refuse lying everywhere; even m the culvert that drains to the river around were myriad of flies, well -nourished on the : wholesome food provided. . . A very unsavory - sight was a big openly exposed heap of rotting manure in a Chinaman’s garden only a few hundreds yards from the lost Office. The flies find this a prolific hatchery, and they swarm around like bees. The heap'gives out a very obieetiotnable”*odor when the weather is warm, and the flies are busy visiting the heap and annoying the pedestrians who must pass by. The reporter found another large heap :of stable manure piled flush to against the footpath in one oi the main thoroughfare. Alongside the heap was an up-ended wheelbarrow that had just been used to heap the warm stuff against the footpath. Flies were everywhere. The stench was powerful and dirt and filth were scattered around. Inside the stable there were no proper drains from the horse stalls, ‘and the liquid ran in a long stream over the cement- floor until it was absorbed in the gravelled side-walk. The flies raised no objection to this condition of things, but rather seemed to enjov the surroundings. The water channels near the spot were well•y;own with weeds and grass, and appeared as if they had not- known tlie benefitmf a flushing hose or broom for many a day. The reporter was unable to discover an airtight receptacle for manure at any of the town stable*. . On visiting private houses the reporter found a similar condition of affairs, although many housewives make an attempt at cleanliness. This attempt- .is usually the sweeping of the sand and dust- over tlie old bones, decaying vegetable matter, and household out-throws with a broom. The wash-up water is generally thrown from the kitchen door into the backyard dr back garden. It soaks into the soil, becomes a hatchery for flies, and a scource of disease. Few of the poorer class houses have any drainage at all. The sanitary arrangements are attended to at intervals of about a week, but there is no way to properly dispose of other slops. The use of disinfectants such as _ chloride of lime, phenyl, or carbolic is unknown, and the people ignorantly depend iipnn the broom to keep the rubbish from getting too far into the kitcjh'en. In a few instances the reporter found t-liiat even the broom was not popular, and rubbish was ; thrown about indiscriminately. This, how. ever, was not general. In the absence of -any system of drainage, the householders state, they have no alternative but to throw their rubbish into the yard, but many agree that the free use of lime would be useful to prevent any nuisance arising.