Town Talk

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 77, Issue 128, 1 June 1934, Page 6

Town Talk

Popular Library. Another busy month has been experienced by the Wanganui Public Library, and 13,498 books were issued during May, as compared with 11,295 during the same period last year. A total of 1127 volumes were issued in the Children’s Library, as against 601 last year. Grass Fire. The Wanganui Central Fire Brigade answered a call at 1.23 p.m. yesterday, the outbreak being at the rear of the Opera House, where there was a blaze in some grass and pine needles on the hillside in Cook’s Gardens. The flames were quelled without any damage being done. Waitotara Valley Road. The Wanganui and District Development League has been advised that the Minister of Public Works (Hon. J. Bitchener) will attend a luncheon on the Upper Waitotara Valley Road next Wednesday. The function is being arranged for the purpose of celebrating the completion of an all-weather route to this locality. Owing to relief labour being available the settlers have been furnished with a metalled road long before such access would have been due in the ordinary course of events. New Hut on Mount Ruapehu. The latest bulletin of the Ruapehu Ski Club refers to the provision of improved facilities at Scoria Flat, Mount Ruapehu. “It was anticipated,” states the bulletin, “that a club hut would be erected in this locality before the winter season, but unfortunately it has been found impossible to finalise the negotiations with the Tongariro National Park Board and the New Zealand Government Tourist Department in this connection. We trust, however, that the club will be able to proceed with this work immediately weather conditions permit building operations at a high altitude.” Busy Time for Judges. The fact that the Supreme Court Judges were at present “working overtime” was referred to by Mr. Justice Blair, when arranging dates for the taking of cases on the list in the Supreme Court in Napier. He pointed out that Mr. Justice Smith was engaged on the Native Commission, Mr. Justice Herdman was taking the Bayly case in Auckland, which, it was anticipated, would last several weeks, and he himself, on returning to Wellington, was to preside over the Arbitration Court. “Half the Judges in New Zealand will therefore not be available at all for some time,” said His Honour. Dominion’s Gold Deposits. Speaking about gold deposits in New Zealand, Mr. A. H. Kimbell, late Under-Secretary for Mines, told the Wellington Rotary Club on Monday that there was still plenty of gold in

the mountain rivers of the South Island. He instanced the Kawarau, where in the winter of 1932 a party of men, women and girls won a thousand ounces of gold in the space of five weeks. He also told of gold in the Shotover, a tributary of the Kawarau, where one man secured £5000 worth of gold. A company had now been formed in Christchurch to reclaim the gold from the Shotover by novel methods. Number of Unemployed. An Unemployment Board return shows that 36,900 persons are receiving relief under the No. 5 scheme, of whom it is estimated that 12,000 are employed on developmental and reproductive work calculated to benefit the primary industries. There are 5327 men on the registers unplaced as ineligible for unemployment relief for various reasons. Farm workers under schemes 4a and 4b account for another 9248 men, and the building trade, in scheme 10, for 4081. Land development, mining, afforestation, etc., account for 9924. making 23,253 on schemes other than the No. 5 scheme. Opunake Wharf. A start will be made, probably on Monday, with the dismantling of the Opunake wharf and staging. The harbour board decided that it would not make a start until orders for material to the value of £300 had been received. Already material to the value of £800 had been disposed of, and it is stated that does not represent half the available material. After paying the costs of dismantling and disposal there should be a balance available for placing to the board’s credit fully equal to the estimate of £600 by the chairman, Mr. J. S. Hickey. Oeo Pa Celebrations. For some time past work has been going on at the Oeo Pa, near Hawera, in preparation for a big meeting to be held there this week, it being the jubilee of the pa. The old pa house has been pulled down and new buildings erected. Water and electric light has been installed, and within the last few days a number of large marquees have been erected to accommodate the large number of Maoris arriving daily. Natives are already in residence from Parihaka and Waitara, as well as a number of local tribes, but these have their own accommodation round the outskirts of the pa, the large marquees being for those from a distance. A number of visitors were present at the pa on Sunday, and much interest was taken in the huge quantities of potatoes being prepared and cooked in the Maori fashion, on huge beds of hot stones. The local hall has been let for a week and entertainments are to be held there in the evenings as well as at the pa. Subscribers Required. An appeal to the music-loving public public of Wanganui to assist the Wanganui Orchestral Society in increasing the number of its subscribers to 150 was made by Mr. Will Hutchens, Mus. Bac., at the first of the season’s concerts held last evening. The society had tried the experiment of using a smaller hall than the Opera House for its concerts, but had found that the entire orchestra of over 30 players could not be accommodated. In order to allow the orchestra full scope it was necessary that it should play in the Opera House. In order to maintain its performances, the society required more subscribers, and if one per cent. of Wanganui’s population, generally accredited as being music loving, would join the society, it would be able to continue its concerts in the larger hall. If the society could not secure more subscribers, it would be obliged to suspend its operations, which would indeed be regrettable seeing that it was approaching its 50th year of activity. Mr. Hutchens pointed out that all members of the society participated as players in the amateur sense, and gave their services entirely voluntarily. He hoped the public of Wanganui would assist by subscribing, for the society belonged to them.