50 years ago
❚ Described by a representative of a Dutch bell making firm as ‘‘one of the best sites for a carillon in the world’’, Marsland Hill, New Plymouth, was selected as the site for a $20,000 carillon given to the city by a resident, Mr G Kibby.
❚ A New Plymouth artist, Mrs R vant Hof had an impressionistic Inglewood landscape painting accepted by the New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts for exhibition at Wellington.
❚ The New Plymouth Boys’ High School Astronomy Club was the first group in Australasia to locate and plot the two earth satellites during an eclipse of the moon, working from the Tikorangi Observatory and led by Mr J D Whelan.
❚ Experiments in closed circuit television were conducted at the New Plymouth Boys’ High School where pupils hooked up a circuit between two classrooms to relay a physics lesson, the acting headmaster, Mr W E Alexander, saying the project was purely exploratory.
❚ After being president for more than 20 years, Mr A F Atkinson was made a life member of the Inglewood Amateur Athletic Club at the annual meeting.
❚ For the first time a diesel-hauled passenger train travelled from New Plymouth to Opunake and return carrying a total of 295 people on an excursion organised by Mr C Julian who said it was the first time a passenger train had travelled the route since 1936.
❚ Playing her first season of golf, Mrs O Bailey holed out in one at the 110-yard par three hole The Gap at the Waitara Golf Club.
❚ An Inglewood man, Mr N G Ashton, was made a deacon of the diocese of Waikato at an ordination retreat at Bishop’s House, Hamilton.
Movies: The Family Way (Mayfair), Hayley Mills and John Mills; Fantastic Voyage (Hawera Regent), Stephen Boyd and Raquel Welch; The Sand Pebbles (State), Steve McQueen; The Wrong Box (Stratford Plaza), John Mills, Michael Caine, Ralph Richardson, Tony Hancock and Peter Sellers.
❚ To cater for an anticipated roll of
450, a $200,000 classroom extension was opened at the Patea Rural High School by the Minister of Education, Mr A E Kinsella.
❚ An army sergeant from New Plymouth, Sergeant R C Thompson, became ill while serving in Vietnam and was flown back to Wellington and then on to the New Plymouth hospital for treatment by Royal New Zealand Air Force air ambulance.
❚ More than 2000 people paid to see the house and grounds of Mr R Matthews’ residence, Tupare, in Mangorei Rd, New Plymouth, and raised about $380 for the Pukeiti Trust Fund. ❚ The vicar of the parochial district of Whanganui in the Wellington diocese, the Rev L J Mould, was appointed vicar of the Anglican parish of Waitara, succeeding the Rev R E Jones, who was on sick leave, with Mr T Raumati, the curate, also being in charge of Maori works in the Taranaki pastorate.
❚ Playing in the eighth annual Returned Services’ Association golf tournament at Thames, New Plymouth’s A N Jeffery won the senior championship.
❚ More than 14,000 people watched the third sponsored motor faces on New Plymouth’s Paritutu circuit where a new breed of racing car, the Formula Vee, raced for the first time on a New Zealand course.
❚ Sixty-three entrants in 30 boats took part in the Taranaki Cruising Club’s open fishing day, V Mehrtens weighing in an 11 and a half pound snapper.
35 Years Ago: Four factories closed and 1.7 million litres of milk was dumped as Taranaki Cooperative Dairy Co workers went on strike.
Mr Bill Davies was elected the first president of the newly-formed Friends of Egmont Association; Hawera-trained Tomatin Purple wins on home track; Hawera Fire Brigade celebrates centennial; Te Roti Women’s Institute holds golden jubilee meeting.
25 Years Ago: Huge avalanche sweeps through Mt Egmont’s Manganui Gorge; champion New Plymouth racehorse Rough Habit wins at Caulfield in Australia.
Power failures cause Hawera’s Kiwi Co-operative Dairies to dump milk into sea; walkway plan for main breakwater was unveiled.