50 years ago
❚ With more than 90 bonded teachers filling most of the assistant positions, Taranaki schools were expected to be fully staffed, the assistant secretary to the Taranaki Education Board, Mr A V Berridge, said, adding that only about 15 relieving teachers would be required compared to between 60 and 70 just two or three years before.
❚ Australia’s largest poultry breeding organisation, A A Tegel Pty Ltd, paid more than $40,000 for a 62-acre farm at Motunui, about 12 miles north of New Plymouth, where it was to begin highly specialised genetic breeding of grandparent stock for the Taranaki meat chicken industry.
❚ An ambition to put the North Egmont Chalet ‘‘on the map’’ was expressed by Mr K Smith who was appointed the new manager by the New Plymouth Young Men’s Christian Association.
❚ Inglewood residents learned that within a month it would lose one of its two doctors, Dr C M Greig leaving the town to undertake post-graduate work in New Plymouth.
❚ Full Post Office facilities would be operating in the New Plymouth suburb of Marfell from February
12, the Postmaster-General, Mr W Scott, announced, saying that Mrs P Crossman would operate the agency from her stationery business at 46 Cook St.
❚ When the Cape Board Riders’ Club (Taranaki) beat a Wellington Board Riders’ Club team in an inter-club match at the Weld Rd beach near Oakura, outstanding Taranaki competitors were T Waite, G Chong, M Tuffery, D McLean, R Wright, M Wagstaff and M Shaw.
❚ Three former New Plymouth doctors gained qualifications overseas, Dr Peter Moller being admitted to membership of the Royal College of Physicians, Edinburgh, Dr P Cook becoming a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons and Dr C Bossley passing the first stage of the examination towards becoming a Fellow of the Royal, Australasian College of Surgeons.
❚ Two young Stratford club cyclists who lived at Eltham, Paul (15) and Kevin (13) Evans, took out all the A and B grade colts’ events at the Taranaki grass track cycling championships at Stratford.
❚ Movies: Two For The Road
(Hawera Regent), Audrey Hepburn and Albert Finney; Sergeants 3
(Stratford Plaza), Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin Sammy Davis Jr and Peter Lawford; The Dirty Dozen
(Mayfair), Lee Marva, Ernest Borgnine, Charles Bronson, Trini Lopez and Robert Ryan; The Plainsman (Mayfair), Don Murray, Guy Stockwell and Abby Dalton.
❚ A record crowd of 580 reached the summit of Mt Egmont in the annual open climb organised by the Taranaki Alpine Club, and the club captain, Mr P Masson of New Plymouth, said only 10 of the original 590 starters had dropped out.
❚ A 17-year-old from Urenui, Miss Noeleen Brough, was chosen by the Taranaki Rodeo Association as the province’s Rodeo Queen to represent the province at the New Zealand Rodeo Queen contest in Hamilton.
❚ New Plymouth’s Derek Brown was hailed as the toast of West Coast North Is cycling after he brilliantly won the three-mile title at the New Zealand grass track cycling championships at Bulls to give his centre the national championship shield for the top team.
❚ A holiday at Taupo proved to be quite eventful for Miss Mary Lyle, a member of the Fitzroy Surf Lifesaving Club, New Plymouth, when she won the women’s section of the Taupo three-mile swimming race across Lake Taupo from Acacia Bay.
❚ The Taranaki County Council decided to buy for $8000 a threeeighth acre section adjacent to the Bell Block school for later use as the site for a combined school and public hall.
❚ For the first time a team from the small Waimea Bowling Club, New Plymouth, won the Taranaki Bowling Centre’s open fours tournament, K Whittle leading his team of M Jemison, W G Lewis and J Keenan to a win.
❚ 35 Years Ago: Patea Borough Council gets lottery grant to employ a community worker; New Plymouth’s Greenwood Archery Club takes four titles and sets four records at New Zealand championships at Wellington; 600 attend open day at Maui on-shore station a Oaonui; Stratford-trained Officer Scott wins Egmont Cup at Hawera race meeting.
❚ 25 Years Ago: Astronomers gather at Rahotu for Stardate 93; Taranaki Aquagardens claim filter protects their 300,000 maturing paua from toxic algal bloom.