50 years ago
❚ Central New Plymouth businesses had lodged 50 claims totalling more than $100,000 following flooding brought about when 4.23 inches of rain fell in three hours on a Saturday morning, the Earthquake and War
Damage Commission assessor for the city, Mr G L A Bognuda, reported.
❚ There were more potential criminals in Waitara than in the whole of Taranaki, Mr A W Yortt SM, said when presiding in the Magistrate’s Court at New Plymouth.
❚ A 20-year-old Ha¯wera florist’s assistant, Lynne West, was awarded the ‘‘girl of the month’’ title in a Wanganui Marching Centre and sports bodies’ contest held in conjunction with the Wanganui Festival.
❚ The use of paper bags for rubbish collection was to start in March and householders would receive three official bags for the first month, the Eltham Borough Council advised.
❚ A young Englishman, Mr Graham Smith, after three years at the Royal
Botanic Gardens Kew, England, and three months with the Auckland city parks department, was appointed curator of the North Taranaki Pukeiti Gardens, replacing Mr Rob Hair who had held the position for nine years.
❚ More than 6000 people crammed the Urenui Beach Domain for a country and western carnival where Ha¯wera schoolgirl Raewyn Prestidge,
15, was named Miss North Taranaki Teenager with Christine Wells, also of Ha¯wera, runner-up.
❚ A Taranaki Alpine Club member, Mr M Andrews, made four ascents of Mt Egmont in one day, the feat taking 19 hours 55 minutes, N Banks completing a triple ascent and M Ellis and R Trusler completing a double ascent on the same day.
❚ The first official shoot of the newly formed Mountain Muzzle Loading
Gun Club had been very successful, the president, Mr Graeme Morresey of Stratford, reported.
❚ Three thousand people at the Stratford showgrounds saw John Langl (Stratford) slip by Albert Gordge (Manaia) to win the Taranaki Stock Car Club’s championship.
❚ Movies: Game Is Over (Stratford Plaza), Jane Fonda and Peter McEnery; The 25th Hour (Opunake Everybody’s), Anthony Quinn and Virna List; The Way West (Patea Civic), Kirk Douglas, Robert Mitchum and Richard Widmark; Star (State), Julie Andrews.
❚ A team from New Plymouth’s Waimea Bowling Club, Mesdames J Mckee and F Chapman, won the Taranaki women’s open pairs tournament at the Riverside greens, New Plymouth, beating the Avondale
pair of Mesd C Tricklebank and C Gick 20-19.
❚ A modest museum, housed in two converted fowl sheds and featuring antiques and horse-drawn vehicles collected over a period of 14 months, was opened in Konini St, Inglewood, by Mr and Mrs C A Ludeman and their son and daughter-in-law, Mr and Mrs I C Ludeman.
❚ A former New Plymouth man, Flight Lieutenant D A Gable, was posted as the Royal New Zealand Air Force’s resident technical officer to the McDonnell Douglas Aircraft Corporation at Long Beach, California, which was to manufacture single and twin-seat Skyhawk lightweight attack aircraft for the RNZAF.
❚ Heaps of unburnt boxthorn in the Ha¯wera county were proving a haven for rabbits, the county inspector, Mr C
G Hart, reported, adding that in January 110 rabbits had been killed in six nights of shooting. 35 Years Ago: 125th anniversary of formation of Taranaki Volunteer Rifle Corps celebrated; Stratford’s first emergency house opened at 25 Page St; Stony River walk near Okato opened; New Plymouth firm of R J Burkitt Ltd sold to Technic Group Ltd.
25 Years Ago: Aotearoa Maori Performing Arts Festival held at Ha¯wera; 7500 see Jethro Tull perform twice at New Plymouth; Shayne King (New Plymouth) wins 125cc and 250cc titles at New Zealand moto-cross championships at New Plymouth; Taranaki’s first Ma¯ori trust health centre, Te Atiawa Medical Trust, opened at New Plymouth.