Shopkeepers want evening hours

A petition for presentation to the Minister of Labour is being circulated among small shop owners in the city and suburbs, requesting him to consider the effect of the recent amendment to the Shops and Offices Act, which requires the shops to be closed at 6pm.

The petitioners state that they form the majority in the trade, and that their livelihood depends on their trade between the hours of 6pm and 9pm, during which time they do not employ outside labour.

The petition has already been signed by about 70 shopkeepers, many of whom are returned soldiers. In many instances the soldiers are working on loans from the Repatriation Department, and they say that their business is seriously affected by the amended Act, as most of the trade of small suburban shops is done in the evening. — ODT, 13.1.1921.

COPIES OF PICTURE AVAILABLE FROM ODT FRONT OFFICE, LOWER STUART ST, OR WWW.OTAGOIMAGES.CO.NZ Golden wedding celebration of Mr and Mrs James Murray, Port Molyneux. Mr Murray (75) and Mrs Murray (72) were born in Wigtonshire and Kilmarnock, Scotland, respectively. Mrs Murray came to New Zealand in 1863 and her husband in 1865. The union has been productive of a total of 26 descendants. — Otago Witness, 18.1.1921.