Milkmaids, King Country farm, 1930
Meghan Hawkes looks back to 1917 to report on what was making headlines in King Country.
At Ōtorohanga a large gathering assembled to witness the unique marriage of five Māori couples.
The ceremony took place on Hari Hemara’s property about one mile from Ōtorohanga and was performed by the Reverends Hone Harris and Friday.
The ceremony was a most impressive one and watched with the utmost solemnity.
A marquee which seated 170 people was filled to overflowing three times in succession. The kai consisted of beef, pork, eels, and poultry, and a great variety of sweets also adorned the tables.
Twenty men and 10 ladies waited on the guests and saw that each did justice to the many good things provided.
The tables were most tastefully arranged and it was very evident that the ladies responsible for the catering and decorating were thoroughly experienced.
The brides were daintily and becomingly gowned in handsome white embroidery voile frocks, finished with a novel corsage of white silk.
They wore the orthodox wreath and veil arranged in the new cap style and carried pretty pink and white flower bouquets.
The dresses were made by Miss Kayson, of Te Kūiti. Each of the bridegrooms wore a traditional Māori cloak over his suit.
Heavy rain did not dampen the enthusiasm of 200 Piopio settlers who gathered to watch Sir Joseph Ward, Postmaster General, open a fine new post office.
He afterwards addressed a large gathering in the Town Hall and congratulated the settlers on the marked progress made in the district since his last visit nine years ago.
He also commended them in overcoming the enormous difficulties under which they had laboured.
The children from Piopio School attended, and the National Anthem was sung. Settlers’ wives provided afternoon tea.
A Grand Carnival and Fun Fair was held in Te Kūiti to raise funds for the Returned Soldiers’ Club.
To show their loyalty to the cause some 60 returned soldiers and friends journeyed from Auckland to attend. Stalls were placed the length of Rora Street, where articles of all kinds were on sale. Guessing competitions and an auction were among the attractions.
The Merry Jesters, full of fun and frolic, were much in evidence throughout the afternoon.
In the evening the Merry Jesters presented a splendid programme of music, mirth and merriment comprising grand opera, musical comedy, burlesques, ensembles, duets, trios and ragtime.
A souvenir programme, containing over 100 photographs of King Country war heroes, found a ready sale.
A feature of the day was a monster procession, a centre of attraction being two wild bullocks, which were controlled in a masterly fashion by their riders.
A young man who had been working in the flax near the beach at Awakino, on returning to his whare on the main road, suffered a pain just below the knee.
Investigation proved it to be due to the bite of a katipo spider found in his clothing. His leg swelled right up to the thigh, and he suffered intense pain all night, but his condition improved next day.
