On Thursday a consignment of 12 dozen turbot was received at Invercargill from these localities, along with 120 dozen flounders.
Such a large catch of turbot is decidedly rare, and a leading man in the fishing industry told a Southland Times reporter that it had not come under his notice for the past 30 years.
The fish, which in many respects resemble a flounder, were all in excellent condition; and the heaviest weighed up to 8lb.
For some years the Garrison Hall has been found unsuitable as a drill hall for Territorials.
It is not very large, for one thing, and the fact that it is greatly in demand as a place for the holding of entertainments has also had a good deal to do with its failure to supply the needs of the district adequately.
Some four years ago the idea of building a new hall was mooted, but no definite steps were taken until August last, when tenders were called for, the successful applicants being Messrs Armstrong and Moore, whose contract price was 14,000.
The plans were drawn by Messrs Mason and Wales, and work was begun in September, the site being on Bridgman street, South Dunedin.
It was expected that the hall would be completed about May next.
However, the war upset the calculations of the builders.
Thirty-six large steel girders are required for the roof, and an order for them was placed in Scotland.
The war delayed their manufacture, and they have not yet come to hand, the result being that work has not progressed nearly so quickly as it would otherwise have done.
However, they are expected to arrive shortly, and the completion of the contract will not then be a lengthy matter.
The new building, when finished, will be an imposing structure, and will be one of the best drill halls in the dominion.
It will not, it is true, have such a large floor space as the King Edward Barracks, in Christchurch, but it will be a much more solidly-finished structure than the latter, and will contain a very much larger number of rooms and offices.
The holiday-makers have not yet all left Dunedin, and the various hotels and boarding houses about the city are still fairly full of visitors from other parts.
Landlords are sorely taxed to find accommodation for their many guests during the busiest season, at Christmas and New Year times, and many a holiday-maker had to be content with a bed in a smoking or sitting room, to be patiently waited for until the late talkers had retired.
At one hotel an unfortunate man was put to bed on a billiard table.
The worst of the rush, however, is now over, and people are returning to their homes. - ODT, 9.1.1915.
