In this new battle the New Zealanders’ objectives embraced positions on Abraham Heights that looked menacingly down upon the ground already gallantly won by British troops in a recent battle. Beyond the ridges, a portion of which was won to-day, the enemy have no other ridge to fall back upon, for the great plain of Flanders stretches away for many miles, and would make for him an unpleasant wintering ground. A part of to-day’s battlefield is the historic ground lost in April, 1915, when the French and Canadian troops were met with the choking agony of the first wave of poison gas. It has fallen to British, New Zealand, and Australian troops to win back that ground, strongly fortified though it was with reinforced concrete gun emplacements and ‘‘pill boxes’’.
The New Zealanders attacked at dawn. Previously there had been a lot of irregular shelling by our artillery and some practice barrages, but the night preceding the attack was comparatively quiet. This morning, at six o’clock, the 18-pounders, 60-pounders, and 4.5 howitzers opened with a tremendous barrage upon the German positions, while our heavier guns still further back rained shells far afield.
The first objective was promptly taken by the Wellington, Auckland and Canterbury men. There was a halt of over half an hour on this line, after which the attack was continued by the Auckland, Wellington, and Otago troops to the final objective. Officers and other ranks fought, as usual, with the greatest gallantry, and gained their objectives without a check.
40 guinea narcissus
There is no precise record of the highest price that has been paid in New Zealand for a seedling narcissus. It is doubtful, however, whether any bulb has been sold in the dominion at a figure exceeding that at which one changed hands in Dunedin last week, when the Incomparabilis champion seedling bulb, grown by Mr A. Miller, of Mornington, was sold, through the agency of Mr Oswald Reilly, to Mrs G. R. Storey, of Caversham, for 40 guineas. It is understood to be the intention of Mrs Storey to have this flower placed in filtered water and then frozen and sent Home to compete at the Royal Horticultural Society’s show, which will be held in April next.
Roxburgh exchange delays
Many months ago residents of Roxburgh to the number of 80 or more sent in application for a telephone exchange for the district, and a fortnight ago the members of the Teviot Fruitgrowers’ Association instructed its secretary to make inquiries as to the reason why the work was not being proceeded with. It was then ascertained that the Minister had not authorised the exchange, and on the member for the district being approached, he sent word that no authorisation would be made till after the close of the session. As this would then be too late for the fruit season, the secretary got into direct communication with the Minister, with the gratifying result that the latter wired on Saturday last that he had given instructions to proceed with the exchange.
Riotous behaviour
The magnet-like attraction of a street scene drew a large crowd of interested spectators opposite the premises of the D.I.C., in Rattray street, last evening, to witness the riotous behaviour of four men. The excitement, however, culminated dramatically, for, with the projection of a brace of the participants through a large plate glass window of the crockery department, the actors in the affair made an expeditious departure and disappeared amongst the crowd. One corner of the window, whose total value approximates £50, was demolished, and a quantity of crockery damaged in consequence. It is understood that the culprits have been identified.
Clever children
Sir W. Lever has assured the shareholders of Messrs Lever Bros., at Port Sunlight, that the Congo natives were doing, with an efficiency no one had expected, the work of white men who had been called. The children of bush savages had taken to typewriting as a duck took to water, and in Port Sunlight they were receiving constantly documents crammed with technical phrases and chemical symbols correctly typed in French by these young bush children. — ODT, 9.10.1917.
• COPIES OF PICTURE AVAILABLE FROM ODT FRONT OFFICE, LOWER STUART ST, OR WWW.OTAGOIMAGES.CO.NZ
