The State’s Minister for Transport, Mr. M. A. Morris has extended the government’s thanks to Port Macquarie’s branch of the Road Safety Council and asked that the good work being done by it be kept up.

Yours is a splendid branch, he said, numbered among the few as one of the most active in the state. Mr. Morris was speaking at the second annual dinner of the local branch held on Thursday night last, at the Panorama, and chaired by the branch president Mr. Ivan Meldrum.

Mr. Morris spoke of the dinner as an outstanding example of the place held in the community by Road Safety.

He said he hadn’t attended any similar Road Safety function where such a representative gathering from a cross section of the community, was present.

Mr. Morris went on to say that it usually followed that a branch was as good as its executive officers, and here in Port Macquarie, in Mr. Ivan Meldrum and Mr. Martin Clifford, Road Safety had two sterling supporters.

Mr. Morris said it was due to the combined efforts of many that the road toll at this time stood 49 less than last year.

This figure was more rewarding when it was realised there were 80,000 more vehicles registered than last year.

Earlier, Mr. Morris had been welcomed by the president of the local branch, Mr. Meldrum, and by the mayor, Ald C.C. Adams, and the branch vice-president, Mr. Fred Callinan.

Other guests welcomed to the evening included the secretary of the Road Safety Council, Mr. Harrison, the president of Hastings Shire Council, Cr. Joe Andrews, and Mrs. Andrews; Mr. Bruce Cowan, MLA, Sergeant and Mrs. Plain; Road Safety’s liaison officer Mr. Fred Spargo; and a number of other local people representing service clubs and the like. There were about 80 people at the dinner.

In his welcome to the Minister, the mayor mentioned the need for the Road Safety branch for $100 to finish off a film it was making. The Minister later told the branch he would see it got this $100.

During the evening, Mr. Morris had the pleasure of presenting an award to Mr S Dickens for 50 years of conviction-free driving. 

The mayor invited the Minister and his family to return to Port Macquarie at some future date and be his guest. The Minister said he would be happy to.

A vote of thanks to the Minister for his visit to Wauchope and Port Macquarie was moved by the shire president.

Vern Little re-elected angling president

Mr. Vern Little was re-elected president of the Angling Club for his second term at the annual meeting, held in the band hall on Friday night.

Mr. Harry Pinnigger was elected secretary in place of Mr. Colin Avery, who retired after holding the position for two years.

The club introduced two new regulations to stop unnecessarily large catches of the one species, such as tailor, in fishing competitions.

The regulations will not only place a bag limit of 40 fish of any one species, but will encourage fishermen to seek a wider variety of fish by awarding five points for each species weighed-in.