A large number of players, officials and supporters were at the Port Macquarie R.S.L. auditorium on Friday night when the Port Macquarie Football Club held its presentation night and ball.

A great number of awards and trophies were presented in a ceremony which lasted for nearly an hour.

The footpaths, or rather the lack of them, in our town has been one of our big worries, the honorary secretary, Sergeant R. Plain, stated in his annual report presented at the fifth annual dinner this week of the Port Macquarie Branch of the Road Safety Council.

Sgt. Plain said: "We are pleased to learn that Port Macquarie Municipal Council is about to spend a considerable amount of money on a programme of footpaths. Footpaths has been one of our big worries for many years - or perhaps I should say that lack of footpaths has been our big worry. We are happy that; where possible, this dangerous situation - that of the necessity of pedestrians, many of whom are school children - walking on roads will be eliminated."

The twenty-fifth annual meeting of shareholders in the Port Macquarie Rural Co-operative Society Ltd. On Thursday night passed a recommendation to the directors that the society's properties be sold and steps taken to wind up the society. Some forty shareholders attended the meeting.

The chairman of directors, Mr, A. M. Keena, told the meeting that he couldn't see the society making much profit in the hard, competitive grocery business.

The co-operative finished the financial year with a nett loss of $5,202. This came after gross profit from trading had been lifted by nearly $2,000 to $105,245 and the wage bill was reduced by $4,382.

Mr. Keena said in his report to the meeting that the society's main problem was the increased interest burden and higher award payments generally.

This had led the directors to the opinion that the society was over-capitalized in relation to the return from food retailing.

Auditor, Mr. T. Scott, said it was pretty well impossible to reduce costs. He said the usual thing was to increase trading however the society's costs had increased faster than the gross profit.

Secretary Manager, Mr. Bart Hansford, said the introduction of coupons had lifted the percentage of cash trading from 37 per cent to 65 per cent. It went a long way towards doing what it was designed for, he said.

Mr. Keena said he felt the society was over capitalised. We have severe competition and have effected economies and played safe by writing off depreciation to a large extent. He said the society's capital was well protected.

Mr, Keena said it wasn't much good selling the Horton Street store alone for another grocery store would open there and make more competition for the Munster Street store.

The Port Macquarie Rural Co-operative Society Ltd. was started in 1944 as a vegetable growers' bulk store, handling fertilizer, seeds etc. It became a retail grocery store 15 years ago. The society's secretary manager has been associated with it since its inception. As of June 30, there were 1,993 shareholders.

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