LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 55, Issue 126, 9 March 1935, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

All Ashburton County rrveys were reported this morning to be m good fishing order for the week-end.

Cadets on their way to a camp at Waianakarua (North Otago and university students returning to alter the summer vacation occupied several carriages" on the south-bound express train this morning.

One case of diphtheria and three carriers in the same family were reported, in the Ashburton Borough this week. Ther? were no notifications oi infectious diseases in the County health district.

The old Napier Athenaeum Buildings, one portion of: which was over 70 years old, and one of the oldest landmarks in the town, has been removed to make 1 room for the Art Gallery and Museum, which it is hoped will shortly be erected on the same site.

Very successful, according to the leader, Miss Josephine E. Tilden, Professor of Botany at the University of Minnesota, United States, has been the mission of the party of 10 Americans who returned to the mainland recently after spending three weeks at Stewart Island studying seaweed. With their precious freight of many boxes of specimens, all pressed and dried ready for future study, the scientists will board the Mariposa for America.

The Success of Ashburton Lodge, U.A.0.D., is the winner of the Neate Challenge Shield, for the lodge gaining most new members dulling the year. Bro. Barnes, P.G.P., on behalf of the Grand Lodge, presented the shield to Sister R. J. Crum, P.D.P., who is delegate to the forty-fifth conference of the Grand Lodge of Canterbury at Ohristchurch. Sister Crum replied on behalf of the lodge, and extended to the Grand President and delegates assembled best wishes for a successful year.

Visitors to Halfmoon Bay during the last few weeks have been very interested (says the Stewart Island correspondent of the "Southland Times") in watching the antics of a large flock of wild pigeons which have come in from the bush and made the township their temporary place of abode. There are a good number of native currant trees (the mako mako of the Maoris) in the vicinity, and as the berries are now ripe, they "no doubt attracted the pigeons. The birds are very tame and seem quite fearless of man, allowing one to approach' to within a few feet. When not actually feeding they spend their time circling over the township; the loud whirring noise of their wings attracting attention from visitors and residents alike. When the sun is sinning, the rich plumage of the birds is seen to advantage, the rays being reflected with metallic and iridescent lustres.

Two car-loads of .members of ..the East Ashburton Amateur Swimmifig Club travelled to Christchurch this afternoon to play a water polo match and contest a flying squadron race- with the Phillipstown Club. ,

Stalls conducted at the Allcnton School yesterday afternoon when the annual athletic sports were held resulted in £l2 10s being raised for the fund to construct swimming baths at the school, after expenses had been paid.

-In addition to the parade ofi members of the adult and juvenile Foresters' lodges to St. Stephen's Anglican Church to-morrow morning, Ashburton girl guides and boy scouts will also attend the service.

In an endeavour to form branches of the New Zealand Poultry Producers' Federation in various parts of this district, Mr S. F. Marshal! (Canterbury and Westland representative on the Poultry Board) will .visit Ashburton County next week. It is stated that there are 500 registered producers in the County.

Several yards of a thick maeroearpa hedge which surrounds the Defence Department's drill shed property in Burnett Street was destroyed by fire about midnight last night. The Ashburton Volunteer Fire Brigade was summoned, and found the hedge burning fiercely, the outbreak having occured in the north-western corner of the ground. The flames were put out with some difficulty, and a house on the western side of the ground close to the hedge was in danger at one period.

When an invitation from the Takapuna Borough Council to a. meeting at the Auckland Chamber of Commerce room to discuss unemployment was read at the meeting of thetNorthcote Borough Council recently, the- Mayor (Mr R. Martin) expressed the opinion that such gatherings were perfectly useless. Experience had shown that shoals of resolutions had been forwarded to the Government as the outcome tof many similar meetings. A common fate seemed to befall them all—to be given a resting place in the pigeonholes. ■ , &

"I still "think the Maoris are less Europeanised in some of the fundamental rituals than the people of the other Pacific Islands," said Dr. P. H. Buck, in an interview in Wellington. "New Zealand is the only place; for instance, where the people rub noses still as a general greeting. Mr Balnevis (secretary to the Minister of Native Affairs) met me the other morning and we rubbed noses; Goodness knows both he and I have had enough contact with European life." Dr. Buck admitted that he. got .quite a thrill to realise that the old custom survived.

An opinion that young New Zealanders were eating too much sugar, with a detrimental effect- on. their health, vyas expressed by Dr. Bernard Myers, of London, in an address at Auckland en Thursday.. While the youth of New Zealand were undoubtedly fine stock, comparing more than favourably with the youth ofi other countries, D'r. Myers said it was a pity the young people seemed to have acquired the habit of eating too much sugar, a habit evidently acquired from the United States. "It spoils the teeth, affects the digestion, and ruins health," Dr. Myers remarked, "and I hope something will be done about it."

Nine miles of the RoUeston-Rakaia section of the Main South Road,-for many years a bugbear to motorists, has been laid in permanent materials, and a -perfect motor road is available from Christchurch as far as Dunsandel. Another three miles is under construction, and the contractors, British Pavements, Ltd., "expect the whole stretch to be complete by May or June. The plant, Which has been located on the north, side of the Selwyn, is being honed as it is constructed by the contractors' special process, and tests for roughness' have shown that it is only one-quarter as bumpy as the best piece of concrete road—that between Templeton and Rolleston.

According to a story current in certain circles, there has been a slump in opium iu Auckland during the past fortnight (says the "Star"), and the cause of the slump suggests that, while honour might be found among thieves it is rare amongst opium smugglers. About a fortnight ago, goes the story, a large number of tins allegedly containing opium were sold, and the buyers discovered later that each tin contained only a layer of cpium on top of treacle or some other sticky fluid similar in consistency to the genuine article. The unscrupulous vendor is alleged to have left with a handsome profit, and to have spoiled the sale of a fairly large consignment that was landed later, the sale of which hung fire so long that the importer had to let his stock go at a much reduced price in order to get rid of it.

Three members of the Erewhon Mountaineering Club, Messrs J. C. Pattle, K. Bray, and. A. Cookson, left Ashburton early this morning for two weeks' climbing in the Cook and Godley regions. After motoring to Erewhon station the party will leave the car, cross the Clyde river, and travel up the Havelock to the Forbes, a small glacial stream flowing in at the headwaters of the Rangitata. A camp overnight, then a crossing of a high mountain pass to the Godley camp site will b: made the following day. Here the climbers will spend a few ' days among the Godley peaks. Weather permitting the party will cross the Classen Saddle to the Murchison, travol down this glacier to th? Tasman and thence to the Ball Hut. The Hermitage will no doubt be visited before the party returns to Ashburton.

Three four-year-old bulls gave two drovers who tried to drive them through Akaroa recently a trying time. The day was very hot and the bulls inclined to seek shade and. shelter wherever they could find it. As they entered Akaroa, the troubles of the drovers began in earnest. Every garden which was fronted by an open gate gave the bulls some respite from the dusty, tiring road, and once on the wrong side of the fence the animals were difficult to shift. Fortunately the bulls were very quiet, and a few pulped pumpkins were all the actual damage they caused;. The climax of their straying came when one, more inquisitive than the rest, strolled through an open front door. By the time the drover had informed the owner of the house of the presence of her visitor, the bull had taken possession of the drawing-room, and regarded the world benignly with its head out of the drawing-room window. To get the,beast about without breaking anythins was a difficult task, but it was finally done. It took the drovers 10 hours to: get the beasts to their destination nine miles away. ,! -

The Mead School will hold its annual picnic at Hakatere at the mouth of the Ashburton River next Friday.

Two crates of pigeons belonging to members of the Oa.mqru Homing Pigeon Club were liberated at the Ashburton railway station at 11.30 this morning to race back to Oamaru.

A broken wrist was sustained by Mr Walter Norman Smith, aged : 31, a labourer, of Done, when a tractor which he was cranking, back-fired. He was admitted to the Ashburton Public Hospital yesterday, and his condition is reported as satisfactory.

The value of tradition in relation to school life was emphasised by Dr. Bernard Myers, of London,, at the quarterly luncheon of the Auckland Grammar School Old Boys' Association! "It is of the, utmost importance that you build up a tradition," the speakerremarked, referring to the traditions of the great English public schools, Eton, Harrow, Westminster arid Winchester.

When applying to the Victoria University College Council recently for the right to control- the college cafeteria during the present year (says the "Dominion"), the Students' Association Executive gave as one reason for the loss recorded on the undertaking last year the fact that many students were now bringing their lunches from home, and were foregoing dinner at night in favour of light tea. The application was granted.. . .

Wellington led New Zealand in tlie number of health stamps sold during the Christmas season drive with 60,287 stamps. Auckland was next with 47,958, and Christchurch third with 22,092. ' The stamps for the 1934-35 period were withdrawn from sale on February 28, and the foregoing figures represent the sales to February 23. The money will be devoted' to the children's health camps. During the 1933-34 campaign Wellington's camp benefited to the extent of £l4O.

Fifty-five girl guides and 14 boy scouts from Ashburton travelled to Christchurch to-day to attend the reception to the Chief Scout and the Chief Guide (Lord and Lady BadenPowell). The guides were in the charge ofi Miss I. Chamberlain (District Commissioner), and Captains E. Mcllraith (first company), M. Jennings /second company), G. Haslam (rangers) and J. Boss (cubs), while Trocp-leader C. Chambers and Patrol-leader 0. Moore were in charge of "the .scouts.

Seldom seen in Ruatangata, a longtailed cuckoo was recently noticed by a resident near her home. This bird is a migrant (says the "Northern Advocate"), and is notorious as the parasite which gives much such trouble in the nesting season. It arrives in New Zealand from the Pacific Islands at the end of September. When the local nesting season starts the female cuckoo drops her single egg in the nest of the grev warbler. The feeding of the young "cuckoo is a for a small; bird* but one -which tlie pretty grey warbler never shirks.;

Thirty-two. vears after he sent a postcard a' resident of North Taranaki received recently the reply. After serving in the South African war he returned to Australia with a. trooper friend, who subsequently went to his home at Londonderry, Ireland. It was to that address that the Taranaki man sent his card, but it was from 1502 Fowler Avenue, Evanston, 111,, U.S.A., that he received the answer the other day. The reply had been posted to Tasmania, which the addressee had left 29 years ago. His present address was unknown, but the resourceful postal officials sent the letter to the man's sister at Bassendean, Western Anstra-. lia. She re-addressed it to her. On-other at ."Taranaki,-. New Plymouth, . New Zealand.'"

"There are people to-day who are trying to order their lives as if nothing had happened in. the last five years," remarked Mr William Machin in his address to farmers at Methven on the Government's mortgage finance proposals last evening. "It is as futile as were the efforts of those who, at the beginning of the Great War, went about saying ' Business as usual. Mr Machin said that in the changed economic conditions of the present day it was impossible to carry on as in times of prosperity. He urged all farmers to give careful consideration to the Government's scheme, which he believed to be a genuine attempt to solve one of the most difficult problems of the present time. v