LOCAL AND GENERAL

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 55, Issue 245, 30 July 1935, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

The Otago Boys’ High School football team which defeated Christ’s College in tlie annual match in Christchurch yesterday, returned to Dunedin by train this morning. Members of the Christchurch Boys’ High School s first and second fifteens also through Ashburton on the south-bound expiess train on their way to Oamaru to meet the Waitaki Boys’ High School teams.

Flying slowly against a head wind, in thick” misty rain, an aeroplane passed over Ashburton shortly after one o’clock to-day, travelling in a southerly direction. The ’plane was about 150 to 200 feet above the mam street as it flew by, but even then it was at times partly obscured from view by low-lying clouds. The pilot was evidently using the railway line as a <niide, instead of taking the coastal route generally used, but which is less certain in thick weather.

A practical demonstration of the action of the photo-electric cell for daylight control of lighting was given by the engineer, Mr J. K. Lee, at a meeting of the Central Hawke’s Bay Power Board. When the apparatus was open to daylight the lamp remained unlit, but as soon as the light-pert was shaded the lamp automatically switched an. The engineer explained that the degree of darkness necessary to operate the switch could be regulated.

Silt that has accumulated over a period of years is being removed from one of the Ashburton Domain ponds, a start having been made witli a general clearance near the water wheel. The task is a most difficult one, and unpleasant. The silt is extremely adhesive. The men on the job have trouble in lifting a shovelful clear of the pond, and almost as much in clearing the shovel of the' slimy mass. Drays are being used to cart the mud away, and two horses have much, to do to bring a dray load out of the pond on to the path nearby. The surface of the paths in the vicinity is being badly broken lip by the drays, -but when the work has been completed the renewal of the paths and the cleaner ponds will have made the task worth while.

The bicycle as a means of travel between home and school is a favourite with Ashburton children, and so rapidly has the use of the bicycle grown that schools have to provide a censideruble amount of accommodation for parking, and even then the sheds are not large enough. At the Borough School this morning noi fewer than 93 bicycles were counted, showing that nearly 25 per cent, of the pupils ride to school.

It has been the practice in the Tourist Department to take ,on new men ever}' year, and from these recruits strengthen whichever offices in the Dominion are in the greatest need of clerical aid. This year the business of the Department has so largely increased, with the' promise, amounting practically to certainty, of further increase, that the rule as to appointments is being varied, it being found necessary to add one man in a junior grade to nearly every one of the principal offices.

A woman from Whangarei visiting the Maungatapere Women’s Institute took part in a guessing competition to name a beautifully-dressed little dell. “It’s Matilda,” she said, and, refusing all advice to put down a more likely name, wrote it on her slip. When the result was announced, Matilda was found to be the coi'rect name. Taking her prize home the lady entered her sitting room, where her small son was doing his homework. “What a beautiful doll, mother,” he . exclaimed. “Yes,” she said. . “What is her name do you think?” “Oh, Matilda,” he answered after a pause.

Attention to the. desirability of bringing the standard of the more important of old sealed highways to a level in keeping with the volume of traffic carried was directed at the annual meeting of the No. 7 District Highways Council at Stratford by the chairman (Mr P. Keller) district engineer of the Public Works Department. He said that while there were many miles of old sealed highways m the district, which were still serving the purpose of keeping the metal in place and providing dustless surfaces, a big percentage of them were highly cambered, wavy and inadequately super-elevated at curves, and generally fell a long way below the highway standard lookgd for to-day.

The number of birds caught in opossum' traps is simply appalling, states the Auckland Forest and Bird Society, but it denotes that kiwis are not nearly so scarce as many people imagine. Wherever opossum trapping is carried out in kiwi country, the maiming and killing go on. Such distant parts as the West Coast and the Waikaremoana are examples. Efforts have been made by the society to find a trap which will catch opossums and not hurt birds, with the result that an ingenious and inexpensive contrivance has been discovered. 'lt throws a noose over anything which touches it, without doing any harm to the creature thus caught. This has been commended to the acclimatisation societies, and it is understood has been tested and found to be efficient. Negotiations are now proceeding with the patentee.

A highly-esteemed priest of the Roman Catholic Mission in Samoa, the Rev. Father Bellwald, died at Pago Pago on July 7 (states the “New Zealand Herald”-). He had been connected with the mission of Samoa, for 36 years, six years of which time were spent at Apia. Bom in Luxemburg, he had the confidence and respect of the European residents of all nationalities, and he was well beloved by his native Hock in American Samoa. He had been ailing for several weeks. The career of the deceased, as a missionary in Samoa, has been long and most successful. Arriving in Samoa in 1899, he was sent to Pago Pago in the early part of 1900, and the present development of that station is due to his indefatigable zeal and indomitable courage. The beautiful church that fronts the entrance to Pago Pago Harbour and Convent schools are the fruit of his labours. The burial was largely attended by people of all denominations.

Star of Ashburton Lodge, U.A.0.D., met last evening, the A.D. (Bro. R. M. Chambers) presiding. The bards reported on visits to sick members, and sick pay was passed to those on the funds. The St. Stephen’s Literary and Social Club agreed to meet the Lodge at a debate on August 12, the subject to be “That Sunday sports should be permitted,” the Club deciding to take the negative. The Grand Treasurer advised that a member’s application "for superannuation had been granted. One candidate was proposed and three initiated. An invitation to attend the Success of Ashburton Lodge meeting next Monday evening was accepted, and it was decided to invite the Ladies’ Lodge to the debate on August 12. At the close of Lodge, the Daphne and Hakatere Lodges were entertained, being welcomed by the A.D. In the absence of the N.G. Sister Turnbull thanked the Lodge on behalf of the Daphne Ledge, and Br<£. T .Thomson, N.G., thanked members on behalf of the Hakatere Lodge. Music was supplied by Miss Jean McDonald, Bro. R. M. Chambers acting as M.C. The evening proved very enjoyable, and. the .visitors expressed their intention of holding a return social at an early date.

Some acorns from the historic oak at Waimate North have been received by the Director of Parks and Reserves (Mr J. G. MacKenzie) from Mr Algar Williams, of Featherston, through the agency of Mr Will Appleton, and they will be planted in the Botanical Gardens. The oak tree at Waimate North is the oldest in New Zealand. It was raised from an acorn grown on Goat Hill, Dorset, England, and was brought to New Zealand by the Rev. R. Davis, one of the early missionaries, who arrived at the Bay of Islands in the brig Macquarrie on August 10, 1842. Mr Davis planted the acorn on the mission station at Paihia. After a while the house was burnt down, but the tree was preserved from destruction by being covered with wet blankets. It is said that Mr Davis left the care of his furniture to his fellow-mission-aries while he looked to the safety of the tree. In 1831 Mr Davis removed to the then new mission station at Waimate North taking with him the young oak tree which he planted where it now stands. When the tree was eighteen or twenty feet high sheep pens were constructed round it, and the sheep destroyed the bark. In the hope of saving the tree’s life Mr Davis cut it down to about three feet from the ground. It then threw cut several shoots, which eventually became large lateral branches. This accounts for its present shape, for while the full height o/ the tree is slightly over fifty feet, the trunk measures only seven feet high, with a girth of ten feet nine inches. The outer branches have a circumference of over two hundred feet.

An increasingly popular resort is the Mount Harper ice skating rink, which attracts large numbers of excursionists each week-end. There were nearly 100 picnickers there last week-end, and an Ashburton party took pax-t in the sport on the ice. Over 150 people journeyed to the rink on the previous Sunday, and an Ashburton party again participated. The 60-mile journey by road goes through Peel Forest into the backcountry.

At the annual conference of the Women’s Division of the Farmers Union in Wellington surprise was expressed by a number of the delegates that the teaching of swimming in primary and secondary State schools was not k compulsory, and in view of the alarming number of drowning fatalities it was decided to refer the matter to the Minister of Education, urging that swimming lessons should be made compulsory, and, where facilities for swimming were not available, pools should, if possible, be installed.

Several officers and non-commissioned officers of B squadron, Canterbury Yeomaniy Cavalry, will attend a course of instruction for officers and non-com-missioned officers of the 3rd, New Zealand Mounted Rifle Brigade, to be held at Burnham from August 6 to August 12. At the end of the course Corporal G. Good and Corporal :P.M. Harper will sit for their commission. Those attending will be Captain G. Brown, Corporal Good, Corporal Harper, Lance-Cor-poral J. Brand, Lance-Corporal H. A. Drummond, and Lance-Corporal R. G. Brown.

Potatoes of the early varieties, such as Epicure and Jersey Bennes, are now being finely planted in. Otago and Southland on a commercial scale, and it is assured that the planting of the main crop varieties, which will generally begin in these latitudes about the second or third week in September, will be much larger than usual, growers thinking it highly probable that the embargo on the exporting to Australia will be lifted, or at any rate modified. In Otago the increase is already being provided for, growers holding the view that they will stand to lose very little by taking the chance of an enlarged demand in the open market, as at the worst the extra yield will bring in something.

Otago and Southland farmers are finding this winter specially favourable for seasonal operations. So it is observed by Mr J. M. Smith, the fields superintendent, who has just been through the North Otago district, and has reports from the whole of his jurisdiction. He says +hat the weather has enabled ploughing, ditching and fencing, and so on to proceed without delay, and he adds that land occupiers are particularly pleased with The advantage reaped from the dry weather in regard to live stock, since the beasts, ordinarily dependent at this time of year on stored fodder, do not fat so much of this somewhat scarce food as they would i-equire in harsh weather. Another satisfying item of news is that the autumn-sown wheat and oats, put in about May in the regions governed by Oamaru, are well through and coming on promisingly.

“Pupils write more correct essays than in years gone by; grammatical mistakes are not common,” states the annual report of the Hawke’s Bay Education Board’s inspectors (Messrs T. A. Morland, P. G. Lewis, and E. K. Lomas), which is included in the review presented by the Board to the Minister of Education. The report adds:—“Spelling cannot be regarded as wholly satisfactory. Just what is wrong with the teaching of the subject would be hard to say. No adverse criticism would be called for if by the time a pupil sat for his proficiency certificate he were an effective speller, but this is not the case, for last year too many candidates failed lamentably to cope with what seemed a very reasonable test. So ineffective have past efforts been that it is doubtful whether spelling as a separate subject is worth while, and whether better results couicl not be obtained by means of giving more attention to general reading—at least after the more mechanical principles of word building have been mastered.”