LOCAL AND GENERAL

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 55, Issue 303, 5 October 1935, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

There were no notifications of infectious diseases in the Ashburton Borough or Asli burton County health districts this week.

A Press Association telegram from Auckland states that probate has been granted in the estate of Mr John William Poulgrain, formerly a managing law clerk, of Thames. The estate is valued at £IOO,OOO. There are two bequests of £250 each to St. George’s Church, Thames, and the Thames Hospital.

Commenting on choral festivals, the “Church News” states that the MidCanterbury Anglican festival will take place at St. Stephen’s Church on November 14, under the baton of Mr J. C*. Thompson. “St. Stephen’s choir has greatly improved itself during the past year and gives a good lead to the assisting district choirs,” concludes the “News.”

It is not often that householders who are hot served from the city supply save to worry about running short of water at this time of the year (says the “Southland Times”), but already more than a few people who live outside the city boundai’ies have had to carry supplies. Many tanks are empty in most parts of the province, and the ground everywhere is very dry. Rain this week would do a lot of good in that direction.

An Invercargill resident was rather disturbed at the disappearance of his choice ranunculi. Investigations at night were of no avail as no trace of slugs or bugs of that ilk could be found. His surprise can be imagined (says the “Sbuthland Times”) when on going home at noon the other day he saw a large rat calmly sitting in the sun enjoying a meal of choice ranunculi. A quiet whistle to the dog and Mr Rat got his deserts.

The Ashburton branch of the Plunket Society met yesterday afternoon, the president (Mrs F. W. Seldon) presiding. The report of the nurses stated that during -the month there had been 67 visits to homes and 250 visits to the rooms in the town, and in the country there had been 85 visits to homes and 104 to the rooms. An application by the Mount Somers sub-branch, that the nurse visit that district fortnightly instead of monthly, was granted.

The bones found recently by workmen engaged in road construction on the south side of Hastings have been identified by Dr. J. Allen Berry, of Napier, as the hones of a small moa. He expresses the opinion that the bones belong to the pliocene age, which dates back some millions of years. It was beyond doubt, ho said in a statement, that the bones were those of a small moa, and the fact that they were found , among deeply-embedded; oyster shells suggests their age. Similar discoveries in which bones dated; even further back than the pliocene age, had been made jn various pai’ts of New Zealand, Dr. Berry added. Among some localities in which such discoveries had been made were the Wanganui district, at Waikohu at the time of the building of the East Coast railway, and in the vicinity of Oamaru. Some of the discoveries belonged to the mioceno age, which was even more remote than the pliocene period.

Replying to representations on the subject of a fixed date for Easter madte to him by the Associated Chambers of Commerce, the Prime Minister (the Rt. Hon. G. W. Forbes) has advised the executive that the Holy See could not contemplate a change of the present practice and that the Church of England could not consent to a change unless it had the concurrence of the great religious communions of the world.

A Press Association telegram from Auckland states that a new; picture theatre costing £30,000 is to be erected in the city on . the corner of Wellesley Street and Lome Street by the J. C. Williamson picture Corporation. The theatre will be similar in style to the Avon Theatre, Christchurch, and will seat 1000 people.

Never since the boom days of the war period have the King Country timber mills been as busy as they are now (says a correspondent to the “Manawatu Evening Standard”). Large consignments of sawn timber are dispatched daily from the various liiills between Te Kuiti and Ohakune by rail, bound for both northern, southern, and Australian centres* ; % -. : • ‘

The general manager of the New Zealand Shipping Company (Mr C. M. Turrell) announces that he has received cable advice from the chairman of directors of the company in London to. the effect that the company has placed with John Brown and Co. an order for two cargo vessels for its trade with New Zealand and Australia. Generally, these vessels will be similar to recent ships constructed for the company, but with somewhat greater cargo capacity and speed. It is anticipated that they will be ready for service toward the end of 1936 (says a*Press Association message from Wellington).

An entertaining interlude occurred at a meeting of the E'llerslie Town Board, Auckland, when a deputation consisting of two women waited upon the Board l . Standing orders were observed duiing the early stage of the proceedings, but the ladies then swept formality aside with delightful abandon in answering members’ questions. The women became engaged in an amusing cross-fire talk, in the course of which the configuration of certain roads and the district’s history were sketched. After art entertaining quarter of an hour the ladies retired’ delivering broadsides of repartee which quite upset the gravity of members.

There was a large attendance when the Junior Circle of the Hampstead Women’s Institute met on Thursday evening. An interesting demonstration of doll-making was given by Mrs W. J. Minogue. The compeitions for cellophane and egg-shell mosaic were judged -by Mrs Minogue, the winners beiug :—'Cellophane, Misses M. Hunt and B. Donn (equal) 1, Misses F. Crawford and M. Cruickshank (equal) 2, Misses K. Coats and E. Montgomery (equal) 3. Egg-shell mosaic: Miss L. Hunt 1, Misses M. Rose and F. Crawford (equal) 2, Misses M. Cruickshank and N. Childs (equal) 3. The hostesses for the evening were Misses B. Campbell, E. Wilkinson and M. Brosnahan. Items by Mrs Minogue and Miss N. Smith concluded an enjoyable evening.

The fact that a farmer in the Mount Hutt area had threatened to sue the Ashburton County Council for £IOOO damages in tho event of the Council taking the proposed stock water supply race through his property, was mentioned at the meeting of the Council yesterday afternoon. Mr J. Carr said that the Council did not desire to indict any hardship on . farmers over whose property the race would be taken, but there was some apprehension on the ground that the route might zig-zag across farms instead of following fence lines. It was decided that the riding members and the engineer should meet farmers in the district and go into the question of the route.

New consumers of electricity in the Dominion were connected with supply at an average monthly rate of 650 during the last financial year. This is revealed in the statement of the Minister for Public Works (the Hon. J. Bitchener), who stated in the House yesterday that there was a distinct evidence of expansion of business among the electric supply authorities. The increased consumption of electrical energy in the Dominion amounted in the aggregate to approximately 7.35 per cent, over that of 1934. The ratio of consumers to the total population is now 23.6 per cent. The capital invested in the electric supply systems operating in New Zealand is £32,823,944, and the gross revenue for the year was £4,577,998. The net profit was £449,499 for the year, compared with £460,489 for 1934.

New Zealand children are, generally speaking-, rather lacking in imagination, in the opinion of l Mr Felix Demery, of London, examiner in operatic dancing for the Royal Academy of Dancing, who has been conducting examinations of pupils and teachers in Auckland, Napier, and Palmerston North, and who is now in Wellington. Over 100 children have undergone tests before him in New Zealand, and he stated' in an interview with a “Dominion” reporter that the general standard was good. He noticed, however, that children did not show originality in some of the tests providing scope for initiative. In miming, for instance, the pupils might be asked to plant a garden. The ordinary child simply went through the motions of planting seeds, whereas the imaginative child discovered a slug, or pricked her finger on a thorn or something of that kind. New Zealand children, however, were versatile and receptive, as. had been shown by ■ exhibitions of their dancing lie had seen, and appeared to him to be quite musical.

Police inquiries as to Mr E. W. Fyson, of Hawera, who went for a tramp in the rough country behind Brunswick,. near Wanganui, and failed to report, have revealed that a man answering his description bought a railway ticket for Marton at the Aramcho railway station early on Tuesday morning (says a Press Association message from Wanganui). Fyson left the train at Westmere last Friday morning, and was last seen at Brunswick, where apparently he had walked with the intention of making back to Waverley. When he failed to put in an appearance on Monday, search, parties were organised, and on Wednesday his camping gear was found on the bank of the jKai-Iwi stream 100 yards from the read. Dragging operations and a further search over the neighbourhood failed to reveal anl further trace. The night attendants at Kemptliorne Prossers’ chemical works at Aram olio report now that a man answering his description had tea with them ‘ about (Jaylight on Tuesday morning, and asked when the train for Marton left Aramoho. It is learned that a ticket for Marton was purchased at Aramoho that morning.

A Dunedin Press Association message states that the annual Daffodil Day appeal of the Plunket Society was held yesterday, a total of £454 7s 7d resulting from the street collections and sales at the various stalls.

A statement that hares were a. far greater menace than rabbits this year was made at the meeting of the Ashburton County Council yesterday^afternoon. A member stated that 50 per cent, of the trees he had plantedl had been destroyed by hares, which had even bitten the main stems of poplars.

Five Air Force ’planes which flew in formation over Ashburton this morning attracted considerable attention among townspeople. They came down, from Christchurch, .and were piloted; by men taking part in the refresher course at the Wigram aerodrome.

It is expected that St. Stephen’s Anglican Church will benefit to the extent of about £IOO as a result of the spring flower show and fair which was brought to a successful conclusion last evening. Musical programmes contributed by the Ashburton Silver and Ashburton County' Pipe Bands were much appreciated. Workers in charge of the ice-cream and soft drinks stall were Mesdames H. S. Harper and W. Spedding. In the class for three hyacinths, Mrs C. M. Innes was second.