LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 57, Issue 116, 26 February 1937, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The Rnkaia River has been in excellent order for fishing. Many quinnat .salmon have been caught.

A large sea elephant came ashore at Lowry Beach (Stewart Island) last week (says the “Southland News”). This is an unusual visitor to these parts, and it appeared to be in poor health. After resting on the rocks for some hours it took to the sea again.

After having been closed since December 15, when the restrictions brought about by the infantile paralysis epidemic were imposed, the schools throughout the Dominion, those in Southland excepted, will resume on Monday morning. Teachers and pupils, alike, have tired of tlier enforced idleness, and all will be glad to start work again.

Ashburton, Timaru and Christchurch bakers will combine to-morrow in a picnic in the Ashburton Domain. The top grounds will ho used for the occasion, and it is expected that about 300 will attend the picnic, on. the occasion of which most Ashburton bakers will not deliver bread.

The supplementary roll for the Ashburton Borough Council by-election closed at 5 o’clock this evening. Not a great many applications were received until fairly late to-day for inclusion on the roll, the reason probably being that most electors took the opportunity of having their name placed on the roll on the previous occasion this year when a vacancy occurred. A farly large number of applications was held over from that time.

“Are there many of these cases in Ashburton?” asked the Magistrate (Mr H. Morgan) in the Ashburton Court this morning when a man was charged with having ridden a bicycle at night without a light. Seigeant J. F. Cleary replied that the offence was a fairly prevalent one. The Magistrate, who set a fine higher than those imposed in the past in similar cases, said that cycling at night was a dangerous tiling and if there was much more of it, he would make the fines heavy.

The cold, weather experienced in the Waikato recently has accelerated the seasonal drop in butter-fat production, although the volume of milk and cream received at the dairy factories is still appreciably higher than the average for the corresponding period of previous years (writes a Hamilton correspondent of the Auckland “Star’). There is still a plentiful supply of green feed available ior stock. Hundreds of acres of hay throughout the district have been spoiled this summer owing to the frequent rain. The dairy stock throughout the district is in excellent condition, and the indications point to a record season for production.

Discussing the question of medical training in his presidential address the other night, Dr. T. D. M. Stout (president of the New Zealand branch of the British Medical Association) announced that a further development of clinical teaching was being made m the three metropolitan hospitals, and that a properly-constituted and organised teaching staff would he set up in these institutions. “This will make available, to a greater extent than formerly, the great wealth oi clinical material which is present in our main hospitals, at the same time as it preserves the excellent teaching at the medical school in Dunedin, to which New Zealand as a whole owes a great debt of gratitude,” lie said. “I may he permitted in this regard to express the admiration felt throughout the profession in Now Zealand of the great work achieved for medical education in New Zealand by Sir Undo Ferguson, who has just resigned liis position as Dean of the Medical School.”

A 341 b. salmon, said to be a record for any salmon caught in the Rakaia River for a period of years, was taken by Mr J. Gardiner this week.

At tlve first meeting of the Ashburton County War Relief Fund since the holidays, held last evening, there was a, large amount of business and many applications for relief were dealt with. The chairman (Mr E. H. Orr) presided.

Meals in Germany are cheap, according to Mr R. Wilson, a New Plymouth Boys’ High School master who has returned from a journey abroad. He told the New Plymouth Rotary Club that in Leipzig he obtained a good three-course meal with a glass of beei thro win in for the modest outlay of ninepence.

Ashburton County Council rates unpaid by noon to-morrow will be subject to a penalty of 10'per cent. Of the total struck of £26,350 there bad, been paid up to this morning £23,520. A steady payment of rates was made today, however, and it was expected there would not be a large amount outstanding to-morrow.

Making an appeal for greater recognition of the efforts of the school children in their annual sports events, Mr J. Trevor Thomas (president of the County Schools Sports Association), when speaking at the farewell function to Mr J. MacMillan last evening, stated that at the sports meeting there were, usually, about 1500 competitors taking part in a very fine exhibition of athletics but not 100 adults put in an appearance. At the annual football competition last year, the gate takings amounted to 2s Id.

Heavy frosts in Hawke’s Bay during the last few weeks have destroyed the fruit crops in many orchards. A “Dominion” representative visited Hastings, Havelock North, and Taradale on Sunday afternoon, and all along the route the trees in the orchards, with the exception of a. few cases, were bare of fruit. Orchardists had worked hard to protect the crops from the frost by means of smoke, but without result. An appeal to the Government for assistance is being framed, and will, it is understood, be forwarded this week. Frost at Hastings on Sunday morning severely affected tomatoes and other susceptible vegetables in various parts of the town.

New Zealand will have an honorary tourist agent in South Africa when Major J. W. Brunt returns to Capetown. Major Brunt lias been nearly four months in New' Zealand, and in that time has taken 7000 feet of film at the main scenic resorts which be will shew from time to time. The film will' also lie available for exchange between various interested organisations throughout the Union. In addition, Major Brunt will have a quantity of film from the New Zealand Tonrist'.and Publicity Department on “indefinite loan” to augment his own supply. Major Brunt is a New Zealander by birth, who remained in South Africa at the conclusion of the Boer War. This is his first visit to the Dominion' since he left in 1900.

At a conference at the Ashburton Technical High School, at which the chairman of the Ashburton High School Board of Governors (Dr. G. 1. Miller) presided, a request for support for representations being made to the Education Department for an increase in the grants to assist children from the Springburn, Mount Somers, Mayfield, and Lagmhor districts to attend secondary schools at Ashburton was made to representatives of the Ashburton Technical High School Board and Ashburton High School Board by representatives of the districts concerned. The assistance offered by the department is eightpence a day travelling allowance, or 5s a week boarding allowance; these were considered inadequate. The school boards agreed to support the request and to discuss transport with the Education Department.

From an angler’s point of view all Ashburton County rivers are dirty and in high flood, and, with the exception of the lakes, it is safe to say there will be no fishing for several days The repeated had weather lias proved most disappointing to many visitors who have come to Ashburton for the salmon season. Most of them have returned to Christchurch to sec if an improvement in conditions occurs. Some of the visitors, in fact, came from as far afield as Auckland. Anglers state that never -before has such adverse fishing weather been experienced in Ashburton. For the greater part of the season there lias been no continuous fishing at all, and only a day or so can lie snatched here and there. Only a month of the season remains, and unless there is a marked change in the weather it seems that Ashburton fishermen will hardly get any sport at all.

The Napier Horticultural Society, at its annual meeting, passed a resolution that, the Napier Borough Council should he recommended to name the reserve qh the Marewa Block, whether used as a park or motor camp area, the C. I>. Kennedy Memorial Park. It was also decided to recommend that the streets in the block should be named after New Zealand native trees and shrubs, and that trees and plants of the varieties selected for the names should he planted in the various streets. It was pointed out that Mr C. D. Kennedy had not only been one of the syndicate responsible for the forming and laying out of Napier South, but had been the pioneer grower of asparagus on the area reclaimed, and as engineer had played an important part in the early development of that part of Napier’s suburbs. Mr Kennedy’s interest in all that concerned Napier had been very great indeed, and it was felt he was in every way worthy of the honour suggested.

“When I look round this large and distinguished gathering of medical men, I feel glad "I am not a follower oi the views of Oliver Wendell Holmes,” remarked the Mayor of Wellington (Mr T. C. A. Hislop) at the Mayoral reception to the delegates to the British Medical Association Conference at Wellington. “Although Oliver Wendell Holmes was a distinguished Judge and a more distinguished man of letters, he seemed to have little faith in doctors. I quote words he once used: ‘I firmly believe that if the whole materia medica, could be sunk to the bottom of the sea it would be all the better for mankind and. all the worse for the fishes.’ ” Mr Hi slop said rather was he follower of Voltaire, when lie said: “Nothing is more estimable than the physician, who, having studied Nature from his youth, knows the properties of the human body, the diseases which assail it, the remedies which will benefit it-, exercises his art with caution, and pays equal attention to the rich and the poor.”

Sustenance payments will be made to 210 men on the unemployment register in Ashburton next week. This is a decrease of two compared with last week.

Rain is now holding up cartage of grain, but fairly heavy consignments of wheat are being forwarded from the Ashburton raihhay station. Many lorries were busy loading trucks at the Ashburton yards a few days ago, and about 50 trucks of wheat were forwarded to the mills at Timaru, Oamaru, Kakanui, and Invercargill on Saturday and Monday. Two special goods trains, one north and one south, are being run daily from Ashburton.

A plague of flies appeared to have invaded the Melbourne cricket ground for the third Test, according to an Invercargill visitor who saw the game. The terrific heat was no doubt the cause of this, but the beat itself was quite sufficient hardship for anyone unused to it without having to run the risk of being smothered by flies. Policemen would he seen walking around with their backs literally covered with flies, and the batsmen, even as the howler was running to deliver the ball, and as they themselves were preparing to meet it, would lift a hand to brush away an annoying fly from the face. Although everyone went along to see the cricket, one lady made good use of her time by shelling the peas for to-morrow’s dinner.

“Vandalism has been committed at the Boys’ High School,” said Mr J. W. Rutherford, reporting to a meeting of the Palmerston North High School Board of Governors. Some person with a good deal of expert knowledge had taken the lead piping from outbuildings, he said, care beng exercised that no galvanised piping was taken. The caretaker had been residing in liis house nearby when the theft had occurred. A year ago some of the lead piping at the baths had been removed, but on this occasion all of it had been taken. The matter had been placed in the hands of the police. The Board, after a brief discussion, decided to replace the piping, the suggestion being made that galvanised piping be used, and inquiries are to be made as to the cost of providing locks to all the doors.