LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 59, Issue 14, 27 October 1938, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

At the Ashburton Rotary Club’s weekly luncheon meeting to-day the chief speaker was Mr C. F. Parsons, whose subject was “Conjuring.”

Severe injuries to the right nano were sustained by Mr R-. D. Harrison, a Public Works employee, when his hand was caught in the machinery of a concrete-mixer at Winch more yesterday. Mr Harrison was aumitted to the Ashburton Public Hospital and it is likely that he will lose one finger.

The Works Committee of the Christchurch City Council has recommended that the project, to seal 70 miles of streets in the city, at a cost of £150,000, should -lie proceeded wren. i\ poll of ratepayers will toe necessary if the Council adopts the report (says a Press Association telegram).

In all the time I have been teaching I have never known the attendances to bo aff(ected as badly as they have during the last two months,” said! Mr E. Brissel (headmaster of the Mahora School, Hastings) the other day. He referred to the prevalence of influenza colds which had kept more than a quarter of the pupils attending the school at home. “And I cannot see the position improving until the rain stops,” he added.

Ini view of a decision of ratepayers of Willowby and Eiffelton to hold a meeting at an early date to discuss questions of more adequate drainage of that area following the flooding in the last few months, Mr T. D. Burnett M.P., paid a visit to the area yesterday and viewed the results of the water-logging of the land. Mr Burnett also visited the Willowby and Eiffelton Schools in connection with the construction of swimming baths.

At the last meeting of the Ashburton Model Air Sub-League it was decided, that each member of an esquadrille gaining most points at a flight meeting should be awarded five match points for his particular esquadrille. Results of the Labour Day flights are: Gliders —Leaguer McNatty (Msecs) 1, Leaguer Clucas (s}secs) 2. Spar models —Leaguer Coldicott (19|secs) 1, Master F. McNatty (llsees) 2, Master R. Ronnington (7secs) 3. Fuselage: Commander Coldicott (28secs) 1. The longest flight for the day was 35 seconds.

Advice has been received by the Ashburton representative of the Automobile Association, Canterbury (Mr J. Bathgate) that the Porter’s Pass section of the Main West Road is now open for traffic. Motorists proceeding to the West Coast via Arthur’s Pass are warned to exercise particular care for about two chains on Porter’s Pass, where repairs have ■'been carried out. The roads through Lewis Pass, and via Murchison to Nelson, and via Reefton to the West Coast are in good condition, with the exception of about five miles between Springs Junction and Reefton where the surface is rough.

Steps are being taken to start developmental work on about 15,000 acres of pumice lands, a good deal of which adjoins the main road approximately halfway 1 jet ween Rotorua and Taupo. Nearby is the Broadlands area, now being successfully farmed by eight settlers under the small farms scheme. Camps are being established, for about 120 men, who will be chiefly engaged for some time in clearing scrub and fern. The whole of the 15,000 acres is Crown land under the control of the Lands 'Department, and the operations pending are expected to be the forerunner of other development work on further extensive areas of a similar class of country.

The work of completing the Centennial Maori war canoe at Kerikeri is to begin in earnest in. a few nays, states the “Northern Advocate.” The sections, already hollowed out, have been submerged in water for three months and are now ready for exterior trimming and shaping, a task that will take about fifteen Maoris some months to complete'. The sections when fashioned, will be laced together in the good old Maori style—not a bolt, mail, or any modern means of splicing will be employed. All carving for the canoe includes a fourteenfoot how piece, a statue of tine late and great chieftain, Hongi, will be carried out on the present site. The 136foot canoe will probably hold 150 paddles when completed.

The readiness with which New Zealanders are sometimes identified in some parts of Australia was remarked on by Mr A. Ayling, of Invercargill, who has just returned from a trip to the Commonwealth, Mr Ayling said that he was sitting one day on the bowling green at Cairns, a town on the coast of Queensland, and, noticed that the old greenkeeper was eyeing him with interest. “Stranger in these parts?” he finally asked. Mr Ayling admitted that lie was, but was surprised when his interrogator guessed that lie was from New- Zealand. “How did you know?” he asked. “I can tell by your socks,” replied the greenkeeper. “All New Zealanders wear woollen socks.”

A climb to the summit of Rangitoto, the volcanic cone at the entrance to Auckland harbour, to celebrate his 84t'h birthday was recently accomplished by Mr W. Collett, of Settlement Road, Clevedon. For many years it' has been his custom to make the climb near his birthday, the day being spent at the island with his relatives as a picnic outing, states the “New Zealand Herald.” On the last occasion the ascent was completed well under an hour, end Mr Collett showed no signs of fatigue. Mr and Mrs Collett are old residents of Clevedon, and will shortly celebrate their diamond wedding.

A statement that some house-to house salesmen were of a type that should not be granted a licence was made at the meeting of the Ashburton Chamber of Commerce last evening, a member complaining of the manner in which some salesmen acted when, they called at houses, placing their feet to prevent the closing of doors and sometimes terrifying women by their persistence and rudeness. “Those men spoil it for the decent chaps who deserve to he Helped,” the member stated, and he asked if it was known whether the Borough Council enforced the law with regard to licences. He thought each mam should be compelled to wear a badge with a number, so that cases of rudeness could be reported to the Council. Mr J. Shaw, the Council’s delegate to the Chamber stated that he would bring the question before the Council.

Congratulations to the Ashburton Volunteer Fire Brigade on its success at the provincial demonstrations at Geraldine last Saturday were expressed, at the meeting of the Ashburton Chamber of Commerce last evening, when, at the suggestion of the president (Mr G. A. Gilchrist) a donation of one guinea, was made to the Brigade in appreciation of its services to the town.

What is believed to be something unique in public works camps maybe found in the Jnglewood-Kaimiro district, Taranaki, where .29 tents, including one wireless and two bathroom tents have been erected for 12 Chinese and about nine whites, states the “Taranaki Herald.” All the Chinese are from Wellington anid have been at the camp for the past three months, their work, along with that of othejr employees, being mainly to clean out creeks and drains on the settlers’ farms’ in the district.

One of the largest single orders placed in Wellington for one class of vehicle has been given by the' Municipal Milk Department for the replacing of the full fleet of milk wagons by 52 new wagons running on pneumatic tyres. The new wagons will be horse-drawn, and the horses will run on rubber, too, at- any rate on hill roads, for rubber pads have been used for some time now to give a better grip on bitumen surfaces on the steeper grades, with some reduction in noise.

Women golfers do not let the weather prevent them, from carrying on with such an important event as the Wanganui Provincial Ladies’ Golf Tournament, which concluded the other day in heavy rain. The final in the afternoon was followed by a large “gallery,” and the many gailystriped umbrellas under which these enthusiasts sheltered from the rain squalls provided a bright spot on a dull background.

An intimation that the Government intended to make an early redistribution of the licences held under the licensing laws in New Zealand _ was conveyed to a meeting of the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce by Mr W. It. Shattock. It was decided to make another application to the Government for further licences for Hamilton. The secretary of the chamber, Mr R. R. V. Challiner, said whenever he was asked to find hotel accommodation for visitors the stipulation was that the hookings should be in licensed premises.

To save time on a big .job of putting wooden plugs into a brick wiall in a shop he is building in East Street, Mr O. H. F. Maynard has devised an ingenious arrangement of drills that do the work in much less time than is taken in the ordinary method of driving a steel .tool into the mortar and prising out the loose material. To a left-hand drill fixed to a brace he has attached two other drills which work on cogs driven by the main drill. The three drills lie close together and in line and they cut into the mortar quickly, leaving very little work to be done to clear the unwanted mortar away.

That it should be obligatory on the part of every garage proprietor to see that every purchaser of a new car has a driver’s licence was the opinion expressed at a meeting of the executive of the Manawatu Automobile Association by Mr M. A. Eliott. He said that there were many instances of men going to garages, purchasing cars, and driving away without first obtaining a licence. The road safety campaign could bo greatly assisted if this practice could be stopped, _Mr Eliott maintained, and the most effective way to stop it was to make the garage ' proprietor responsible. The meeting agreed that the question was an important one, and required mature consideration. Mr Eliott is to bring it forward at the annual meeting.

The loyalty of New Zealand has never been called in question, writes a correspondent from Lond > i, and when the threat of war loomed large New Zealanders in Great Brita* v lived up to the best traditions of their country. In the short space of a few< days the High Commissioner was inundated with offers of service from New Zealanders of all ages. More than 200 young men and ex-servicemen of all ranks —from colonels to privates—placed their names on a list of those wishing to join the. Dominion forces. Doctors and nurses offered their services unreservedly to the Government, while elderly people who could take no active part in a war wished to place their cars at New Zealand s disposal if war should be declared. Officials at New Zealand, House believe that if an appeal had been made by the High Commissioner at least 700 offers of assistance would have been forthcoming.