LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 59, Issue 43, 30 November 1938, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

It is St. Andrew’s Day to-day. and flags were flown on several public buildings in Ashburton. The banks were elosed all day.

About 300 members of the Salvation Army Home League from all Corps in tlie Canterbury Division assembltd in. the Ashburton" Domain to-day for their annual picnic. A special train brought the picnickers from Christchurch, and nearly every corp in Canterbury was represented. Several members of the Ashburton Home League joined the large party when it arrived.

Many of Canterbury’s estates are noteworthy for their old English and New Zealand trees and shrubs. Near to Ashburton one such estate is Lagmfior. Mrs Wright, of the Homestead has opened the estate to the public for Saturday to aid the reconstruction fund of this Lagmhor Church, at one time the estate chapel.

Apparently the christening of the new fire engine in Ashburton on Monday evening was too much for one official of the Borough Council, who arrived at the office yesterday morning minus his collar and tie and expressed amazement when the omission was pointed out to him. The fact that at the function at the Fire Station he drank only lemonade is vouched for.

The lack o-f a school for training Maori girls as domestic servants was explored by Dr. IT. B. Turbott, district health officer at Hamilton, when addressing the Hamilton Rotary Club. “They make excellent domestic servants,” he said, “and with proper training an avenue of employment would 1(3 opened up for a large 'number of girls.” Such a scheme had been organised by Sister Nicholls, of the Methodist Maori Mission, Dr. Turbott added. He thought that it could be employed on a wider scale to secure useful and congenial work for Maori gi rls. .

During a visit to Hunua Falls over 22 years ago, Mr IT. M. Crispe, ot Mauku, wrote his name, the date, and the word “Hunua Falls” on a busiiU/3SS card and put it into a bottle he found there. He corked the bottle and threw it into the stream. A Clovedon resident, Mr R. J. Hale, recently comnninieaied with him and told him that he had found the bottle on September 20 on a tidal flat in the estuary of the Wairoa River, near Clevedon. The bottle was scored by contact wtih rocks and there was a little water inside it, but the writing on the card was still easily legible.

Visions of the day when motorists will be able to see the road ahead for a mile, or more, in panoramic display, as if viewed from an aeroplane, were suggested by Mr L. Courtenay At wool, addressing members of the Auckland Creditmieii’s Club. He predicted that science would come to the aid ot drivers to assist in eliminating traffic dangers. Besides a 'special type of sqreen, which would enable drivers to peer into the distance, he said it 'mas likely that some form of radio directional apparatus would lie fitted tt> the oar of the future and keep it to the contour of the road. The great increase in accidents in recent years was due partly to the sudden leap forward in the development of the motor car, about seven years ago, and safety measures had not yet caught up with the needs of these highly efficient machines.

Dairy production in Poverty Bay this season is 30 to 40 per cent, lower than for the corresponding period last year, the figures fo>v which showed a decline on the previous year’s returns. Thus the output in Gisborne for the season, to date is approximately only half that of two years ago up to the corresponding date. Towards the end of October and at the beginning of the present month there were hopes of a recovery, following light ,rains, which freshened pastures considerably. Before that the ground was baked hard by high temperatures and strong winds, and pasture growth ‘was at a standstill. At present, however, the ground is nearly as dry as it was during Octobejr except that the surface is •not so hard, the rains of a, few weeks a,go having helped considerably in loosening the surface. Production, which commenced to rise rapidly at the beginning of the present month, has suffered a further check, and the seasonal increase is much slower than at this time last year.

The story of the crash of tljje Kveema, the Australian National Airways plane which struck Mount Dandenong, 23 miles from Melbourne, on October 25, with the loss of all 18 passengers on board, was told by Mr \V. J. Dempsey, of Wanganui, who has returned from a visit to Australia. He was on the scene a few minutes after the tragedy. “We were travelling by car over the; Dandenong Hills some distance behind the rest of our party \uhen we were passed by fivi? ambulances and three police ears, screaming shrilly,” said Mr Dempsey. “We thought out of the other cars must have had an accident, and we made inquiries and found it was the aeroplane Kyeema- When we arrived flames were risingto a great height and nothing coulcl be done. Other members of the party from New Zealand were with me in the car, and we helped to retrieve the bodies from the flames' were rising to a. great height yards off the road in the bush, jb'ut I found the work of carrying stretchers too strenuous in the heat up the steep incline, and had to stop after one trip.”

The results of the recent poster competition organised to popularise territorial training were announced by army headquarters yesterday. The competition was divided into two sections. The A section (first prize five guineas, second two guineas, third one guinea) was open only to serving members of the New Zealand Military Forties, for a suggestion or design for a poster, conveyed by rough' sketch, but not intended to be suitable for direct reproduction. Section B (first prize 10 guineas, second five guineas, third £2 10s) was for open entry from mismbeirs of the general public and military forces, and called for a finished design in colour suitable for direct reproduction, with a maximum of six colours'. The awards are as follow: Section A : Second Lieutenant E. McAra, < Ist Battalion Wellington Regiment, City of Wellington’s i 'am, 1 : Corporal D. G. McXab, 2nd Field Company. New Zealand Engineers, Napier, 2; Sergeant J. lv. Wole.?, C Company, Ist Battalion Hawke s Bay Regiment, Masterton 3. Section B: Messrs E. O. Chapman and R. Clark (equal) 1, My P. Moore-Jones 3, all of Wellington.

How many people can claim to have held in their hands a brick worth more than £3500? Air E. T. Gifford, who described the Hastings Rotary Club last week a visit to the Australian branch of the British Mint, is one. When there lie handled a gold ingot, with the number 408 on it. One of the workmen told him that the number signified t he’weight in ounces and that the “brick” was worth more than £3500. Mr Gifford’s voice held a touch of envy as he told Rotarians that,* “it was just lying there on a bench.”

The Ashburton Catholic Club, taking the negative side the debate on the subject “That the modern woman is an improvement on her predecessors,” defeated a team from the 'Society of the Children of Mary by a Wry small margin. Hie president of the Catholic Club (Mr, J. P. McDonnell) presided The teams were: Society of the Children of Mary: Miss B. McDonnell, Misses T>. Burgfess and P. Bradlev ; Catholic Club : Messrs J. L. Connell, V. .1. Crequer and M. L. Chequer. Mr T. Purcell was the judge.

A tour of the Dominion is likely to be mad? by the Prime Minister (the Rt. Hon. Mr Savage) before the assembly of the new Parliament. Mr Savage stated on Thursday that he was in the best of health and that lie intended making a tour of the country to meet the people. “They were very good to me before the election, and T want to meet them again;” the Prime Minister said. “I told them then that I wanted to meet- them as soon as the election was over, hut so far I have been unable to carry out that wish.” No itinerary for the tomlias yet been discussed, and although Christmas is only a month away, thje Prime Minister had made no plans for a holiday from Wellington.

A murmur of amused surprise passed through a Wellington picture theatre audience one night last week when reference was made in one of the wellknown “'March of Time” series of special features to the attitude of American doctors toward Government control or socialisation of medical services. Concluding a public address, the leader of the large majority of the doctors who oppose any .form of -ontrol said: “The practice of medicine is still a profession. It must never become ?. business or a trade or be under the control of Government bureaucracy.” The aptness of the remark to the present position in New; Zealand was obviously noted by the audience.

The term “millibar” has become familiar to New Zealanders through its daily reiteration in the broadcast weather reports. Although there is a general suspicion that it relates to barometric pressure, its exact meaning has been somewhat obscure. Dr. W? A. Macky, officer in charge of the Government meteorological office at Auckland, stated, in reply to a question, that a. millibar was the international unit of pressure, being based on the metric system. The term had been introduced into New Zealand several years ago, and was now practically universal, although the United States adhered to the old system based upon inches of mercury. The relation of the new system to the old was that 1000 millibars was the equivalent reading of 29.53 in on an ordinay barometer. Normal atmospheric pressure was 1015 millibars, and though readings below this indicated an area of low pressure, it did not necessarily follow that there would be bad weather ; often the reverse was the case.

“The publicity compaign carried on during the last four or five months has not only stimulated recruiting; but has also resulted in increased public interest in the welfare of the territorial forces,” said Major G. H. Clifton, Army Headquarters General Staff, Wellington, in an interview yesterday. “The territorials have been built up both in numbers and in spirit. There is every indication that attendance at thb annual camps during this summer will be much higher than ever before. The recent improvement in conditions of service in the territorial forces, under 'which: a New Zealand private receives 12s a day while in camp, is also having a very good effect. Men Avho now join up know that their services are fully appreciated, and they will receive adequate remuneration for the time and leisure which they sacrifice in the interests of their country. Recruits coming forward in Wellington are of a very good type. Another pleasing feature of the recruiting campaign is the formation of suburban platoons of the Wellington Regiment.”

.Mr' S. H. Mayne, F.S.M.C., F. 1.0. (London), of Messrs J. 11. Procter, Ltd., Christchurch, is at present in Ashburton, and may be consulted on all defects of eyesight at the Somerset Hotel to-morrow and Friday.—(Advt.)