LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 60, Issue 32, 17 November 1939, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

There was a clean bill of health in both the Ashburton Borough and Ashburton County this week.

From a heart of kauri log obtained front the Omahuta State Rangiahua sawmills at Umawera recently cut two planks each 16 feiet long by fouji’ feet wide by two and a-half inches thick. One of these has been forwarded to Wellington, where it will he on display in the Northland Court at the Centennial Exhibition.

A sense of humour permeates some of the grimmer features of the war. One of the recruits who left Whangarei recently for c-amp purchased in Germany five years ago a wallet, which, in keeping with all articles made in the Reich, is embossed with the swastika. "I am taking this back personally to Hitler,” he said,, with a smile. '■ .

Many Ne w Plymouth residents, especially in the suburbs, are at present displaying a keen ..desire to brighten their homes by re-painting their residences. Activity in this direction is the result of a realisation that advanced prices recently notified by manufacturejrs must, when new stocks arrive in the shops, be passed on to customers. So far New Plymouth prices are not affected.

The following paragraph appeared in the "Ashburton Mail” on November 17, 1879: Ashburton Show.—The second annual exhibition in connection with the Ashburton Agricultural and Pastoral Association took place yesterday, the money taken at the gates being more than double that taken last year. In the evening the annual dinner was held at Shearman’s Hotel and was well attended.

A large number of soldiers from Trentham Camp .visited the Exhibition on Saturday evening; and, judging by the number that visited the Army’s exhibit the majority of them take a keen interest in their new trade. While the young men in uniform wejre examining arms and equipment, their girl friends or sisters took a different view, and could: be observed to persuade their escorts to move on -to more amusing sections of the big show.

A bird of somewhat eccentric characteristics in Palmerston North which may have aroused the comment of passers-by in "the wee sma’ ’oors,” is a thrush which frequents the lakelet reserve, in the Square. On fine nights, about midniglit, it can be heard in full song, causing many a late homewaird-bound citizen to pause and wonder. Whether the bird is fooled by the electric lights or whether it use? Greenwich mean time is a matter for conjecture.

From the King Country comes the story of a chairman of a school governing body on a tour of schools in his area. Struck by the attractive appearance of a trelliswoirk fence on the grounds, he asked what assistance the board concerned had given in its construction. The chairman of the school committee replied that no assistance had been granted at all. The district* lie said, was a no-liesnee area, so the boys had simply collected all the empty* bottles they could find and with the proceeds built the fence.

Though other work is progressing there has been a serious delay in the construction of the new Intermediate School at Palmerston North owing to the impossibility of securing joinery •supplies, the Wellington firm which contracted for these being engaged in fulfilling urgent Government orders. Efforts to secure supplies for the school have so far been ineffective. There was also a hitch' in securing the shipment from Home of the plant for the steam heating installation, but it is understood that this is now on the water. Meanwhile, scheduled for completion before the second term of next year, the school may not now be available until much later.

At a sitting of the Ashburton Children’s Court this morning before Mr H. Morgan, S.M., seven boys, whose ages ranged from. 10 to 13 years, were charged with having broken, and entered premises in Ashburton. Threp of them were also charged with having stolen property. The Magistrate spoke se-veirely to- the boys,, pointing out the graven ess of the charges brought against them and the fact that they vepe all equally guilty. Sentence was suspended for 12 months, the boys to be on good behaviour in that time or they would be dealt with on the present charges. The parent of one hoy wias ordered to pay one' shilling and another was ordered to pay 7s 6d, the value of articles stolen and not recovered.

Mr A.. N. Campbell, of Wanganui, who was a magistrate and district officer in British North Borneo for four years, '\v;as called on to act as interpreter in the trial of a Malay who was charged with wounding with intent to do bodily harm, in the Supreme Court, Wanganui. Mr Campbell can speak both the Malay and Mohammedan languages. The Malay did not enter the witness-box to give evidence, so it was not necessary to administer the oath, which: w ould have been ewq;n on the Koran. He could not read or write Malay, but could understand English sufficiently well to know most of what witnesses said, and the services of the interpreter were only availed of when the Malay eoulcl not understand some part of the evidence. A jury brought in a verdict of not guilty.

The cross of sacrifice was given even deeper significance at Auckland’s Cenotaph wffien it provided an Armistice Day tribute by a sister tc, the memory of her eight brothers' who were killed or who died of wounds in the Great War. Made of red and white carnations, the cross carried a card on which was written: "In hallowed memory of all. who gave their lives for our Empire, including 41 relations, eight brothers, five in action, three of wounds, all from England, 1914-18.” There was no signature on the card, hut just the. word "Sister.” Who it was who thus paid tribute to her own and the Empire dead none of those who conducted ■ the ceremony arc aw-are. Some did notice in the file' of people who deposited w reaths a woman with a cross of flowers, hut thei significance of her offering was not appreciated until after she. and the crowd had gone and the cards on the flowers were being read. A thought to which expression was given at that moment was something more than fine in a, tribute which remembered the general loss before the private but proud grief in such a heavy family sacrifice:.

The executive officers of the New Zealand Co-operative- Dairy Company have given a new wireless set for the use of the soldiers at the Hopu Hopu camp.. The set has been handed over to the Salvation Army and has been installed in the Salvation Army tent for the use of the men in camp during tlieijr leisure hours.

Out of eight Maoris who have enlisted recently for the- Maori battalion, and who were medically examined at the Drill Hall, Hastings, last week, only one failed to meet the physical requirements demanded by the doctors. Twelve Maoris enlisted, and at a late hour that night eight had been examined. “It wes an excellent turnout,” said Captain H. Mac Kay, recruiting officer for the district, “and all of them looked fine types of men.”

“If the conditions are sunny a large quantity of nectar should be secreted and bees can be expected to bei working freely before Christmas,” said the apiary instructor in Auckland (Mr L. Riesterer), discussing the honey season, states the “New Zealand Herald.” This spring the pohutukawas, which weie a most important source of honey in the Auckland district, had shown a great deal of new. growth, and if the summer was favourable honey collecting would extend well into January.

One religious organisation' that has a stall at tile Centennial Exhibition bas a. life-size dummy dressed in a familiar uniform at the door. This dummy had an accident on Saturday night, and those who passed the stall shortly before 10 o’clock had their attention drawn to what at first gla-nco appeared to be a mild struggle between two uniformed persons. A well-known pa dye was endeavouring to reset a shoulder that had come adrift from the body of the dummy.

One of the disconcerting habits of the American people was the sounding of sirens on fire engines, ambulances and police cars, which, in the -excitement of a police- hunt, would set up ail almost unbearable volume of screaming sound, said Mr H. J. Macalister in an address to the Southland Travel Club. The efficacy of American business methods was demonstrated in' the able handling of 17,000 passengfers at the Customs office in New York, he said. The big numbers of police, all armed, forcibly struck the New Zealand visitor, to whom the display of armed force was quite unfamiliar.

A decision to call in the good offices of a conciliator was made by the Magistrate (Mr H. Morgan, S.M.) in the Ashburton Court this morning in a case involving domestic disagreement. It w T as stated that the man concerned had been separated from his wife for seven years at one time but they had lived together again, only to find that they could not get on amicably. The Magistrate held that an attempt should he made to bring the couple- together again, as had been directed by the- newly-passed Act. The'' case was stood down and the Magistrate later conferred with counsel for both parties on the question of appointing a conciliator.

i While his launch was lying at anchor in the • Awanui Harbour, Mr Te-d Walker saw a large stingray on a shallow bank a short distance away, states a Kaita-ia correspondent. Arming himself with a sharpened oar handle, he set off in a dinghy to capture it. Mr Walker nluhged the handle through the stingray’s head, but a strong wind made handling the dinghy difficult and in the ensuing struggle the stingray escaped into deep water. -Shortly afterwards Mr F. Begley saw the fish further away on another (shallow bank, and, with. Mr Begley at tlie oars, the two men set out after the stingray once more. The stingray put up a terjrific fight, but was killed after having showered the boat and its occupants with spray. It measured 7ft OnTfrom the tail to the head, -and 4ft 6in across. It was estimated to weigh about 4001 b. It was of the black variety and had a short, thick tail.