LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 60, Issue 308, 5 October 1940, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Members of the Ealing .Women’s Institute spent an enjoyable picnic in the Ashburton Domain yesterday. The visitors were, very favourably impressed with the display of daffodils. An inspection was made of the propagating yards.

The Ashburton County Council fund for Christmas parcels for New Zealand soldiers overseas is steadily increasing. With donations of £2 2s from the Staveley Women’s Institute and £1 Is from Miss Cruickshank, the total has reached £9O 13s. The quota for the County is £lO7.

To improve the approach into Ashburton from the Alford' Forest Road the reserve on which the water tower is situated is being tidied. , Treestumps are being removed and it is hoped that it will scon' he in such a condition that it can be mowed negularly.

Sacrificing his chances of presents for his birthday, a boy named Alister Baxter, son of Mrs E/S. Baxter, of Carewi, was able to add £1 10s to the London Distress Fund. He was to have had a birthday party, but the idea of receiving presents was rejected in favour of one that his guests should bring money instead. The resuult was a collection of 30s, which was brought to the “Guardian” yesterday, and has been sent to the fundi in Christchurch.

A fairly popular practice during the Great War, the dressing of children in uniforms of naval or military design, appears to be becoming fashionable with parents again. Several young children have been seen in the city clad in this manner -recently and one small boy who attended the ceremonial parade of the First Battalion, Auckland Regiment, at Epsom yesterday afternoon, attracted much attention in a smart outfit resembling that worn by members of the battalion’s motorcycle platoon,

Ashburton residents have not become so familiar with the sight of aeroplanes flying over the bor-ciugli! as to drop the habit of sky-gazing and following the flight with craned necks. In thj3 larger cities, machines are overload continuously while a- considerable amount of night flying practice is carried out. When a. ’plane circled much lower than usual over the town this morning, most cf the people in the streets paused for a few minutes to watch the evolutions.

The skeleton found on Sunday evening in a clump of tea-tree on the slopes overlooking Duck Bay, on the- Onchunga, side of Blockhouse Bay, is believed to ho that of Mr Jeffrey Cope, aged 49, a labourer, formerly of 46 Kitchener Road', (Sandringham, who has been missing from his homo since September 23, 1939, states the. “New Zealand Herald.”'' The Newton police found the initials J.C. on a hatband, and this gave them a clue, while a son has recognised clothing found; on the skeleton. A post-mo(i'tem examination has been ordered by the Coroner, Mr F. K. Hunt.

While other cities and towns of New Zealand are well forward in their pub-, lie collections of non-ferrous metals to eliminate waste and assist the war effort, Ashburton seems to be singularly lagging. For some days now a bin for the receipt of scrap metal has stood outside a shop ■ in East Street and all it contains is an odd aluminium saucepan or two and a box of photographic film-containers. Nothing has been added to it for at least three days. When the Government made its appeal, it stressed the need for the collection of .as much non-ferrous metal as possible. There must be many articles in the district which' have outlived 'their usefulness, and which could well be placed in the yawning receptacle.

“The neople of America, have a tremendous education problem arising from the mixed nationalities of the children,” said Mr E. Partridge, senior inspector of schools for Southland, in the course of an address at the weekly luncheon of the Invercargill Rotary Club. Ha said that in some -of the schools in the States special clashes had to be held to teach the children English. He had been surprised to find a somewhat similar state of affairs in Canada. In one school in Toronto there was only one British-born child in a class of 47. This Strathcona School, Vancouver, had 1400 pupils representing 32 nationalities. There were 600 Japanese, 300 Chinese and 150 Italians. The school council, on which children sat, was a miniature League of Nations, with eight nationalities represented.

“It is most unusual in those days to hear of a desertion by a member of the crew of a British ship,” said the Rev. H. K. Vickery, of the Flying Angel Missions toi Seamen, Auckland, on Monday, when commenting on a suggestion that desertions caused great inconvenience, states the “New Zealand Herald.” “As far as I can learn, there has been only one desertion in Auckland in the last few months, and that was of a boy -of 16. He had taken part in the evacuation at Dunkirk, and had done his share well. There was .no suggestion of ‘funk’ in the reasons that caused him to. leave his ship. For any vacancy that may occur on a. British ship there are numerous applications, especially from Englishmen who wish to return to Britain because their offers of service have been refused for various reasons.”

Those who are in touch with people in England by correspondence are able to judge of the spirit of the women of England during the present crisis. One woman, writing from the Midlands to her sister in Wellington, said: “Poor door, you do seem to be worried about us. 1 do not want you to be worried in, the least on our account, as we have lots to bo thankful for, and we do- not go short of food (as the Germans would have the outside world believe). At the same time, thank you very much for the butter, which I got on Monday morning ; but do not send any more, as we get three-quarters oi a pound for the two of us every week, and that is all we need, and wo only have to pay at the rate of Is 6d a lb. . . . We should be having our holidays now, but I think wte will get a week in September instead, just to give the men a rest.” After this the writei goes on to describe pleasant little motor trips they have been able to take in the country, with evening jaunts and supper by the wayside. “So do not worry, dear, as we are going to win l the war, and then you will have a trip Home and won’t we have something to talk about!”

A start has 'been made with the planting out of annuals in the Ashburton D'omain. This work cannot however be carried out to any great extent until the spring display is passed its best and further space can be found in the beds. ,

A concert consisting of two plays and items will bo presented by pupils of three forms of the Ashburton High School on Monday evening. The feature of the performance will be the presentation of the most exciting scenes of the tragedy “Macbeth.”

Fifteen Ashburton Boy •Scouts'' took part in a mystery bicycle ride to Mr H. Brown’s property at Steaview today. The boys left town shortly before 9 o’clock, riding in patrols. During the clay it was intended to play games and carjry /jut some general scout work.

The appeal for £13,000 for rehabilitation, London Distress Fund, and general patriotic purposes in; the County, (Borough and Tinwald, is expected to open about Monday, October 14, according to an anuounaement made at a meeting of the district zone Patriotic Executive. The appeal is scheduled to last about six weeks.

In answer to a question at a. meeting of the Patriotic Executive for the Ashburton district zone, yesterday the County Clerk (Mr G. Kelly) said that 25 patriotic committees had boen set up throughout the County. Some districts were still not covered by committees but it was intended in these cases to bring the areas into committees already in operation.

There has been a noticeable number of cattle grazing on the slopes above the Manavvatu Gorge highway and these present a gravis danger to users of the road as the beasts often dislodge large rocks from the hill on to the roadway, and these could easily cause damage and injury. , No few/a' than three beasts have fallen on to the roadway and been so badly injured that they have had to be destroyed.

After having put in a month of intensive military training at Burnham and Addington Camps the Ashburton Territorial' Force returned to Ashburton to-day by special train arriving here about li o’clock. The men were in good fettle and looked to have beneiitted from tho training. Before going north tho force carried out training at Ashburton. The Territorials will return to civilian life on Monday. ,

Cricket clubs in the Ashburton County have suffered fairly severely ill membership as a result of military enlistments. ‘ In the. country clubs have been forced to amalgamate and it is expected. that in the town the Old Boys and Ashburton Clubs will take a similar step. Of the former’s senior team last season only about onp member remains. In the case of another club, however, scarcely a member of the senior team has been affected.

A tribute to the deeds of New Zealand, airmen in Britain is contained in a> letter to the “New Zealand Herald” from Mr W. A. Dearmer, of Haddenham, Cambridgeshire. “The New Zealanders,” he writes, “in conjunction with airmen from Canada and Australia and our own brave-lads, have dealt severe blows on oil stores and aircraft factories in Western.’ Germany. The loyalty which New Zealand has shown in coming to the aid of the Old Country will always be remembered and has helped us in no small wav to endure our trials so’ far.”

A valuable advertisement- for New Zealand is soon to be given the dominion in a film of this country to be produced by the “March of Time” film organisation, according to an announcement by the Minister in charge of the Tourist and Publicity department (the Hon. F. Langstone) last night. The Minister said that arrangements had now been completed to have a film taken, the subject being New Zealand’s war effort. Mr Victor Jurgiens, a representative of the “March of Time” in the United States recently arrived at Auckland by the American Clipper, said Mr Langstone, and after producing pictures of the Commonwealth’s war effort, would return to New Zealand in about two months, when he would set to work on the New Zealand picture, which would include industrial and scenic shots (says a Press Associatio nmessage).

North Auckland is experiencing one of the most favourable springs for the farmer, states & Whangarei correspondent. There is an abundant growth of feed and, with the comparatively mild winter’, cows have come into production in good condition. This is in marked contrast to the previous spring. Although, on account of instructions from the Northland Dairy Association, individual dairy factory output figures are not available, it is known that one factory is manufacturing one ton of butter more each day than was the output last September. In August this factory’s output was about four times that of the like month of last season. There is still a good demand for dairy stock and high prices' are being realised for beasts showing quality. The sheepfarmer is also passing through a satisfactory spring. The lambing percentage has been high and the mortality among the young lambs low. The .ewes have wintered well and this year should see a large number of fat lambs pass through, the freezing works from Northland.