NEWS OF THE DAY.

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 51, 1 March 1928, Page 6

NEWS OF THE DAY.

New Pumping Station.

Last night the Auckland and Suburban Drainage Board decided to call tenders for the erection of a pumping station at Point Chevalier. It is estimated that the cost of the building and plant will be about £1500. °

Selwyn Church. In memory of the pioneer bishop the old church built by Bishop Selwyn at Otahuhu, recently removed to Mangere East and renovated, is to be known as Selwyn Church. Ifc will be dedicated on April 1 by Archbishop Averill. Constructed of heart of timber the building was found to be in a good state of preservation, and it is expected to last another forty years. Vital Statistics. Births in the Auckland district for February numbered- 314, as compared with 273 in February last year, and deaths 134, as compared with 128. The marriage licenses issued totalled 169, an increase of five. The registrar conducted 34 marriage ceremonies as against 38 last year. A feature in connection with the vital statistics was the large increase in the number of births. Assembling a Tug. Having been brought to Auckland in sections, a new steel tug, built in Scotland,- is being assembled at the shipbuilding yard of Mr. George Niccol, at 1 reeman's Bay. Already the hull lias been assembled, and the hull plates are now being riveted together. The vessel, which has a length of about 75ft, will be fitted with a 300 h.p. steam engine. When completed she may be requisitioned for use on the Auckland Harbour. February Bain. .Until February 23 the rainfall for the month was only .o(Jin, but within the last week the total has been brought to 1.61 in, and although this was 1.42 below the average for February, it was the most welcome rain for four months. For the two first months of the year the rainfall has been 3.9 Din below the average, and for the past five months 7.93 in below the average. Yesterday the maximum period of sunshine for any single day in February was recorded—l 2 hours. On February 24, there was no sunshine. The Value of Co-operation. The value of friendly co-operation between traders and transporters was emphasised yesterday at the annual meeting of the Auckland Importers and Shippers' Protection Association, presided over by Mr. H. G. Thomson. It was stated that the relations existing between local import houses and the shipping companies had steadily improved, and there was clear evidence of a greater inclination on the part of the companies to deal reasonably- with claims. The directors of the association were all re-elected. They are Mr. Robert Burns (chairman), and Messrs. C. W. Coles, J. C. Entrican, G. Jackson. J. J. Kingston, H. J. Mills, and H. G. Thomson. New Home for Duck. The wild duck of the Waikato have come to the conclusion that Arapuni Lake has been created for their special benefit. Since the impounding of the Waikato waters the birds have flocked to the new lake, and on a recent launch trip a party of Aueklanders counted hundreds. Shooting enthusiasts are viewing the prospects with feelings of pleasure, as there will be neither muddy swamps to wade through nor the prospects of camping for hours in a damp "loo," while the birds will have a narrow space to rise in when they try to take to the wing. The Auckland Acclimatisation Society has decided to take steps to have approximately a five miles' strip of the lake from the north end set aside as a sanctuary in order that the birds may have a sporting chance. •Inquired in Vain. . . It was fortunate for an ex-Aucklander who visited Devonport yesterday after an absence of many years that he met a veteran North Shore resident, as he had made several vain inquiries to be directed to Brick Bay. It was explained that the name of the locality had been changed for many years, and that it was identical with Stanley Bay. In recounting the incident, the veteran Shore-ito said that the change in name came about in quite a casual way. Land at Brick Bay was bought for subdivisional purposes, a more attractive name was considered advisable, and thus Stanley Bay came on to the North Shore map. He added that the name Brick Bay was bestowed in an equally casual manner fof the reason that there was a brickmaking business there in the early days. Tramway Mathematics.

Auckland trams and buses travelled a total distance of 7,308,516 miles in the course of operations last year, a' performance that was equivalent to thirty journeys to the moon, and far enough to lap six times round the earth and half-way from Auckland to the North Pole. The revenue collected was £637,882, the biggest fare was 6d, and the majority ranged about 2d or 3d, the pile of silver and copper that • flowed through the tramways department ran into tons, and the number of tickets clipped was 63,151,120, whidh was equivalent daily to the population of Auckland and that ot the whole Dominion in the course -of a week. The corporation carried out its work on a 32-mile length of tram track and 55 miles of bus track, the' staff numbered well on to a thousand, and the fleet of buses and trams was in the vicinity of 150 vehicles." Bogus Collectors. "1 have issued warnings until I am tired of it. Two men I roped in and handed over to the police for a good scare, because I hate prosecut'"o • man; but I believe the general public should be warned to use great caution before they give to unknown and unrecognised persons. This remark was made this morning by the Rev. Jasper Calder in regard -to "Charity Collectors." He said that from time to time during the last few months his attention had been drawn to the fact that numerous persons were going round the city and suburban areas collecting money for the poor and unemployed. It was necessary that genuine social workers should be protected from the wiles of unscrupulous collectors, who would readily use tlic name of any recognised body. In ojie instance a man obtained money by stating that he was collecting for the Auckland City Mission. ° "Great Waste of Time." . Opposition to such subjects as typewriting being included in the curriculum at secondary schools was voiced by Mr. J. R. Kirk at a meeting of the Board of Governors of the Gisborne High School. There was no subject, he said, in which there was such a great waste of time, and it was one which could be learned in a very short time. If more time were devoted to the literary side, such as punctuation and grammar, pupils would be more efficient in not only other work, but also in typewriting. He had become efficient in typewriting in six weeks, whereas a course at school extended over a whole year. He suggested that a pupil desiring to learn typing should devote his time to other subjects during the year and in the last term take up typewriting. The rector, Mr. F. Foote, agreed with every word Mr. Kirk had said, but added that all typewriting was taught of school hours. • - °

Asleep at the Roadside. A Wanganui resident, while driving a lorry along an up-river road a few days ago, noted a man lying curled up on the bank with a bike near,by. Hfe asked the man what he was doing there, and learned he had been asleep, jvorn out after much travelling in search of work. The man had cycled from New Plymouth to Stratfotd and had tried without success to find work at various places down the line. In his quest he had gone up the river and was on his way back when, overcome with exhaustion, he had fallen asleep. He had had no food for a couple of days, and had left his wife and three children at New Plymouth, The Wanganui man gave him a lift and took him to a friend, who gave the hungry - man a meal. He then resumed his search for employment, hoping to secure work on one of the stations in tho district.