NEWS OF THE DAY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXI, Issue 64, 17 March 1930, Page 6

NEWS OF THE DAY.

'Plane's Big Spin. What is considered a rather exceptional height for a light 'plane was reached during the •week-end by one of the Moths owned by the Auckland Aero Club. Mr. D. M. Allen was the pilot and he had as passenger Miss Ina Wight, of Devonport, who is a pupil at the aerodrome. After climbing for fifty minutes the machine reached a height of 14,000 feet, from which the pilot dropped in a spin to 5800 feet, making during the descent about forty turns. Removing Centre Poles. A start has been made with the removal of the centre tram poles in Karangahape Road. This thoroughfare has always been a busy one, but since the opening of the stadium at the Western Springs it has been more used than ever. On nights when the stadium has been open there has been greatly increased traffic in Karangahape Road, and the removal of these dangerous centre poles will remove a source of anxiety to the drivers. "Dutch Auction." The ladies of the Mount Eden branch of the Auckland Hospital Auxiliary are untiring in their efforts to assist the sick and needy of the borough, and at a fete held in the grounds of the residence of the Mayor of Mount Eden (Mr. E. H. Potter), on Saturday afternoon and evening, a sum of £07 10/ was raised'. The amount would have been considerably more had the audience of the auctioneer, when a clearing sale was held towards the close, not consisted of knowing housewives. He would ask eightpence for a cake of sandsoap and finish up by getting a penny or "tuppence," the same with cabbages, pots of jam, etc. Not knowing the shop prices he had to make a Dutch auction of and start high, then dropping the price until somebody called out "Yes." Motorist Stranded at Muriwai. Venturing too close to the encroaching tide, a motorist was stranded for several hours in loose 6and at Muriwai Beach yesterday. The wheels, despite frantic working of the engine, failed to grip, and, as the car was stuck on a remote end of the beach the owner was in a dilemma to know what to do. Just on dusk, however, Mr. G. Preston, of Cook Street, Auckland, appeared' on the scene. Although he would not risk his car too close to the water, he went and secured a band of willing helpers to remove the bogged machine, which was firmly embedded in the sand. After much heaving and straining the car was once more got back on to the firm beach. The workmen accomplished their task in the nick of time, for by then the wheels of the car were awash. Back to Standard Time. With a sigh of'relief the farmer and the man who has a matutinal job stopped the clock during the week-end, gave the quietus to Sidey time and got back to the time Nature intended. Sporting people,'on the othendiand, performed the operation grudgingly. Some people did it neither one way nor the other, and the result was that they turned up at shop or office half an hour late this morning. According to the law two o'clock yesterday morning was the appointed moment for putting the clock back to normal time, but people pleased themselves, and most people ignored the suggestion and performed the operation on Saturday night. Oddly enough, even on Saturday night there was 6ome confusion. At a big dance that was held people got very much mixed up in their departure times owing to the fact that some drivers were evidently working on.standaid time already, while others were still the half hour fast. Summer Time had been operating in New Zealand for the past five months, and standard time will now be in force until next November. Bayswater's Front Door. The entrance to the pleasant suburb of Bayswater used to be rather a dreary clay-bank sort of affair, but latterly all that has been changed. No doubt the example set by the local beautifying sqciety gave the idea. After leaving the wharf the strip of concrete roadway in place of rougn scoria makes an approach worthy of the place, and the once unsightly banks have now been taken in hand. The old track, which led' to Norwood Road, lost much of its usefulness when the new graded roadway was put through, but it has been improved by the addition of some conciete steps, and as it leads into the thicket of bamboos and other greenery planted by the beautifying society the effect is quite pleasing. On each side of the main concrete roadway pohutukawas have been planted. They are doing exceptionally well, and in a few years' time will make the entrance to Bays water a charming vista. The reserve on the left hand side just near the bend in the road has been cleared of the pines which were the characteristic note of the point, and when planted in shrubs it will combine with the other improvements and give Bayswater's front entrance R well-groomed look in place of the bleak air it wore for so long. Game in the City. "Manu Maori" writes: "I was amazed the other day to hear the call of a quail within seven minutes of Queen Street. There was no doubt about it, you could hear him calling 'Macwhirtei! Macwhirter!' with great persistence. Thinking it must be a captive I stalked the cry and at last located the bird, evidently a young hen, in a tree between Eden Crescent and Waterloo Quadrant. There was at least one other quail 'n the vicinity, one cculd hear it answering the call. How these birds came to wander so near the roar and racket of a busy city it would be hard to say, and still more remarkable is the fact that, the one on ne tree seemed quite at home; probably the nest was not far off. The Eden County (a paper territory that has no functional existence) is a sanctuary for native and imported game, and not so long ago pheasants were not uncommon in the <nrlly at the back of Victoria Avenue, Remuera. There used to be a bird or two round about Mount Eden, and I remember seeing a clutch of very immature pheasant chicks walking calmlv across Mountain Road from the Grammai school grounds to tlie extensive native bush on the opposite side of the road. It was broad daylight and the little buff and brown balls of fin I seemed quite oblivious of the existence of schoolboys, dogs and other enemies of wild things. Museum Popular. Fine feathers make fine birds, and though it does not say much for the perspicacity of the people who could not recognise the worth of the plainer bird, human nature is human nature and. cannot be altered. That is probably why so many people never realised what an interesting institution Auckland had in its museum until the splendid new building arose on the Outer Domain hill. Since it was opened the Auckland War Memorial Museum has attracted very large crowds, and on Sundays it is particularly popular. There was a great throng of visitors yesterday, the perfect weather, no doubt, being responsible for the specially large number of people abroad. It was pleasing to note the keen interest taken in the many treasures housed in the museum. The exhibits are now displayed in a manner that was quite impossible at Princes Street, and the man in the street, his wife, and his children are beginning to realise what they have missed in the. past. The part of the Domain in the vicinity of the museum is now a very pleasant place for a stroll or a lounge fti the sort of weather we have been having. There is plenty of turf, refreshingly green, there are the winter gardens, the old gardens where the orchids are grown, the pond with its ducks, an dplenty of shady trees, and altogether there are few more pleasant parts about the city. People were a long while finding out the beauty of their Domain, but the advent of the museum has also introduced them to a hitherto rather neglected asset. <