NEWS OF THE DAY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXI, Issue 221, 18 September 1930, Page 6

NEWS OF THE DAY.

Governor Buys Picture.

After formally opening the annual exhibition of the Wangantri Arts and Crafts Society, on Wednesday, tie Governor-General, Lord Bledisloe, inspected "the exhibition and bought the picture "Ploughing," by Mrs. WHteman, of Kaitoke, Wanganui, for £50. The artist is well known for her studies of animals. "Ploughing," painted in oils, shows a typical plough team in action.

"New Boots for Old." "New boots for old" is a slogan carried out to the letter by the ladies' auxiliary of the Peace-time Division of the Wellington Red Cross, When issuing boots to applicants for the chief officers insist on receiving the worn-out pair in exchange. ' This prevents abuse of charity by ■unscrupulous applicants, who might repeat their requests before other organisations. Quite a number of the discarded boots are repaired and issued again. Last month the association distributed 59 pairs of footwear.

Boad or No-Man's-Land? In complaining at a meeting of the Devonport Borough Council last night that the Wairoa Road is in a disgraceful condition, and urging that it should receive immediate attention, Mr. 1 , . T. Eyre said it was "a veritable no-man's-land." Later on he referred to it as a road. "Ah," said the deputy-Mayor, Mr. Ellisdon, "I thought it was a no-man's-land!" "Quite so, sir," returned Mr. Eyre, "but even the Germans found that they had to pass over no-man's-land to get anywhere." Eggs in Cool Stores. Objection to the practice of eggs from cool stores being released on the local market as "fresh," is entered by the Auckland Egg Producers' Association, which advocates that the eggs so stored should be branded "chilled." The executive contends, that, in addition to the unfairness to poultrykeepers of stored eggs being allowed to compete with eggs that are actually fresh, the policy is prejudical to consumers. Eggs removed from cool stores for public sale should carry a uniform indication that they have been stored. "The Second One." The vessels placed in the Australian and New Zealand service by the Trans-Atlantic Steam Ship have been given names from the language of'Vthe Australian aboriginals. The first vessel of the line to visit Australia was named Mirrabooka, meaning "Southern Cross." In explaining the name Captain Carlssen, master of the Parrakoola, mentioned that many people in the Northern- Hemisphere wished to see the Southern Cross, and consequently the name was chosen as being particularly suitable for the vessel. When it came to naming the second vessel to be placed on the run, it was decided to call her Parrakoola, or, "Number Two" —the second one.

The Founding of Auckland. The establishment of Auckland as the capital of New Zealand was marked by the hoisting of the Union Jack at Fort Britomart on September 18, 1840, 90 years ago to-day. Two unsuccessful attempts to establish settlements had been made by Captain Hobson, the Governor, the first at Russelltown, near ELororareka, the present Rusee!3, and then at Churchill, on. the Hokianga Eiver, before he selected the Waitemata. Hobson named the new site after Lord Auckland, then Governor-General of India. The removal from the Bay of Islands was completed early in IS4I, and the firsj; sale of town sites was held here in April. Auckland remained the capital of New Zealand uatil February, v 1865.

Sleepy, or Wise? - In a letter which he wrote to the Takapuna Borough Council, Mr. J. Guiniven, a member of the council, in advancing complaints received from contractors concerning the council's method of dealing with tenders and quotations, referred to "this sleepy old council." "I strongly object to that term," said the Mayor, Mr. J. W. Williamson, after the town clerk had read ihe letter, "and I would draw your attention, Councillor Guiniven, to a section of the standing orders concerning the use of offensive language." "Very well," replied Mr. Guiniven,; "111 withdraw 'sleepy , and say 'wise old council'. ,, "No, that won't do either," said the Mayor. '"Well it's a term ueed in Parliament every day," said Mr. Guiniven. "Never mind," replied the Mayor, "we don't want it used here." Mr. Guiniven resumed his seat with a smile.

Harbours Compared. -At a dinner giver* on board the Swedish motor ship Parrakoola iu it was perhaps only to be expected that the relative merits of the Auckland and Wellington harbours should be referred to. The chairman of the Wellington Harbour Board, Mr. J. W.< MeEavan, said that Wellington was proud of its harbour, and without wishing to be accused of bragging, he considered that the appliances for the handling of cargo were second to none in any of the harbours south of the Equator. Any rivalry that existed between the two ports was of ah entirely friendly nature, and the chairman :of the Auckland Harbour Board and he were always ready to discuss in a friendly manner any matters relating to harbour control. The master of the Parrakoola, Captain Carlssea, said that both harbours were of a very high standard, and in many respects they surpassed not only the other harbours of the Southern Hemisphere, but many in the Northern Hemisphere as well. From his experience at Auckland, however, he considered that the stevedoring was a little too slow, although the fact that the working of his ship was interfered with by rain might have been responsible for his gaining that impression. Mr. McEwan said that, whereas the stevedoring in Auckland was tinder private control, in Wellington it was under the control of the hoard's officials. Captain Carlssen concluded by saying that he would be in a better position to judge the local conditions when his ship had completed her work at Wellington, i

A Shutterless Town. "Nonamata" writes: "What las become of all the shutters that used to protect the windows of the Auckland shops? There must be thousands of little Aticklanders who have never even seen a shutter, and would be puzzled if they eame across reference to being carried home on one. In the old-fashioned, days every shop-front in Queen Street was protected every night by a series of wooden shutters, each about fifteen inches wide and varying in- length according to the height of the window. Qld" hands will remember the great business it was at 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., "shutting up/ . In "those days it used to be the first and last job of ,the_shop.-boy to attend to the shutters, and. many an elderly Aucklander will recall his struggles with the unmanageable things.., There used to,be a saddler's shop in Queen Street,;close, to the -present entrance of His IMtejesty's Arcade,, and -the- taking downand putting : up*of: its shutters; ebuld not be' ignored. In. most shops the shutters weresimply carried through the front : door,. but this • place used to store them in a basement, and they were shot'np and down through a grating that opened in'the footbath. To facilitatetheir passage there was .a roller in the grating, arid when 'sliding down this they made a rattle that could be. heard half, a: block Just \upon ; closing time .'the pedestrianTiad;' to,- walk warily. The tumorous, person down in. the basement'seemed to "takeriadelight in. sending up ;a shutter, with an enthusiastic 1 push, the; result being''that it 'often shot half, across the_ pavement before it could be- arrested by the youth .on top, and the quick'-ji;mp of' the passer-by caught,-unawares waa always sure of raising a.; laugh. ; At. the present time' I know of only one shop in Auckland'which still sticks to its shutters, clamped with an iron bar, but it is quite a sniair place, probably the smallest shop in Auckland. ,' All the other shutters ", ... j