NEWS OF THE DAY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIV, Issue 100, 1 May 1933, Page 6

NEWS OF THE DAY.

Whirlwind at Opotiki. A violent whirlwind was experienced on the property of the Hon. J. B. Gow at Opotiki on Saturday week. Although only lasting a short time, it lifted the roof, measuring 50ft by 16ft, off a stables and garage, depositing the iron in a plantation close by. The wind also uprooted a poplar tree about 50ft high and 3ft in circumference, as well as a karaka tree. Litigation Five Years Old. Among the numerous civil cases set down for hearing at the Supreme Court next month is one that was first mentioned five years ago, since when it has been given a fixture on numerous occasions, but remains unheard. When counsel applied for a date to allow the action to be heard next month, hie Honor Mr. Justice Herdman remarked that he hoped it would either come before the Court on the date allotted or be struck out. Football Injuries. The long-continued cpell of dry weather resulted in the opening football matches on Saturday being played on hard grounds, and there was quite a crop of concussion cases for treatment by the attendant ambulance men. Three players went to hospital, where they quickly recovered without sign of serious injury, the knocks in the other cases causing only very slight concussion. A player at Thames, T. Adams, had a leg broken above the ankle. "Modern Grandmother" in South. The "modern grandmother," Mrs. Kitty O'Sullivan, who, little more than a fortnight ago, completed a record walk for a woman throughout the North Island from Spirits Bay to Wellington, left Wellington on Wednesday afternoon for Picton, arriving there in the evening. She started from Picton on Thursday morning very early to walk the length of the South Island to the Bluff. Mrs. O'Sullivan spent 12 days at Wellington, where she lectured and appeared in the Winter Show. She completed the North Island walk of 774 miles in 36J days. The Earwig Pest. Most Taumarunui gardeners are having serious trouble this season with the pest commonly called "earwigs." These do an extraordinary amount of damage to plants and root crops, and are most difficult to deal with. Apart from their destructiveness in the garden and in the house, it may not be known generally that the earwigs will give human beings a very nasty sting with the forked tail if forced to defend themselves. Attention was drawn a few days ago to a young girl, whose right thumb was painfully punctured in two places in this way by an earwig, which she had picked up to throw outside, Napier's Reconstruction. Between £600 and £650 is cxpected to be made available as a result of the Napier Carnival held in January last to mark the opening of , the new town. The chairman of the Napier Carnival Committee, Mr. M. S. Spence, stated that $he moneys derived from the queen carnival election, probably about £500, would be used . solely for improving the Marine Parade fore- , shore, this object having been decided before the ■ commencement of the carnival. The balance of : the profits, however, may be used in other ways. J Mid-Canterbury Drought. The following telegram has been sent to the j Prime Minister by Mr. J. Connolly, M.P., of Mid- , Canterbury: "Owing to the drought conditions, i the worst in a quarter of a century in midCanterbury, turnip and mangold crops are a com- j plcte failure, although good quantities of chaff j ire available. Unless these are supplemented by , other essential stock foods, heavy losses will I j occur. I earnestly urge the Government to grant f free railage for turnips and mangolds from j Southern districts to Canterbury stockowners, md also free railage for stock railed out to graze ind later returned." Night at Sea on Launch. To have the engine of their launch break iown when they were only three miles short of New Plymouth and be forced to spend a night in the open sea, huddled together in the bottom 3f the boat for warmth while they drifted before j i strong southerly, was the unenviable experience j Df two New Plymouth men, Messrs. A. Hunter 1 md P. Robinson, on Monday night. When dawn t broke on Tuesday they were 20 miles west of r Saddleback, but fortunately they, were able to i restart their engine and return to New Plymouth * under their own power, arriving at the port n shortly after noon. The wind had dropped dur- •' ing the night, or the 20 miles drift might easily e V,™., ° * .

i have been 70. i t Schoolboy's Fall From Train. I Found in a dazed condition at the Patca station by two of his schoolmates, Stanley Martin, a pupil of the Hawera Technical School, was \ unable to give any explanation of his plight. : The lad, who was unhurt except for a few , scratches and bruises, had evidently fallen from the platform of the Wanganui. express as it entered the station. The boys returning from i school by the train usually make a rush for their ■ bicycles as soon as the train slows up entering . the station. Apparently Stanley Martin was Standing with the platform gate open, and overbalanced when the train rounded the bend into ; the station. As the train would probably be travelling 25 miles per hour at this point, the boy was extremely fortunate not to receive scri- . pus injuries. A peg holding the signal wires alongside the lines was broken by the-impact. Measuring the Fall of Soot. The fall of soot in Christchurch is to be measured by the Smoke Abatement Committee of the Sunlight League. The gauge to be used for the purpose is a large flat receptacle, 2ft in diameter, with a funnel leading to a bottle which will receive rain and residue deposited from J the air. It has been given to the league by Mr. H. C. Ridley, and will shortly be set up in some part of the city. Dr. C. Coleridge Farr, of Canterbury College, has agreed to take the records, and Dr. E. Marsden, of the Scientific and Industrial Research Department, will arrange for an analysis of the gauge. The information as to the fall of soot in Christchurch, and the contamination of the air by smoke acids, is knowledge that will be valuable to the Smoke Abatement Committee. A Handsome Donation. At the annual meeting of St. Mary's parishioners, New Plymouth, on Monday night the vicar (the Ven. Archdeacon G. H. Gavin) read a letter from Miss Devenish, who stated that from the sale of her book, "The History of St. Mary's Church," she now had a sum of £20, which she wished to hand to him to be used for such purpose as he might think lit. The meeting expressed it« pleasure that the history of the church had been put on record in the manner it had by Miss Devenish, and congratulated her on the production of the very valuable little booklet. It also expressed warm appreciation of her very handsome contribution to the church funds, and, subject to her .consent, it was suggested that the money be allocated to the fund for the new lighting scheme for the church. Freedom of the Borough. Freedom from borough rates was granted to St. Francis House by the Gis borne Council in response to a request by tho Rev. F. I. Parsons. "St. Francis House is again open for the purpose of sheltering homeless men passing through this town," wrote Mr. Parsons. "It was opened on Saturday, April 1, and, as the work carried on is wholly dependent upon the generosity of sympathisers, the management committee desires to be relieved of the expense of paying rent for the house in occupation. The owner of the property, Mr. Broadhurst, is quite prepared to let the committee have the house rent free, providing your council will agree to forego the rates. Since the date of opening this year already 248 meals have been supplied; and beds have been supplied to 90 men." The rates will have to come out of the council's unauthorised expenditure account.