NEWS OF THE DAY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIV, Issue 237, 7 October 1933, Page 8

NEWS OF THE DAY.

Champion Eel Catcher.

Mr. Maurice Slieehy, the Eltliam champion tuna catcher, is now active again. His latest bag was caught on Monday, when he landed a 27pounder in the Wa-iongongora River on Mr. J. F. Phillip's property. Mr. Slieehy is a keen eeling enthusiast, and has some notable catches to his credit, including a 291b tuna caught last year in the same river (says the "Eltham Argus"), j

Touring Footballers, As the Wangar.ella is timed to sail from Auckland for Sydney 21 5 p.m. next Saturday, the members of the St. George team will make a rather liasty farewell after their match at Carlaw Park. The fixture will be started earlier than usual, and the tourists will leave the ground to go aboard. Sullivan's British team had a similar experience last year, when the Tamaroa sailed for England shortly after the final game of the New Zealand tour.

Garden of Tragedies. The fact that there were in his garden at Lagincourt, near Arras, the graves of 57 Australian and New Zealand soldiers was mentioned by Dr. R. Chevalier, of the French Forestry Department, who arrived on Saturday from Sydney to tour the Dominion. "That is one of the reasons why I wanted to see New Zealand," he remarked, adding, with the picturesque phraseology which comes so easily to the French: "They had come a long way to sleep in my garden, and I wanted to see their home."

White Elephants. "We in Auckland have a white elephant of a railway station," said Mr. 11. E. Vaile at the •annual meeting of the Peal Estate Institute last evening. "Dunedin is going to have a white elephant of a post office there. The Minister does not propose to attempt to reduce taxation this year, yet the Government intends to spend £30,000,000 while our national income is reduced by half. Let us hope that land tax, income tax, sales tax and a few of the other taxes may be reduced before we die."

Nelson's "Old Man." Nek on' 3 earliest living settler, Mr. William Henry Cole, of Moberley Farm, 88 Valley, Wakolielcl, celebrated liis 98th birthday on Monday, lie enjoys good health, considering hie great age, and can look right back to the very beginnings of the Nelson settlement. Mi*. Cole was born at Portsmouth, England, in IS.'io, and came out to Mew Zealand with the first Nelson settlers in the ship Lord Auckland in 1842. Mr. Cole was then a lad of six years, and he has spent 92 years in the Nelson district. His late wife was a daughter of Mr. J. L. Au.qarde, a former auctioneer in Nelson. Mr. and Mrs. Cole were at one time well-known performers at concerts and benefit entertainments.

Pre-Earthquake By-laws. "People come here for peace and quiet, not to be irritated by pinpricking by-laws," said Mr. A. 11. i). Mnyne, duping the course of a meeting of Napier Borough Council, when urging that prosecutions should not be started against motorists who park their cars in the city area for longer than the prescribed tipie. "We have wide streets now and plenty of room. It is foolish to continue enforcing by-laws which were in existence before » the earthquake," added Mr. Mayne. Mr. A. B. Hurst: "I quite agree that it is quite timo that tlie whole matter was overhauled." The matter was referred to the by-laws committee for investigation.

Women and Mice. Even the modern university woman differs little from her sister of the days of Queen Victoria—she is still afraid of a mouse. This was demonstrated at the Canterbury College tearooms one day this week, when one of, the men released a pet white mouse at a time when the rooms were crowded. The effect on the women students was varied. Most of them tried to appear unperturbed and to conceal any tendency to act in the traditional manner of a woman confronted with a mouse, but though none of thein stood on a chair or a table, it was noticeablo that few women kept their feet on the floor, preferring to lift them to adjacent chairs until the mouse was removed.

Never Goes Out. A number of surprises were in store for Mr. R. J. Jeffares, of Napier, when he visited Ireland some months ago, and one of these, illustrating the heat-retaining qualities of peat, was related by him at a smoke concert in Napier on Saturday night. Mr. Jeffares was staying at a farm in County Roscommon at the time, and was surprised the first morning after his arrival to find the fire still alight in the fireplace. He asked if someone had got up early and lit it. "Light the fire!" said the farmer, in equal surprise, to find that in Now Zealand fires had to be relighted daily. "We don't light the fire; it never goes out." "What," said Mr. JelTares, "never {joes out! Well, then, who lit it in the first place?" "Sure, it must have been nie grandfather did it," said the farmer. " 'Twas he built the house."

Farmer Surprises Court. That certain food which is supplied to pigs at Goodwood is eaten every day by human beings in Duncdin was the surprising statement made by a farmer who was giving evidence in the Duncdin Magistrate's Court. The plaintiff in the case, who was claiming wages from the farmer, had complained that while he was on the farm he had to eat the same meat as he was killing for the pigs, and the farmer, when questioned on this point, replied that what the plaintiff had said might be true. He knew that the plaintiff had taken two joints home to his mother, "You cat the same meat every da}'," he informed counsel, who, after recovering from his surprise, remarked that what the eye did not see the heart did net grieve for. The" farmer then explained that the cows to which he referred were killed for pig food because they could not be driven from Goodwood to the market at Burnside.

Youth Hostel Scheme. Trampers throughout the province will welcome the announcement that the Waikato Children's Camp League intends to proceed immediately with the erection of a youth liorstel and farm cottage at Port Waikato, opposite the camp buildings. The building is expected to be ready for occupation by Christmas. The youth hostel movement began in Germany many years ago, and was extended to' New Zealand by the Sunlight League. In Canterbury and on the West Coast of the South Island there are a number of these hostels, which are patronised widely by hiking clubs. It is hoped that the movement will spread in the North Island following on the lead taken by the Waikato League. Sleeping and dining accommodation will be provided in the I which will probably also be a headquarters for information concerning tramping tours in the district. True to Name.

One mistake can often mar a good round of golf, and tnis was brought home to a number of competitors in the first round of the open I championship at Titirangi yesterday. .By a coincidence it was the thirteenth hole which proved the pitfall into which many of the competitors fell, and in some instances remained for an exasperating time while the strokes piled up. If the number of the hole is list sufficient to awe those who bow to superstition, then perhaps the name of the hole is. It is called "The Wrecker," and yesterday certainly showed that it was appropriately named. The hole is a dog-leg one, and a tea-tree valley has to be carried by the dii\e. Standing sentinel to the shortest line to the hole is a high pine, and it often deflects a well-directed ball, while players who endeavour to draw their shot around it are flirtino- with disaster. On the right of the fairway 0 is an out-of-bounds fence, to which the ground slopes, so it is evident _ that the hole provides a real liazaid. In addition there is a valley in the middle of the fairway to penalise a faulty second shot. The record for the hole was achieved by J. Hines (Hutt), who had an inglorious 12, while the professional, J. Clements, a former holder of the open championship, was one stroke less.