NEWS OF THE DAY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXV, Issue 307, 28 December 1934, Page 6

NEWS OF THE DAY.

A Weather Gauge. "Anyone can tsee what wonderful weather you Taranaki people have been enjoying," stated a \ isitor to Xow Plymouth. "Everyone bears the evidence, from a rich tan to varying degrees of blackness.' Boy Adventurers. Two boys, cacli aged 13, who had been missing from their homes in Wellington _ for about °a week, were intercepted at the Cllve Bridge on Wednesday afternoon last week, by .Constable Murray. ' Each at the time was riding a bicycle, which | means of transport ■they "had used over the whole of the distance. En route to Napier they subsisted on meals they were able to gather from kindly-disposed persons, and at the time tlicy were intercepted they had with them a supply of green apples. Trains Well Patronised. • All passenger trains passing through Morrinsville Junction station this week have been well patronised; particularly those bound foi Auckland and Ta'uranga. It is considered that the passenger bookings for Morrinsville station this Christmas will show a consideiablc improvement on those for the same period of last year. Auckland seems to ' have attracted 'more train travellers than usual, and the seaside attractions of Tanranga appear to draw more holiday-makers every year. On Christmas Eve the evening train from Kotorua to Auckland comprised elev,en well-filled carriages. . ... Gold Mining Speculation. "Those who speculate intiS'ew Zealand gold mining shares have, in most cases, had a disappointing year," states Mf. Harman Reeves, chairman of the Dunedin Stock Exchange. "Last year I warned investors against subscribing for shares in companies that were ovep-capitaliscd. and obviously promoted Without th trough investigation and with little prospect of success. Unfortunately a cousidei - able number of these ventures have proved to be of little or no value, and I think a large number of the mining companies now on our oflicial list will not be in existence in the near future." Royal Weather. The popularity of bathing in Auckland was shown on the various beaches yesterday, when the bays and beaches closest to tliOiCity had a full' quota of visitors.; Two qf the handiest resorts are Point Chevalier and Mission Bay, where colourful bathing attire and beach umbrellas of various liuesi gavo a picturesque touch to the surroundings. Qn the other hand the royal weather of several weeks past has caused suburban gardens to have a very parched appearance, and only the hose and* the. watering can is saving choice flowers and vegetables. The thousands of overseas tourists who have visited Auckland during the past few weeks have had very complimentary remarks to make about New Zealand's sunshine. Four Eden Park Centuries. Spasms of bright cricket occurred at Eden Park yesterday. In the Country Week games the Poverty Bay player, E. James, scored 113 runs, and for North Auckland a hundred was scored by N. Vipond, who has reached three figures twice during the tourney. A line" display for 110 runs by captain, W. Rainbird, 'substantially contributed to the success of Wellington Colts in their match with Auckland to take the Brabin Cup. Going in for its second strike the home fide had no chance of victory, but batted well in playing out. time. The Devonport colt. I/. Archer, was particularly aggressive and in less than an hour obtained his century,- which included ji fine sixer into the members' grandstand area. Watering During Rain. A resident of Wanganui who takes a great I pride in his garden has complained that during the regulation hosing hours he is not able to" <*et nearly cnoi'gh water for his plants. "On" a recent evening,'' be remarked, "there was a bountiful rainfall, so here was an excellent opportunity to supplement it. 1 doi'uiexl an old sui.t, coupled up the hose, and as no one else at the time thought of doing likewise, 1 had the benefit of the best pressure that hap been available for months. I kept going during, the full period permitted. There were numerous» passers-by. and I gathered from their* satirical smiles that they judged that I had eiflier gone or was going crazy. However, the combination of hose and rain gave my garden the best soaking it has had for months."- . . > Dressed for the Part. Whether or not racing is good for trade is the subject of aged-old controversy. Instances which could be quoted for and against are legion, but one that cropped up in Auckland this week is at least interesting. On Boxing Day the Auckland Cup race was run at Ellerslie, a feature of the event being , that the Cup was presented to the winner by the Duke of Gloucester. Several days before the event there was unusual activity on the part of a dozen racehorse-owners with a viewto being dressed suitably for the part of receiving the Cup fi-oyi the Duke. All had holies, some of them very high hopes, of success, and consequently tailors had to be set at work before-hand, that the fortunate man might be dressed as never before. After the Cup there were several sadder, but bctterdreseed men. A Memorable Trotting Cup. The race for the Auckland Trotting Cup at Alexandra Park yesterday will be remembered for more than one outstanding feature. In the first place the winner, Koi I'Or. in pacing two miles in 4.15 2-5 put up a worlds winning race record for pacing on a grass track, and defeated the best field of horses ever assembled for a Trotting Cup in Auckland. Again it* was the. Royal Trotting Cup. so named because of the visit to Auckland of Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester. , A third feature was that the winner*'was driven by Free Holmes, the veteran of the turf, and one well on in years, but who is still recognised as a leading trainer and driver. These are days of fast travel. On Wednesday afternoon Holmes drove Sunny Morn in the last race at the Ashburton Trotting Club's meeting, gaining third place. After the race he flew by aeroplane to Wellington, where he caught the express. He arrived in Auckland yesterday morning at 9.20, and later went to Alexandra Park and drove the Cup winner. Minor Dangers of the Beach. "Surf Bather" writes: "The mishap which befell the Duke of Gloucester, who cut his foot while bathing, emphasises the danger which Js caused by sharp stones —and occasionally by pieces of broken glass—oil the beaches of New Zealand. The former is unavoidable on many coasts, but the latter is far more serious, and can easily be prevented, Two or three summers ago many bathers at Cheltenham, Takapuna and Milford. had their feet cut. but an appeal to the police, coupled with the vigilance of beach officers,' brought about a big improvement. At holiday times, however, the danger becomes greater, simply through carelessness. Is it too much to ask every holiday maker to refrain from leaving bottles on the beach and

to remove any crockery which happens to be broken? Such inconsiderate amusement as using floating, bottles as targets for stonee is unpardonable, but this is, not unknown. Oil many beaches at Home, particularly on the east'coast, the sand* are siiiooth,, and entirely free from stones, but there are many rocky foreshores at popular resort* iii tlu> south arul west of England, nnd hero the of bathers wear canvas shoes when'swimming. It is a wise precaution.

Cracking of Coconuts. When the temperature was at its highest on Friday afternoon last week, an Ash burton merchant was surprised to hear coconuts cracking. They were in a corrugated iron store and the heat was intense. He states that this is t:ie first occasion on which he has known them to crack while in store. Lucky the Second Time. When the Duke of Gloucester was leaving the railway station ceremony at Wellington, a woman gave a caTl and threw a carnation to the Royal car. He made an effort to catch it, but it fell short. Later, when be was leaving the Commercial Travellers' Club, the woman made another attempt. .This time the carnation fell into the car, and the Duke picked I it up and placed it in his buttonlyde, smiling his thanks. Hedgehog and Cyclist. That quaint little animal, the hedgehog, has become very common in •Invereargill, according to reports of residents in various parts of the city, states the Southland "News." The hedgehog is welcomed by gardeners, as it is reputed to be particularly fond of slugs, but its presence on the highway or footpath is not appreciated, at least by one cyclist who was riding nearer the fence than he ought to have been. In a shady area between two lights he bad the misfortune to strike a hedgehog from the rear and the front tyres,of his cycle will now require an extra-size in patches. The Duke's Pets. The two Australian terrier pups, Digger and Sally, mementoes of the Duke of Glouee|ter's Australian tour, will be much-travelled dogs by the time they reach Portsmouth. His Royal Highness is evidently a dog lover, and spent many hours on the way across the ragman exercising his pets on the quarter-deck of H.M.A.S. Australia. When they are old and reminiscent, they will be able to claim that they were amongst the last Australians to walk* the platform of the old Thorndon station, Wellington, which they explored. They did not seem enthusiastic about it. Training of Children. "The training of the young mind is indeed a very fascinating work," said Mr. T>. Aitken, headmaster of the Bell Block School, Taranaki, in his report at the breaking-up ceremony. "When one sees children making progress one is compensated for the patienca which is expended. A teacher often sees the side .of a child which the parent docs not see, naniely the side which it shows to the outside world and by which it is judged by its fellowmen. After all if we teach boys and girls to be reliable citizens we have achieved something." Early Air Venture. One of his earliest air ventures was recalled by Mr. J. C. Mercer, late chief pilot for the Canterbury Aero Club, at. a complimentary luncheon'tendered to him by the club.. Ho stated that lie had always been keen on flyiug, and about the year 1 COT he made his first ascent under conditions that lie would not care to tackle now. That ascent was made in a gas-lilled balloon, and the basket was made of a bicycle wheel with canvas round it, and a bicycle rim for the top. Hp went up about 200 ft into the air and was charged a shilling for the sensation. Nearly Missed the Ship. Just before the gangway of the Oronsay was hoisted for departure shortly after midnight. a motor car load of passengers arrived on the scene. As they rushed excitedly aboard they were heartily greeted by the crowd of fellow tourists, tine of whom was heard to ask: '"How is Wliaka?" The visitors had been to Rotorua and were delayed ill returning to the liner through a breakdown. The Oronsav drew away from the wharf steadily, amid lively farewell exchanges, not forgetting the "coo-ee." Last Bowl Decides the Winner. There was an cxeiting conclusion to the Morrinsville Bowling Club's annual full rink tournament, in which 10 teams from all South Auckland clubs took part on Boxing Day, Speight (Claudelands), who was the eventual winner with five wins and no losses, played Green (Matamata) in the fifth round, and the scores were 9-all when the last head was being played. Speight 1 was lying one, and Green, who had'two seconds,-attempted to take out Speight's bowl with his last shot, but missed, making Speight the winner by 10—0, and also the only unbeaten skip. Had (ireen won the game, there would have been four skips with four wins and one loss, necessitating a playoff. "Go to New Zealand." The effectiveness 0 f a New Zealand publicity advertisement in a Condon newspaper was referred to in Christclmrcli by Miss M. It. Benson, an English visitor to the South Island. She said that this advertisement, which urged travellers tc go to New Zealand, 'the healthiest country in the world," was a great attraction, psychologically and in fact, to those who wanted to go somewhere for the winter. New Zealand appeared to be just the place tor those who dreaded fever, malaria, or bad drains. Miss Benson considered that New Zealand did not "blow its trumpet hard enough.'' It had *o much to offer the tourist that it could afford to sound its attractions abroad. The Sea as a Career. The limited opportunities available for New Zealand boys to take up seafaring as a career was mentioned at a recent meeting ot the Otago Harbour Board by Mr. T. Scollay, who said that, apart from eadotships or apprenticeship, there was practically no open, ing. Many parents who wore not in a position to pay premiums for sea apprenticeships, ho said, would like to see openings made for their children. He thought that endeavours should be made to induce the larger shipping companies trading to New Zealand to give opportunities for boys to take positions in the deck or other .departments, of their ships. Such openings would pave the< way to better positions. When Vice-Presidents Meet. The sight of one of their vice-presidents falling ignominously into the Watiganui River because he had misjudged a stroke, w;is presented to members of the Aramoho Boating Club the. other evening, reports the "Chronicle." This vice-president, together with another, had had their enthusiasm roused to such a pitch by a club race, that they began summing each other up and considering their respective merits. One thing led to another, as it usually does, and the two vice-presidents challenged each other to a race, the stipulation being that, each should be assisted by a member of the winning crew of the club event. The match was duly arranged, and pair-oar boats were provided for the contestants, who paddled up-stream to the interest of club members, who proffered a" manner and kind of advice and encouragement, The race started, and despite the fact that both vice-presidents were "feeling'' the water with their oars rather apprehensively, they gained confidence and the boats gained speed. Nearing the finish, one of the vice-presidents, now pleased in his prowess and determined to make good his challenge, was constrained to "give 'em a dozen," which ho proceeded to do in good style. But his knowledge of tile art of rowing was only rudimentary. Over-enthusiasm, or misjudgment, resulted in his missing the water altogether with the blade of t]ie oar. The next moment he had disappeared over the side of the boat, leaving the other boat an undisputed victory. A return race, it is said, is to ' e*|P.fuate shortly. , J