NEWS OF THE DAY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 264, 6 November 1937, Page 8

NEWS OF THE DAY.

i 120 An Acre. An area of 12CJ acres at Panmure was sold at auction yesterday for £10,250 cash. present the property is held 011 lease by Chinese market gardeners for three and a half years, but when the lease expires it is the intention of the purchaser to form a company to sub-divide the land into building Kites. The sale was held in the salerooms of Samuel Vaile and Sons, Ltd., and the bidding was spirited. The land has extensive road frontages on three sides, including the main Paninure railway, as well as a frontage to the Tamaki River.

" Danish Hospitality." The custom of a lirewery manager ill Copenhagen made a strong impression on a visitor from ('hristchureh, who returned home this week. The manager of the brewery insists that all tourists visiting the plant shall sample all liis brands, and. describing the practice as "Danish hospitality." provides tables appropriately decorated with flags to suit whatever nationality is represented in the party, expecting one and all "to make themselves at home." The brewery wan spotlessly clean. "You could eat your dinner off the floor," the Christchurch man said.

Legal Five-Day Week. The five-day week observance by legal offices generally was inaugurated in Auckland to-day, in accordance with a decision made recently by the Auckland District Law Society. Hitherto Saturday closing had been observed by some individual firms, as it was found that with the closure of the Courts and Government offices on that day the scope for getting legal work done was greatly restricted. As a consequence the decision was made to have nil lepal offices closed. This course is not yet general in the Dominion, though it has been adopted in Wellington, Lower Hutt and Whangarci.

Gigantic Bonfires. Old-timers were enjoying the Papakura School jubilee bonfire last evening, and told stories of the various bonfires they hacl seen. Some of the old hands could go back to the days of Queen Vietrit"ia's jubilee in IKS 7, when they saw the big bonfires on Blaekheath to celebrate that event. Then one said the most remarkable bonfire he had seen was when the Queen's diamond jubilee was being celebrated in 1897 at Wanganui. A new hospital had been built, and it wan decided to burn the old building down, partly to destroy germs that might be lurking in corners of the old hospital and also to have a grand celebration of the Queen's diamond jubilee.

Show Employees. Special conditions covering the work of employees at the Canterbury Agricultural and .Pastoral Association's jubilee show at C'hristchurch on November 11 and 12 have been gazetted. The "Gazette" notice suspends the operation of the Shops and Offices Act, the Factories Act and the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act, and provider that show employees shall work an eight-hour day, with no more than four hours' continuous work without a break of at least three-quarters of an hour for a meal. Time worked in excess of eight between 8 a.m. and 10.30 p.m. shall be paid for at time and a half for the first two hours, and thereafter at double time. Veteran Sportsman 92 To-day. For many years a beloved figure on Auckland fields of sport, Mr. Arthur Selby celebrated his 92nd birthday to-day. Known as the grand old man of the race track and hunting field, Mr. Selby filled the office of clerk of the course at Ellerslie for 3G years, and from 1894 to 1916 was huntsman of the Pakuranga Hunt. To-day Mr. Selby, retired from sucll vigorous pursuits, lives quietly in his cottage above the beach at Howick, tending his garden and playing howls on the green of the \oW\ club, of which he is president. His only disability is a stiff knee. The veteran's ruddy complexion and general vigour show the effect of many years of sporting activity. Mr. Selby was born at Sevenoake in 1845, and his earjy experiences while chasing hares with a beagle pack were invaluable in his later life in Xow Zealand. The first part of his life in New Zealand was spent as a farmer at Eketahuna. Later he lived in Otahtihu. His last race was won at a point-to-point meeting when he was 05 yeans of age. An Unusual Gathering. A recent English mail brought news to a Dunedin resident of an unusual gathering in London. Some months ago lie received a letter from a relative there—a New Zealand doctor now practising in Harley Street—in which a desire was expressed for a mutton bird. The Dunedin resident, obtained a full kit of the birds, and sent them Home in cool store, at the same time notifying the Londoner of their coming. The latter lost no time in advising friends who came from the southern part of New Zealand of the treat that was in store, and when the parcel reached London these assembled for a dinner, the principal dish at which was mutton bird. Writing subsequently to the donor of the welcome gift, the Londoner described the enthusiasm of those who had been present at the dinner, many of whom had not seen a mutton bird for a considerable number of years. The kit of birds, he stated, had arrived in'perfect, condition, showing that it would not be a difficult matter to Bend supplies to the London market.

Footpath Injunctions. "Don't Buy Japanese Goods" read notices imprinted on footpaths in different parts of the city and suburbs. Lettered in white paint, obviously by means of a stencil, the noticcs are not particularly conspicuous, but they can scarcely be missed by the pedestrian. They have been carefully placed at junctions of streets and at entrances to buildings where pedestrian traffic is heaviest. The notices ha've now reached as far south as Otahuhu. Animal Welfare Work. A year of record activity in reviewed in the annual report of the Auckland Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, which states that there has been expansion in every department of the society's work. Gross income for the period was £3405, an increase of £1539 over the previous year, and the society showed a surplus of £678 over expenditure. More accommodation is stated to be necessary, as the clinic and depot at the society's office in Victoria Street West are inadequate, and soon other and more suitable quarters will be sought. "The city badly needs up-to-date and efficient facilities for the painless destruction of animals," adds" the report. During the current year an effort will be made to provide for the office, clinic, depot and lethalising department in one building. 5000 Hours of Flying. One of the Dominion's foremost aviators, Flight-Lieutenant D. M. Allan, chief instructor to the Auckland Aero Club, will to-day complete 5000 hours of flv'rig. Yesterday he was only two hours short of this total, and to celebrate the occasion lie will be the guest of honour at a complimentary dinner in the clubhouse at Mangere this evening. Mr. Allan, who comes from Waipukuraii, held the rank of lieutenant in the Royal Air Force during the war, and performed about .'i(K) hours in dual instruction in Avros and Cassels. After the war he managed a sheep station in Hawke's Hay for a time, and prior to liis appointment to the position of instructor at Mangere in 1920 he was a prominent member of the Hawke's Bay Aero flub. M r . Allan's time has to a great extent been occupied in instructional work, and lie lias been responsible for the trainiug of about 170 pilots at Mangere. After Forty-two Years. Reunited after 42 years, a brother and two sisters who last stood face to face as children in Ireland met again on board the Tainoroa when the liner berthed at Wellington yesterday. They were Mr. J. A. Grimwood, of the Union Steain Ship Company, Wellington, and Mrs. W. G. Woodman and Mrs. J. C. Wilson, who had come by the Tamaroa from Southampton on a world cruise, together with Mr. Wilson. "I was quite a lad and they were just young girls when last I saw my sisters," said Mr. Grimwood. "Since then they have both married and reared families, some of whom are married too." Mr. Grimwood said they were last together in Dublin in 1895, before he came out to New Zealand. In spite of the lapse of years they had no difficulty in recognising one another when they met on board the ship. Mr. J. C. Wilson is ht-ad of the printing firm of Wilson and Carrigan, London. Lord Rutherford's Schooldays. The inhabitants of the township of Havelock, at the head of I'elorus Sound, Marlborough, are mildly resentful of the general omission in tributes to the late Lord Rutherford of the part that Haveloek played in the famous scientist's early career. Lord Rutherford spent the whole of his primary school days at the Haveloek School, and there gained his first distinction, a Marlborough Scholarship (the equivalent of the present Junior National Scholarship), which assisted him to enter Nelson College. The name "Ernest Rutherford" appears many times on the school honours board. While the Rutherford family lived at Haveloek, Lord Rutherford's twin brothers fcst their lives in a boating tragedy in Haveloek Harbour. Three years ago the Picton branch of the Navy League arranged for the presentation to the school of a large copy of a painting of Lord Rutherford. The presentation was made at the school by Commander Hall, of H.M.S. Wellington. How to Take Snapshots. The approach of the holiday season in New Zealand adds interest to a broadcast talk on "Better Snapshots'' recently given- in England by Mr. D. A. Spencer, a successful photographic artist and exhibitor. He advises practice at the operations in taking a snapshot before loading the instrument with film. The operations should be performed always in the same order, until they can be gone through mechanically and at a good speed. After this lias been achieved, the photographer, in the excitement of trying to record some transient event, will not be so likely to forget one of the essential steps, such as winding on the film after each exposure, or holding the camera absolutely still while relcri'ing the shutter. This, by the way. is perhaps the most difficult tiling to learn about a snapshot camera. As part of the preliminary "drijl" with an empty camera. Mr. Spencer advises the plan of asking a friend to watch the camera closely while the shutter is being released. The photographer should not be satisfied until the observer is unable to tell the precise moment at which the imaginary snapshot was taken. Another useful tip is one regarding movinar objects. If the subject is moving rapidly, it will be necessary to keep much farther nway if the photograph is not to be blurred. Tf snaps are not sharp enough it is possible that the lens needs cleaning—a point that is seldom remembered.