NEWS OF THE DAY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIX, Issue 3, 5 January 1938, Page 6

NEWS OF THE DAY.

Accident Victim Improving.

The condition of Mr. Trevor Albert O'Brien, aged 20 years, of 83, Courtville Flats, who was admitted to the Auckland Hospital suffering from severe head injuries following a motor accident on Tamaki Drive early on Saturday morning, continues to show improvement, although still considered serious. Important Museum Acquisition. For anthropologists and ethnologists there is particular interest in portion of an old Maori coffin presented to the Auckland War Memorial Museum by Mrs. R. Sullivan, of Malnirangi. Found in the Mahurangi district many years ago, it is regarded as a particularly important acquisition for research purposes. Mr. A. W. B. Powell, acting-director of the museum, discovered the existence of the coffin through a chance visit paid to Mrs. Sullivan in the course of a launch cruise. Mrs. Sullivan presented the relic, together with a number of South Sea Island pieces. It is. likely that the coffin specimen will be retained for research purposes, as those coffins already on exhibition have more immediate interest for the public. Cheeky Cash-lifting. While dozens of people were skating on the Marine Parade, Napier, on Thursday evening, a collection box, believed to contain a sum of approximately £3, was removed from a table standing in the centre of the auditorium. The money was that received for seats which had been sold to spectators at the skating carnival, and when the box was placed on the table it was not thought that it would not be safe with so many people skating round. The money was left on the table foj only a few seconds while" the floor attendant instituted another competition, and when he returned the box and its contents were missing. This is not the only instance of theft during skating evenings. On one occasion a knitted vest was removed from the colonnade, and several cyclists have lost lamps from their machines. Another skater lost a pair of new short? and a handbag, while yet another has had his skates removed. Throwing of Rice. While appreciating the action of the City Council and the police in prohibiting the throwing of fireworks in the crowded streets, a visitor points out that throwing rice in people's faces is almost as dangerous, reports a Napier journal. He remarked that on Christmas Eve many young people purchased small bags of rice from grocery stores, and in many cases threw it directly in the r'aces of those they met in the street. A member of his family had suffered from an inflamed eye during the holidays, due to the effect of a grain of rice striking the eye with great force. Although it is impossible to prevent such happenings when irresponsibles are abroad, people should be warned to keep on the look-out for individuals with a distorted sense of humour and give them as wide a berth as possible. Effect of "Threepenny" Libraries. The Canterbury Public Library has appar ently ' suffered from the competition of small commercial libraries in the city, according to the librarian, Mr. E. J. Bell, in commenting on the year's progress. "Naturally, with the establishment of so many 'threepenny' libraries in the city and suburbs, we have to record a slightly decreased membership. At the beginning 0 f the year the membership dwindled, but towards the end former members returned in large numbers. Our efforts to attract readers by reducing the subscriptions and by the introduction of an intermediate subscription for young people have already proved successful/' Prosperous Australian Cities. "Sydney is becoming more like London I every time I visit it," said Mr. E. P. Yaldwyn, former general manager of the Commercial Bank of Australia, Wellington, on his return to Wellington by the Awatea recently. "I was impressed by the air of prosperity apparent both in Melbourne and Sydney, and with the surprising amount of building going on in the latter city." He mentioned that near King's Cross, Sydney, large blocks of flats were being constructed and others were to be erected in the near future. T'.vo new theatres were also being built in the same area. "Melbourne is more beautiful than ever, and is now obtaining the full benefit of the 'ivonderful system of tree planting carried out in former years." He was pleaded to hear that the relations between the Dominion and Australia were being steadily improved, and said that New Zealanders should do everything in their power to further the good feeling that existed already. Dined and Wined. After thoroughly ransacking the home of Mr. W. J. Grevatt, of 11, Vermont Street, Ponsonby, two thieves raided the pantry and sat down to" a hearty meal, the menu comprising tinned pork and beans, asparagus and spaghetti and other foods, this bein.™ washed down with assorted liquors taken from the refreshments cabinet. The intruders evidently helped themselves to Mr. Grevatt's cigars, for 13 stubs were strewn over the kitchen floor. Mr. Grevatt and his family ore absent on holiday, and before leaving his house he drew all the blinds. Thus the thieves were able to ransack the house without any fear of being detected by neighbours. Every drawer in the house was pulled open, and the contents were scattered over the floors. The clothes were pulled off the beds, the handle of a small safe door smashed uif and a writing cabinet forced open. Nothing of value was found to be missing. The thieves eptered by forcing a window in the pantry.

Unholy Alliance. "There seems to be an unholy alliance between the highway authorities and the glass merchants," said a Southland motorist after an experience on the Bluff Road, when flying gravel knocked a hole in the windscreen of his car and his hand was cut by the flying glass. He added that his experience was by no means unusual, for was fairly common for windscreens to be broken in this fashion. Dairy Workers'' Overtime. A striking proof of how the incidence of overtime in the dairy industry has been affected by recent legislation and consequent changes in conditions is given by comparative figures recorded in the "Abstract of Statistics." In the year 1935-36 the hours of overtime were 11,154, but for the year 1936-37 they increased almost tenfold to a total of 107,038 hours. Native Boring Grub. Insects that have eaten into the sappy exterior of power poles on South Road, New Plymouth, bave been identified as a variety of New Zealand insect. Specimens of the pest in both the flying and grub stage of development were submitted to Mr. W. W. Smith, the New Plymouth .entomologist, with the result that he was able to discount a suggestion that the borer was the Australian white ant. Mr. Smith is also investigating damage done by the insects in a house near the poles. The Innocent. He was an ardent amateur horticulturist, and his great ambition was to grow sweet peas which would be the envy of his neighbours. He sought advice—and got it. Following directions carefully, be dug a trench, brushing aside the expostulations of his wife, and strewed the seed along the bottom. His work done, be waited confidently for results. An obliging friend, who did not like to see the hopeful one disappointed, slipped into the garden under cover of night and planted peas just about the trench. They grew in healthy fashion, and the innocent one now considers himself vindicated, but those in the know are waiting to see what happens when his peas grow pods and not flowers. Sidelights of Hastings Races. There were some happenings at the Hawke's Bay Jockey Club's meeting at Hastings on New Year's Day to interest the spectators. The announcer caused a humorous interlude when he announced after the New Year Handicap that the totalisator had created "a new record." This news was greeted with a burst of cheering, the statement conjuring up thoughts in many minds of a fat dividend. Any hopes of this nature were dispelled, by his next announcement. "Yes, the dividends fire actually np before the horses have returned to the birdcage." On another occasion the supervisor of the totalisator stepped oat on the balcony prior to the machine opening and rang the handbell so vigorously that the bell snapped from the handle and flew out among the crowd. "Came Out of His Shell..** The inconsistency which is the charm of cricket to the game's many admirers, and the despair of those who can see no merit in a "maiden" over, has been well illustrated in the course of the Auckland-Otago Plunket Shield match. Devotees who waited to see the last ball bowled on Monday afternoon had ! the thrill of an unexpected century partnership for Auckland's last wicket. -Yesterday after the flower of Otago's batsmen had done no more than wipe off Auckland's long lead on the first innings, and the game seemed all over bar the shouting, spectators were treated to the unexpected spectacle of team's colts making a gallant effort to put up a proper showing. His true worth concealed behind a "duck's egg" in the first innings, T. Fraser yesterday cracked his shell at the second attempt and revealed himself as a stylish, audacious and skilful batsman with all the marks of a potential New Zealand batsman. After a somewhat streaky start he showed confidence, fine footwork and stroking in the. making of an unbeaten half-centurv. i The manner in which this lad came out of his shell at a critical moment gave every indication that in him Otago cricket has another Shepherd in the making, a batsman who may soon rival Auckland's Wallace for brilliancy. His innings was a joy to cricket devotees, and it kept the game alive for the fourth day, with all the possibilities that there are in cricket while there is yet a run to get to decide the issue. The Wild Pohutukawa. «, H "Naturalist" writes:—We came upon it with a shofck of surprise and pleasure—just a pohutukawa tree covered with late blossoms and almost hidden in the heart of the bush. It is so unusual to see the pohutukawa growing wild save by the seashore that the discovery, in its own little way, was quite an event. We had been taking a short cut through the bush to Green Bay, and, as we brushed aside the branches of tea-tree and the tall fern fronds (oh, friendly, thornless native bush growth!), the unmistakable crimson of the Christmas flower pleamed before us in a setting of many shades of green. There was the emerald hue of the new, unerumpling fern, the deeper green of the teatree and puriri. with, here and there, the bright, almost "artists' palette'' effect of the young rimu saplings with their ivory-banded trunks.. Underfoot a carpet of bronze laid by last year's growth, and overhead the unchanging crests of the sentinel pines. Never has the bush been more beautiful than it is just now, and it is all waiting to be seen, quite near to Auckland, a grand ridge miles in length along the Waitakeres. with, here and there, little pockets of verdure hidden away among the hills of the western coast. The destruction of the great kauris is ever to be deplored, but their removal has let daylight into the forest, and the smaller growths of fern and rimu have flourished abundantly.