NEWS OF THE DAY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIX, Issue 74, 29 March 1938, Page 6

NEWS OF THE DAY.

Military Camp at Papakura.

'I he territorial authorities last evening were "ranted the use of the railway reserve at. I'apakura for the purpose of holding a military cam p. The permission was given by the ]'ajitil-cma J own Hoard, to whom the reservil now belongs. The camp will be under t lie Northern Command, and it is

expected that 400 territorials will be present from all parts of the Auckland province. The camp will last from April IS to May and will be under the command of LieutenantColonel K. \. Closey. of l'apatoetoe. Yv hen Numbers Change. Some of the disabilities attached to the campaign in the city to renumber houses were forcibly brought home to a i'onsonby family. Being good tenants, with every intention of staying where they were indefinitely, they were perturbed w lien some visitors arrived to in-pect the place with a view to purchase. There was a hurried communication with a legal firm, and next an equally hurried communication with <i firm of land agents. I hen came explanat ions and expressions of regret. r l he change of house numbers had i caused all the trouble. The visitors had been sent to the wrong house. j Dominion's Seed and Hay. A sharp decrease in (lie crops of grasses, clovers and lucerne harvested for seed, hay or ensilage in New Zealand was recorded in l!M(i-Mi. according to the annual report just issued on agricultural and pa Moral prodttc- | t ion. The report states that the area of] grasses and clovers cut for seed fell from! 1,14.40.) acres in 1 to acres in! 1 !>3(i-.L, a reduction of 28 per cent, and unusually low average yields contributed to an even greater fall in the aggregate ipiantitv of seed, the drop being f>3 per cent. 'Tin- area and production of grasses, clovers and lucerne cut for hay and ensilage were also less than in 103.V3C, although well up to the level of other recent years. In field crops the area harvested or fed off was below the average of the five preceding seasons. New Street Names. Thousands of householders and business people in the city and suburbs will have to make themselves accustomed in the near future to new street names. The changing of duplicated names has been undertaken by all the local authorities in the metropolitan area, and it is anticipated that the alterations will be of great benefit, since duplications will remain only in o few minor instances. Last night the Auckland City Council approved changes in the names of a further KM streets on the recommendation of a special sub-com-mittee. Y\ herever possible, the new names have been chosen in such a way that in manv cases the first syllable of the old has been retained, with the rest of the no rue modified in each instance to make the change distinct. Another feature is that either "road" or "street" has replaced a. diversity of forms, which include "way," "lane," "crescent" and "avenue." Housing Survey. "In order to justify a housing survey of the Tamaki district, it would be necessary to include all the other excluded areas of the city, and, assuming that the Government would again subsidise the necessary investigating assistance, the cost to the council would he about £2000," etated the city engineer, Mr. J. Tyler, when he reported to the C'ity Council last night on the necessity or otherwise of a housing survey for the Tamnki district. Mr. Tyler explained that the recent survey covered the "defined" area approved by the council, and embraced the older portions of the city. Tts scope was probably the most extensive in the Dominion. In defining the area, it was considered that there were large suburban areas in which the housing conditions could safely be regarded as mostly satisfactory, and these areas were accordingly excluded. The council agreed to defer the matter until a reply had been received from the Government with regard to the survey already made.

Glaciers and Ski Fields. To open up the vnst permanent ski-ing fields at the head of the Franz Josef and Fox Glacicrs, an aerial railway is proposed, and surveys of routes have been advanced recently. "High snow is the best for ski-in;*, and if the snowfidds are made easily accessible they will become a world attraction, making possible winter sports all the year round," said Mr. Peter Graham, when outlining the progress of the surveys. Kstimates of the cost of the aerial railway, with six towers, are £30.000. The suggested route is from the end of the present rood to the Franz Josef Glacier to Goatpath (.>2ttStt). under Tlielma Peak. and overlooking the head of the Gallery, the Franz Josef and the coast. Provision for power for driving the railway has been made in the new hydro-electric plant now being installed at Waiho. The intake is in the Tartarv River, the water passing through 1200 ft. of tunnelling before falling loOft in a length of 200 ft of pipeline to the generating station. <;o chains a.wav from the hostel. The plant will develop lo(l kilowatts. Reports on the progress of th'fsurveys for the railway were discussed by the Minister of Public Works, the Hon. P. Xemple. with Mr. Graham and the llejiartmentol engineers during his visit to Waiho.

Taxi Was Stolen. Unusual circumstances surrounded an application before the City Council last, night for a taxi-cab license. The applicant had formerly held a license, which, expiring on May Ml last year, was not renewed by him because his cab had been stolen. It was decided to place his name at the head of the waiting list and grant him a license when the first vacancy occurred. Gift of Bush Reserve. Title deeds to the area of GVt9 acres of bush in the Waitakere Kanges which he has donated to the city its the nucleus of a j national park were formally handed over by .Mr. K. Karlc Vaile to the Mayor. .Sir Ernest { Davis, at last night's meeting of the Auckland! City Council. "I give you these deeds wit 11 j my love—not only my love for the city ol'j Auckland and the people of Auckland, lrtt , also my love for the ranges." said Mr. \'<tii -. | He reminded the council of "one little condi 1 tion" of the gift—that the council would! really take an interest and exert itself t.i ' establish a park there. The Mayor offered the] best thanks of the council and citizens for Mr. Vailc's public-spirited gesture. The gift ! might be the means of encouraging others to! make like gestures, and so add their namoj to the "roll of honour" of large-hearted citi- j zens of the past. The council then accepted I the donation with deep appreciation. A Sportive Blackfish. The large fish which has made its home I in the Napier roadstead for nearly a year and | entertained watchers on the shore is now' thought to be a hermit blackfish. or small type of whale, which has been abandoned bv the shoal and wandered about looking for a place in which it would be safe from attacks. Whatever its troubles might have been, il : seems to appreciate the solitude of llnwkeV Bay. and it amuses itself bv giving clever j exhibitions of balancing and diving. When on the surface it is always in the vicinity of tinanchor buoys, but it does not go close to anv i ships at anchor. The fish's favourite diversion I is found at the green anchor buoy. It charges | into the rope which moors the float and drags; it out of sight, then lets it. go, repeating this! performance for about ten minutes, after; which it rises to the surface and makes a few j graceful dives. The creative is verv much, interested in stray pieces of floating* timber 1 Tt iisually selects one nhout 4ft long and j ■swims slowly underneath it until it catches' the large fin in the middle of its back. Tt thenj carefully balances the wood, swimming aloni' I the surface until it slides off. Overseas " Drift to Auckland." The fact that two luxury liners, the 1 Km press of Britain and the Kra nconia. which \ are expected to arrive at Wellington next, month from Australia, via the Sounds, are to; spend only 12 hours at Wellington in each case on Sunday and three days at Auckland.! was the subject of comment at last night's | meeting of the Wellington Chamber of Com-' merce. The action of the secretary, Mr. K. M. j Bardslev, in drawing the attention of the agents to the matter was confirmed. Mr. I'.' H. Nimmo said it just went to show the need! for pressing the claims of Wellington. The' chamber was perturbed about the drift toward' Auckland, and put up a big fight to divert the' through connection of Pacific shipping to Wellington. "It has reached the stage even with; big vessels where overseas people seem toj think Auckland is the only port in New Zea l land." he said. "I publicly appeal to the! people of the Island to rouse themselves! and help us press our claims." Mr. C. W.! Mack said the reason for the longer stay at : Auckland was obvious. There were no scenic' attractions near Wellington, and the Pounds! were too far away. "It is not a question of Wellington versus Auckland," said Mr. Ximmn.j

"It is a question of pulling our socks up nnd sticking up for the rights of the capital city."

Populating Jackson's Bay.

Sixty years ago the families which had attempted to settle Jackson's Bay in the pre-

ceding three years abandoned their smtill

holdings and returned, sad and almost starved, to the West Coast. To-day Jackson's Bav i-

again a busy is the camp for the southern party of workers engaged 011 (lie building of tlie new roud and the harbour. On the small area of level ground between the stonv beach and the bushy gully a modern camp has sprung up. Every piece of building material. e(|uipment and supplies was transported to the bay bv steamer and taken ashore in surf boats. The establishment of a camp at tlie isolated bay—in the old days the journey by land from Greymouth occupied five: weeks —has been no easy task, yet tlie only complaint of the men is that their tent accom-j modation is cramped. When a two-bed hospital is constructed and n nurse installed within three weeks. Jackson's Bay will be. for' an isolated locality, a model camp. The canteen conducted by the Public Works Depart- i ment is exceedingly well stocked. V social hall will be built soon, and it- social equip ment will include a billiard table. The building of an nerodrome on the level ground on the southern bank of Arawhata River was , authorised liy the Minister. The aerodrome ' will cost approximately L'.'iOOO. anil will be another link in the chain of landing grounds, open all the year round down t in- Wc-t Coast. The wharf in the bay will give bertlmge of. 1-lft of water at low tide to strainers. Although nearly 200 miles from Mokilika. the. greater part of the route from Hruce Rav being traversable only by packhorse. the bayj is in contact with civilisation at all times, a' radio plant Inn ing been installed. j