NEWS OF THE DAY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIX, Issue 157, 6 July 1938, Page 10

NEWS OF THE DAY.

Bright Meteor Reported. I A brijrht meteor was seen in the western sky at Whakatane in the direction of Tauranga at 5.43 on Tuesday morning, reports an East Coast correspondent. Building at Mount Albert. During the past month 24 building permits were issued by the Mount Albert Borough Council for a total value of £8.512. including )2 new dwellings. In addition there are in the course of construction in the Mount Albert district 54 State houses. Arbor Day. The Mount Albert Borough Council decided at a meeting last evening to observe Arbor Day on Wednesday. August 3, and to arrange for a suitable function. The Minister of Internal Affairs, the Hon. W. E. Parry, wrote stating that in Xew Zealand any one day would not suit all parts of the country. It was considered that early in August wae too late for the Auckland district, and the only solution was to hold it at an earlier date in the Auckland province. The Mayor. Mr. H. A. Anderson, suggested that the difficulty might be got over by having separate days for the Xorth and South Islands. Winter at the Chateau. The heaviest fall of snow nt the Xational Park this winter took place during the weekend. Following rain and sleet on Saturday, temperat tires dropped. Snow fell steadily through Sunday to a depth of a foot nt the Chateau, and several feet at the Salt Hut. On the hi'jher levels all locks were covered, and conditions for sport at the Ski Club's hut have been much improved. Accommodiit 'on at the Chateau during the week-end was fully taxed, the number of visitors lieing incrc;i-;d by an excursion from Wellington. About ISO people were on the mountain on Saturday, but the weather on Sunday was such that only half that number ventured from the Chateau. Snow fell at the Xational Park railway station. Ingenious Gunnery Target. Members of the Auckland division of the Royal Xavnl Volunteer Reserve have the benefit of an ingenious contrivance for indoor gunnery practice, which enables "submarines" to be sunk with b.b. shot instead of Oin shells. The "submarine"' is about 2in in length, and is mounted at the extreme end of the barrel of a Oin naval gun. A small electric motor produces in the model the same motions that would be seen in a real submarine tossing on the sea. A sight is taken, special prismatic attachments being used to focus on the model. An arrangement of weights counteracts the actions of elevating or depressing the gun barrel. Above till' breech is mounted a powerful air gun. electrically operated from the trigger, and when the order is "rapid fire" a stream of b.b. shot is directed at the "submarine." The conditions are stated to be exactly the same as in active service, and the practice indoors is. of course, incalculably cheaper than the outdoor gunnery practice with Oin shells. Savings Bank Deposits. A remarkable rise in savings bank deposits in Xew Zealand during the past four years is recorded graphically in a section of the first issue of a monthly statistical bulletin published by the Reserve Bank of Xew Zealand. Deposits in the Tost Office Savings Bank increased from a rate of £ 18,250.000 annually early in 1934 to a peak of nearly £33,000,000 /or the period ended December laat. In the first quarter of 1938 a fall was shown for the first time since the beginning of recovery from the depression. The trend for the trustee savings banks, of which that in Auckland is the most important, is similar, but the rise has been within slightly narrower limits. Beginning at a rate of £5,7.">0,000 deposited annually in 1034, the figure® rose to aboot £8,130,000 at the end ot December, 1037, and have since fallen slightly. The amount standing to the credit of 920,800 depositors in the Poo# Office Savings Bank at the end of March last was £03,146,930, and to the credit of 201.000 depositors in the trustee savings banks £13,339,400. Train-running Innovation. Train-running methods on the WellingtonJohnsonville electrified railway have been changed from the tablet system, which has been in operation for many years, to the modern three-position automatic type of signalling. The change-over was part of the substitution of electric tr-v'ion for steam haulage, and followed upoiVhe official opening ceremony on Saturday afternoon, when the first multiple-unit electric train was dispatched from Wellington to Johnsonville. The system was designed by the Xew Zealand Railways, and involves a number of entirely original features. Full automatic working is provided, and, de|>cnding upon the condition of the line, the movement of trains causes the points to operate at the various stations. The points will not move and allow a train to enter a single-track section unless the section is entirely clear of traffic, and the starting signal will not go to clear until the points have operated. At Johnsonville special provision is made so that during certain hours of the day electric trains will go on one side of the platform and at other periods to the opposite side of the platform. If one side is already occupied, the points will be automatically set to divert the following train on to the other route.

Schoolboy Adds To Laurels. Enhancing his performance of scoring all 36 points for his school team, Hastings Street C, during the last series of Rugby football "ames played two weeks ago, McLean repeated "he performance by scoring all 20 points—six tries and a conversion—in the match against Xeli-011 Park A, writes a correspondent. As school Rugby matches were postponed last week owing to rain, two successive matches have resulted in McLean scoring all 56 points for his team—a performance which is unique in primary school football, if not in Xew Zealand Rugby matches. New Escort Ship. The new escort vessel Auckland, building by Denny and Brothers, Ltd., Dumbarton, was launched last week. She was planned as a siste;. ship to the Egret, launched on May 31 at C'owes. but is being fitted for use as a surveying ship, and will therefore carry only 011 c .small gun in place of the eight 4in high-angle guns in the Egret. The Auckland is due for delivery about Xoveniber next. The change of name from Heron, which was made last year, no doubt indicates the locality in which she will be employed, gays "The Times." A later ship, the Pelican, laid down in September last by Messrs. Thornycroft, is also being fitted as a surveying ship. Winter Flowers. Xow that we are in the middle of winter, both private and public gardens are looking sadly bare of colour. There is, however, at present in flower a tree whose vivid blooms rival even those of the poliutukawa. This i« the flame tree, and though its branches look naked and ungainly, its absence of leaves makes its brilliant scarlet flowers a'H the more conspicuous. Xot by chance has Nature allowed one of her children to wear its jewellery while standing bereft of practically every stitch of clothing, for by so doing she has made the insects' job of finding the (lower much easier aiul consequently has improved the chalices that the flower will be pollinated and the plant reproduced. The Maori is Particular. An old Maori woman selling whitebait from door to door in the suburbs recently proved to be an avaricious business woman. She refused to accept money for her wares, asking for old clothe*. One customer produced a pullover which happened to be a particular favourite of her husband's, but the Maori, after a somewhat contemptuous glance at it, pointed to a hole and asked if it could be repaired. The housewife was too amazed to make the suitable rejoinder, and the Maori threw the pullover away. She then asked for an overcoat or a jersey that one of the children was wearing. However, patience was wearing thin by this time, and the interview was closed, without clothes and without whitebait. Changing Coastline. In the past few days large slips have taken place in the papa cliffs facing the sea at Kai Iwi, near Wanganui. Considerable inroads have been made in this locality by the sea in the |>ast few years. A settler, with land between the Mawhonau and Kai Iwi Streams, who had his property surveyed recently. found that within 15 years some 12 acres had been claimed by the sea. While the waves encroach on this portion of the coastline the land is being added to a short distance to the south. The old Castlccliff bathing sheds have now disappeared, but when last used they were some hundreds of yards from the surf, whereas formerly they had been 1 but a short distance away. In the vicinity of : the south beach land accretion is also taking - place.

Waikato Maori War Graves. Advice has been received by the Te Awamutu Historical Society from the Department of Internal Affairs that arrangements have been made with the Public Works Department to give attention to the graves in the St. John's Church grounds of soldiers who fell in the Waikato Maori War. The Department the letter stated, would be pleased to have the co-operation of the society. The society has decided to reply to the Department calling attention to two other graves and headstones of similar importance—one at Paterangi in honour of the men who were killed in a skirmish at Waiari, on the Mangapiko Stream, before the troop* marched into Te Awamutu, and the other situated in a reserve at the corner of Tawhiao and Mahoe Streets. Motorised Machine-guns. As part of the programme for the mechanisation of the Xew Zealand Territorial 1 Army, the Government has ordered a number of armoured machine-gun carriers, which, it is hoped, will arrive in time for the next training year. Delivery has promised before the end of this year, but will depend on production in England. The vehicles, which will in crease the mobility and general fighting power of machine-gun units enormously, wiTl be used to demonstrate the capabilities of light tanks and me«siires which should be taken to counter this form of attack. They are fullytracked fighting machines with an excellent cross-country performance, comparable to that of the light tank, with which the chassis of the machine is almost identical. On roads they can travel at a speed up to 45 miles an hour, and, given good going, they can maintain a speed of 30 miles an hour cross-country. An armoured turret affords the driver and two machine-gunners protection from small arms fire, and can be fitted to carry either a Vickers gun or a Bren machine-gun.