NEWS OF THE DAY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIX, Issue 220, 17 September 1938, Page 10

NEWS OF THE DAY.

Wellington Emu Sits. I he \\ ellinoton cunt ha* now l.een fiittin'* some seven or eight weeks, ami ma v hatch its ' r '~ s at has sat through much unla\ ouralile weather, anu its nest lias mam times fiei'ti flooded. Sailed in Cutty Sark. Commander P. J. Spray, who served his al' I■ i cut iei'shiji aboard the turnouts windjammer (iittv Sark. and who died in Kih'_r Ho«|.it aI. |!r>.rd. Kti-lan.!, in August. was buried at t lie City <.f London Cemetery, Ma nor I- Cominan.-.rr K],ray was til." Me was lately merchandise M:r\cyor for the Port of ''O""on Authority, amf hat! l.een doekmaster at the Koyal Ailiert and king George Docks. I here are now only seven of the Cinty SarkV last i'ie« iil.ve. -1 i 11• s; a London correspondent. England's New Housing.

Due of t lie developments in Kngland that nnpi c-i-erf relideaeon Whitehead, who has .Hist returned to Dim. din from an extensive tour of (treat Kritiiin and the Continent, was the enormous extent of new holism? provisions. _ both in t lie cities and in the coiintrv. lie said, in an interview, that the architecture of a <freat deal of it was to l.c deplored. as was the m'oi»t development of Hat I »ni 11 : 11 in the south of England. 'I'he north of Ki,-land was not adopting flats, however, "They don't like flats up there." he said, "and thits tvpe of accommodation is still comparatively' rare." Grocers' Batter Stocks.

I A denial that Auckland grocers had been |hea\ily stocking ii[i with butter in anticipate. 11 of tin- ri-e in til" retail prion fixed bv the Government for the local market was 2'veil l»v promiiii'n t mi mbers of tin* retail trade Hi is morning. "Its just a lot of hooey." • aid tlie representative of a firm which was one of tii,. largest sellers of Imtter to the t'lildie in the city and province. "Wo never buy for more than a few days ahead, whatever price is ruling. and few grocers are in a position to stork up above current requirements. A"\ itli the heavy turnover now being experienced in all lines of groceries, most of the shops^have no space to spare, and overstocking in any line is almost out of the' question.*' New East Coast Line. No raj)id has been the progress made by the Railway Department in clearing awav the silt nnd restoring the damage to the line in the Ha tyke's Bay flood area around J'skdale that it is expected through commnnication by rail will be established to Wairoa by the end of this year. While restoration has been in the Public Works Dejmrtment has been pushing ahead, the construction of the line, and the linking up with Wairoa, which is fiO miles from Xapier, will bring the railhead within 71 miles of Gisborne. When thc.Gove.r7,m. resumed construction work on the line in July, 1930, it was anticipated that the scheme would be completed in 1940. A sum °f £3,i5f10,000 had been spent when work was suspended in 1931, and the total expenditure during 1937-38 was £.509,5.5.5, making a total outlay up to the end of March, 1938, of £4,690,270. More Firemen Wanted. The shortage of suitable men for fire brigade work was dealt with by the superintendent, Mr. A. Craig, at the lialf-veavly meeting of the Hamilton Fire Board. The chairman, Mr. W. Bourne, presided. "The total strength of the brigade at present is 21," paid Mr. Craig. "I regret that at the present time I am unable to keep the personnel up to the full strength of 2.5. owing to lack o.f suitable men. This. I trust, will l>c overcome at the completion of the extensions to the station." During the period since April 11. the brigade received 38 calls, 12 of which were to property fires, said the superintendent. Of the other calls, 18 were chimney fires and six were false alarms. Of the property fires only one resulted in serious loss, that being on July 2. when an outbreak in a business block resulted in the loss of €1.500. The chairman stated that progress with the building extensions had been hampered by wet weather, and it was not expected that the work would be finished this year. The speaker stated that he had made an inspection of the brigade, and had found things very satisfactory.

Christ church New Station. Although the first stage of the work of providing a new railway station in Christchurch to replace the terminal which has served the city since the early days of railways in the South Island lias been commenced, it will be some time before the big new building is started. The first work rs the construction of a new goods shed and car and wagon depot, which must be completed before the site for the new station can lie cleared. I he contract for the car and wagon depot has been let by the Department, and the work is being started immediately. It is estimated that the cost of the new station building and yards will l.e CToO.ftOO. Monument, Not Memorial. T'lilike the monuments which perpetuate the memory of pioneers and others who have served the Dominion, the obelisk which is to he built on the summit of One Tree Hill will not have a memorial character, but will he a monument in honour of the Maori race. In it will be typified the aspirations and advancement of the Maoris, the work of the chiefs and tribes in the past being continued in the present and leading to a distant future. The purpose of the monument is to suggest an •advancing race. Mr. R. Atkinson Abbott, the, designer, said to-day that it was Sir John Logan Campbell's desire to symbolise the fine qualities of the' Maoris iri the form proposed, and the base of the monument appropriately represents the rugged and enduring characteristics of the race. Heavy Whitebait Runs. There have been heavy runs of whitebait in the estuary of the Wflikato River this week, reports a Pukekohc correspondent. After a long wait since the opening of the season on July 1. whitebait fishermen are now receiving rich returns. July and the first part of August brought very me," irre results, some of I lie fishermen harelv making enough to cover food bills. The runs have continued to improve since, and. with Hie price on the river keeping up to 1/0 per lb. famines this week have been very hi-jli. One man hud received €22 up to yesterday for the week's catches. On liis best day he secured 1171b of white bait. Tli" canning factory on the riverside near Te Kohauga Commenced operations at tlie beginning of September, and is now handling a large quantity of whitebait. Heavier supplies are also being sent from the Waiknto to shops in the Xorth Island, but. as the weather becomes warmer, this trade will gradually cruse. owing to the difficulty of keeping the whitcliait fresh in transit. New Names for Auckland Streets. Revision of street names in Auckland j city, which has been under consideration by the City Council for several months past, is j now approaching finality. It is proposed In change the names of ]."i.S streets and roads in various par's of the urban and suburban areas of the city, and as far as possible the council has chosen new name- which bear some resemblance to the old. Thus, it is proposed to ch'iuge the name of Albert Road. Point Chevalier. to Alberta Street: Rank Street, City, to Raukside Street; and Brook Street. Newton, to Rrookdale Street. Ray View Road. Remuera. is likely to become Bayonne Street; Castle Drive. Epsom, Cast ilia Street; Challinor Street. St. IT'-lier's, ( haldon Street: and Corunua Avenue. Parnell. Corsica Street. In only a few instances is the first letter of the name changed, such as Diilcic Street. Reinucra. to Ross Street: New Windsor Road. Avondale, to Windrus Street: and Surrey Street. Orey Lynn, to Mersey Street. Fergusson Street. "o v. is to become Fergus Street: .Tellicoe Street. City. Drumniond Street: and Kitchener Place. City. Kitto Street. King's Drive, on the eastern waterfront, will be called Quay Street, of which it is n continuation. Pitt Terrace. City, will become Pitcairn Street: Victoria Lane. City. Vigo Street; and Rangitoto View Road. St. TTelicr's, becomes Rampart Street. An effort has been made to eliminate the terms "crescent." "place"' and "lane." The list will probably come before the council for confirmation at its next meeting. "If You Can Get Them." The property-owner's Kl Dorado and land agent's joy in city properties at the moment in Auckland seems to be something central and suitable for a block of flats, or for a motor showroom and repair works, with generous parking space, according to evidence which has been given during the past week in the Supreme Court. Of course, there's a catch in everything, and, according to the statements made, the man who would erect flats on his property is hedged about with the complications of air space regulations, while the zoning system of town planners puts a definite limit to the garage venture. It was generally agreed bv experts that at the moment blocks of flats offered an especially attractive investment. F, veil those who sought to put a rational limit to the special value of land offering for this purpose by pointing out that the return from the flats was definitely dictated by the localitv of the flats, on tlie assumption that the rentals must not be beyond the means of the prospective tenants living within easy reach of the flats, admitted this. Some of the witnesses who testified on these lines supported their argument with the facts of actual rentals of flats in various localities, showing the variation of return to the landlord according to locality. It was significant, apart from the commercial aspect, that the balance of the letting proposition appears at the moment to be against the tenant, for in every instance the testimon\was that "flats can be rented at So-and-so Flats for so much—if you can get them." Evidently the demand for flats exceeds the supply.