NEWS OF THE DAY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXX, Issue 31, 7 February 1939, Page 6

NEWS OF THE DAY.

Walked for Wager. Two well-known Te Kniti business men, Messrs. I). E. Pankhurst and D. Chapman, walked to Te Awamutti. approximately 30 . mile-;, in Id hours 27 minutes. This, says our To Knit i correspondent, was the outcome of a wilder, the stipulated time for the feat being II hour*. Both men, in spite of the fact that they did not appear to have trained to aii.v extent. showed surpri-ingly few illeiTcct- from their long walk, and they were heartily congratulated by the other parties to the wager. His Aim Was Bad. Hovi>h exuberance led to a minor disaster in ( }«ml>ridtio the other day. Attempting to throw a hard preen pear over a tree in the • fuliilee (iarderw. a small boy misjudged his mark, and the pear, soaring upward*, crashed through one of the faces of'the town clock, situated in the nearby tower, writes otrr Cambridge correspondent. Although the boy's aim I was had. his -en-se of propriety was good. for he immediately sought, out the borough supervisor anr! told him of the accident, ft was found that the hole left m the clock face was almost the size of a man's head. Landslides in Grey Lyim. Slips of land which have occurred in the past few months have removed much of the front garden of a house built on the top of a cliff in I irev Lynn. The dwelling is one near St. Joseph's Convent, the occupant, Mr. .1. Crowley, being the caretaker of the convent. The first slip took place some five months ago. since when other earth falls hare occurred. The result is that the house is now considerably nearer the edge of the cliff than when it. was built. There was a further slip during last week's storm.

Hour Did the Jury Know? "T don't want yon to misunderstand me. and T don't suggest that you know anything about the (piesfion from any personal experience," said Mr .Justice Callan in the Supreme Court yesterday afternoon, when a seafaring witness was giving evidence. "But tell me.' his Honor went on, indicating a bottle of gin. "would that be a comenicnt size to drop in the hip pocket, and conceal by putting the coat, tails over it?"' When the witness said. "Definitely." the jury, evidently hardened men of the world, nodded, and the case went on its way. And his Honor smiled. Rope Snapped. A few days ago a trnek carrying a heavy load of empty beer bottles em: t'ed a large portion of it into the middle of Albe.'t Street, and yesterday a similar mishap o curred a few yards further down the same -ircet. A large truck with a high load of empty wooden boxes was proceeding m> the street

when ii rope snapped and never*} dozen of thr> boxes fi-ll on to the l-oftrl. For?rr'tt f fly there was littl" traffic in the vicinity at the rime, hut tin- (1 liver and his assistant, were put to move than a little trouble in sat her in? the ciir-jo together again and stacking it. on the truck. I High Tides Yesterday. T i(l<s yesterday were abnormally hisrh at full and correspondingly low at the ebb. This was most noticeable to trans-ha rbonr travellers on the Bayswater run. In the morninjr a part, of the landing sreneraTTv nst>d fry disembarking from the 10-wer fleck of the feTry was several inches under water for some time: - In the afternoon, when the tide was at it i lowest, larjje areas of sandbank in Xjratarinsa Bay. next to Shoal Bay, were exposed. The sea rose so far at frill tide at Mi!ford that it wa« impossible to walk the length of the beach.

Mew lower Wagon. Tile claim that there was not another tower Wilson in NTew Zealand like that now in the possession of the board wan marie by Mr. P. H. Hartley. general manager of the Auckland Klectrie Power Ttoard. at a meeting of the hoard yesterday. Tn inviting mcmfin'* to inspect the wagon, Mr. Hartley said that with it* lift of 3-rft workers would he able to reach the top of the highest. pole from it. Thin was much safer than using ladders. Later the height of the platform from the ground would he about 40ft. a« the height of the lorry had to he added to the tower lift. Member* of the hoard decided to view the wagon after its meeting next Monday. Early Presbyterimusm. An appeal to those members of his radio congregation who had been connected with St. Andrew's, and also to those who were descendants of the early pioneers of Auckland. to send in therr name* to him was made by the Kev. P. Olndst.one Hughes during flie broadcast service at St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church. Art the mother chrrrch of | Presbyterianism in Auckland, and. he believed. the oldest continuously occupied (hureli in New Zealand. St. Andrew's. lie said, was expected to play a big part in the coming ("cntenniaT celebrations. Tt was for this rea•"■'rt that he wanted to obtain the name-* of tho-ae roTfrrected wrth the church in the early dayi-. The church should celebrate fittingly its connection with the first 100 ve;nv of the Dominion'* history, added Mr. Ilngbes.

Like An Air Read. Britomart l'Tace had the appearance of being ready to defend itself against an air raid or land attack this morning. A number of large sacks had been packed in a neat breastwork on one side of the footpath. But they were not sandbags —merely bags of pollard which had fallen from a heavily laden truck as it turned from Beach Road. The sacks had been scattered about the road, blocking it. They were lifted to the side of the road while the lorry discharged the remainder of its load. Ingenious Land Yacht. The ingenuity of youth was displayed by a small boy operating a home-made land yacht in Mount Kden Road yesterday. Driven hv wind power, the "yacht"—a box coaster — carried a large sail made front one of the family sheets and was capable of a pretty turn of speed. On a slightly downhill run. however, the "yacht" \jas faster than the wind, and the young driver's visibility was occasionally obscured when the billowing folds wrapped themselves around him. But nobody denied his contention that it was areat fun. Electric Meter Requirements. "On account of the new import regnlations it will be necessary for its in future to anticipate out meter requirements for a rather longer distance ahead." said Mr. R. H. Bart lev, general manager of the Auckland Electric Power Board, at a meeting of the board yesterday. He added that in the past the board had purchased all meters required for about six months ahead. Mr. Bartley submitted a. report giving an- estimate of the various types of meters needed in the next 12 months, the total estimated value of these being £12.155. Napier Wins! Parochial Aucklanders would have received a severe blow yesterday had they been in the Supreme Court when a nautical witness was giving evidence. He had been in his present ship about four years, he said, but when in Auckland he did not wsnally go ashore at all after hit* work was completed about 7 p.m. "There is nothing mnch in Auckland to interest von?" queried Mr. Justice Callan. with a smile. "Nothing particularly striking," said the witness, who confessed that Napier was his home town. There was a genera! ripple of laughter, followed by another when h'w Honor said: "Well, von're ashore in Auckland to-day—but we must admit that it is a matter of compulsion." And then the witness laughed. Unlucky Poultry Farmers. Poultry farmers were heavy losers in the recent Australian bush fires, according tc advice received privately in Auckland this morning. Many thousands of birds succumbed to the effects of heat and to the tire itself Approximately 1000 head were lost by one breeder not far from Sydney. Individual los«e> of from 500 to JiOO birds were common while the total number destroyed mnst have

reached a stfajrgering figure. Lows was also caused through deartruction of plant, and even where mortality was low a decline in production of as much as 50 |>er cent was recorded. One well-known poult ryman's newspaper, published in Sydney, stated that the period was undoubtedly the most disastrous in the hV>tory of the poultry keeping industry in Xew Sorrth Wale#. Harbour Bridge Support. The fact that considerable support for the harbour bridge proposal was being shown hy public Irodie# in Xorth Auckland was reported at the last monthly meeting of the Wartemata Harbour Bridge Asportation, over which the Mayor of Birkenhead, s!r. E. .T. Osborne. presided. It was announced that resolutions supporting the erection of the bridge had l«en carried by the Okaihau and Darpraville Chambers of Commerce and by the Mangonni District Civic League and Cortrrtv Council. The membership of the association showed a rapid increase, sfl now member#. i wind in? many city firms, being elected at the meetmg. A great deal of data on bridaw was hetng obtained from abroad for use when the imjniry promised hy the ftovemrmewt was «et np. Tt wa« decided to place before the Minister of Labour, the Hon. P. C. Webb, when he is n«xt in Auckland, the latest figures showing the increase in transharbour vehicular traffic. Bayswater Bulks. The Takapuna Borough Council's swimming pool at Bayswater has lost much of its early popularity. Council workmen eleaned the bottom of the pool several months ago, but badly needed repairs to the battening were not carried out. Consequently, the surface of the water is scattered with seaweed at nearly every tide, ami through the gaps in the paling* all kinds of rubbish floats in from Shoal Bay. Several times this -reason flic wafer lias been so thickly covered with leaves, sea.weed and broken branches that bathers have refused to swim in it. The springboard. which split early last season, was >awn off by the caretaker. It has not been replaced, and therefore many young men who used to come from Belmont and Takapuna to practise ou it have forsaken the baths for <he beaches. The head of the -bower, broken oIY several seasons back, has not been replaced, and the water shoots ; straight from the pipe in a loner stream. Local residents believe a. few v-.-entral repairs bv the council —including the scraping (iff of barnacle* around the edcre—would bring swimmers flocking back to the pool. I