NEWS OF THE DAY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXXI, Issue 147, 22 June 1940, Page 8

NEWS OF THE DAY.

Shortest Day. The shortest day of the present calendar year is to-day, and, though wintry temperatures and conditions may be expected to continue for some time, the daylight will grow perceptibly longer after another week or two.

Two City Fires. Three calls were answered by machines from the Central fire station last night. Two engines scattered the dense crowds in Queen Street when they raced to a small fire in a lift in the Auckland Electric Power Board building shortly before nine o'clock. Another lire in a small motor car in Rutland Street was extinguished shortly afterward. The third cair, about half an hour later, was a false alarm.

Recording of Greetings. A vecord made by Miss Patricia Boyle's concert party, which was very popular with members of the First Echelon, was taken overseas with the Second Echelon, it being believed at that time that the latter was also bound for Egypt. The 12in double-sided record was' in charge of Major A. J. Xicoll, of the Divisional Cavalry Regiment, and he intended to seek out the fiances of two of the members of the party and play the record, which contained special greetings to them. Canoe Hull for Museum. In ;a fair state of preservation, the hull of a Maori river or lake canoe has been presented to the Canterbury Museiun by Mr. A. F. Birchfield, of the West Coast. This hull, a comparatively small one, is unusual in that it was apparently hollowed from a soft timber, probably white pine. Its age and history are not known, but it was found a year ago by a Maori, who dug it from the bed of a creek running into Lake Haupiri, about 40 miles ffom Greymouth. Near this • locality there used to be a Maori settlement. Woollen Workers Waded. Workers, particularly females, who have had experience in woollen mills, are being appealed to by the State Placement Service to offer their services for urgent war work. It is hoped the appeal will induce many married women to return to the trade. The Government has removed certain restrictions in the woollen industry, and at the Onehunga mills double shifts are being worked by male workers, while girls are working considerable overtime. If sufficient female labour offers as the result of the appeal now made, it is hoped to extend the double-shift principle to all workers at the mills.

Seoul Honoured. The silver acorn of the Boy Scout Association has been awarded to Mr. John Roland Middleton, of "Wellington, for outstanding service to "the movement. Cabled advice to this effect has been received by the Dominion headquarters of the movement from the Imperial headquarters, London. The acorn is awarded only for particularly distinguished service to scouting. Mr. Middleton's scout career ii;i> been a long one. He has served the movement in many important administrative capacities. He was secretary of the Auckland provincial district from 1933 to 1936. He led the Wellington and South Island jojjtingent to the Sydney jamboree in

Whole Washed Up on Beach. Ihe atmosphere of the beach near Punakaiki was not improved the other day when a whale, in a partially decomposed state, was washed up on the sand. It measures between 50 and 00 feet in length—or did when last seen. The carcase is about half a mile from the Greymoutli-Westport coastal road, and, by a happy chance, there are no residents within a mile radius. School children are hardy creatures, however, and pupils of the Barrytown School have evinced great interest in the carcase—they even visited the beach to see it. Ihe mammal lias been thrown on to a steep, shelving beach, whence it can only be removed by rough seas or a spring tide, unless artificial means are adopted.

First Church on North Shore. •Special services will be conducted at St. John the Baptist Church, Xorthcote, to-morrow. This is the oldest church on the northern side of the harbour, having been planned, built and dedicated by Bishop Sehvyn in 1859. On St. John's Day, 81 years ago, Bishop Sehvyn was lowed across the harbour by two watermen for the consecration ceremony. The ;™ n . se i ,t waß added to the church in 1882, and was dedicated bv Bishop Cowie. The builder of this new portion was the late Mr. John C. Taylor, whose association with the church dated from 1871. The bell and a portion of the were given by the late Mr. James laulkner. At the special services Bishop Simkin will be the preacher in th« morning and Canon Houghton in the evening. The present vicar is the R«v. r. C. Truman.