NEWS OF THE DAY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXXI, Issue 164, 12 July 1940, Page 6

NEWS OF THE DAY.

For State Advances Department. Four floors of a six-storey building at present under construction at the cornor of Queen and Wellesley Streets will, it is understood, be leased to the State Advances Corporation. The Department is at present housed in several buildings in different parts of the city, which creates difficulties not only for the officers but also for the general public. The building is being erected by the Fletcher Construction Company for George J. Browne, Ltd., and it is expected that it will be ready for occupation by October. Originally a fourstorey building was planned, but the plans have now been extended.

Club for New Zealanders. Advice has been received in Auckland by the president of the Gloucester and Somerset Association, Mr. Frank Broad, that an Australian and New Zealand Club is to be formed in Bristol. Membership will be open to Australians and New Zealanders living in or near Bristol, to Bristoliaus who have close associations with either country, and to serving men and women with the forces from the Commonwealth and the Dominion who may be in Bristol during the war. The first president of the club is Field-Marshal Lord Birdwood. Patron of the Somerset and Gloucester Association is Lord Bledisloe, former Gover-nor-General of New Zealand.

Fish Liver Oil Prospects. Because of the enormous rise in the price of cod liver oil and the increasing difficulty in obtaining it since the outbreak of war, the possibilities of meeting local needs by a fish liver oil industry based on New Zealand's resources is being investigated. The chief inspector of fisheries, Mr. A. E. Hefford, said to-day that a satisfactory substitute for cod liver oil might be obtained from groper or ling, reports a Press Association correspondent; from Wellington. Dietitians maintained that the food of New Zealanders was seriously deficient in certain vitamins, particularly A and D, which were contained in fish products, said Mr. Hefford. Every year New Zealand imported some 65,000 gallons of cod liver oil and 1(5,000 of other fish oils. Consumption showed a steady increase.

Cool Water in Desert. "A cunning device and another product of ancient civilisation" is how a Xew Zealand officer of the First Echelon describes the methods adopted by the natives in Egypt of keeping their water cool. All over the country, he says, the natives keep by them large earthenware containers, capped with pigskin. These are stood in the sun, and the porous nature of the "cliattie" causes evaporation, the water becoming cool in the process. Were the water similarly kept in a tin it would *6on become lukewarm owing to the rigid nature of the walls. Former New Zealand diggers will recall the skin containers of the Egyptian water carriers, from which a cool drink could always be obtained, frequently with a surprising range of flavours. The system was the same as the water jars—-a system as old as Egypt itself. Echelon. "

This word "echelon." It has been an irritant from the day the Second New Zealand Expeditionary Fore® was established. Correspondents have written to the newspapers about it. People don't like it. Nobody wants it. Up till this war,- no one had ever heard of "echelon" as a noun, signifying a large body of men. Its adjectival use, indicating bodies of troops, or players, moving forward in a sort of diamond-shaped formation, was well enough known. New Zealand had "echelon" thrust upon it, because, it was alleged, it was sufficiently indefinite to prevent the enemy from calculating the numbers of troops going abroad. Now the word has become a curse. The snob pronouncer has seized upon it to give it a French inflection, instead of leaving it decently v anglicised. In consequence, many self-conscious civilians fight shy of it, and have fallen back on good old "contingent," wjiich is the only possible alternative, now that the First Echelon is in Egypt and the Second Echelon in Britain, which makes "reinforcement" a misnomer. Pioneers* Roll. The Centennial volume of the Early Settlers Roll, which has been in preparation for more than two years, has now been published. A volume of 200 pages, it contains the names of approximately 5200 persons who settled or were horn in the Auckland province before the end of 1852, and prefatory notes by Sir Ernest Davis, chairman of the council, and Mr. J. B. Johnston, chairman of the committee of the Auckland Provincial Centennial Council. The committee's indebtedness to the compiler. Mr. Forl>es Eadie, was expressed by Mr. Johnston, who referred to the great amount of work carried out by Mr. Eadie. Mr. Eadie was engaged continuously on the work and made use of data and information collected bv him

during many previous years of diligent research. Owing to the limited time available, the committee was unable to carry the roll beyond 1852, but it had accumulated- a vast amount of helpful material for the use of any responsible body which sets out at some future time to extend the scope of the present work. It is earnestly hoped that this will be done, and suggests that the enlarged roll shall embrace the period up to tlic end of 1865.

Takapuna's E.P.S. Two public meetings have been held in Takapuna in connection with the establishment of a local organisation | under the emergency precautions scheme. At the first, considerable dissatisfaction was expressed because of the lack of a coherent account of what is intended by the authorities and what is expected of the public. At the second, held last night at the Milford Picturedrome, the Mayor, Mr. J. Guiniven, announced that in the interim the borough had been divided into ten blocks, with a sub-warden in charge of each. The sub-wardens had cach chosen ten "key" men. A women's auxiliary had also been formed. Mr. Guiniven said that the local organisation was dependent upon the decisions of the city authorities, and certain difficulties, such as that of ensuring communication with the city in all circumstances, had still to be overcome. However, Takapuna had set up its local organisation before any 1 other district. In response to a request from residents of adjacent bays outside the borough, tho Mayor said that if it were possible for the Takapuna organisation to include an area outside the borough he would lie pleased to co- j operate in every way. At the end of j his address the Mayor refust-3 to answer i any questions, and the meeting closed j abruptly. |