NEWS OF THE DAY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXXII, Issue 48, 26 February 1941, Page 6

NEWS OF THE DAY.

"Stuff for the Troops.'*

Various brands of New Zealand beer, tobacco and cigarettes have lately been put on sale to Now Zealand troops in Egypt for the fiivt time, reports the Cairo military correspondent. All lines have been extremely popular, and ! rationing has been necessitated to ensure the widest distribution of the present consignments. Memorial of Trees. A lasting memorial to Xew Zealand's first air ace of the war, the late FlyingOlllcer Edgar Kain, has been completed in Marlon. A hitherto unsightly lane h»<s been transformed and will be known us Kain Memorial Avenue. The main feature of the avenue consists of sonic 40 flowering cherry trees, with a background of native trees, a number of which were a contribution from the Wellington Beautifying Society. Big Black Martin Caught. A notable event in the llshing circles of North Auckland was the catch on Monday of a black nnirlin weighing Oo.'ilb by Mr. Neville Jones, of Auckland, while lishing oft" tape Urett. Only two ldack marlins of greater size have ever been caught, the largest weighing !>7tilb. Mr. Jones was busy for 3i hours in playing his big fieli before it was brought alongside the launch. An Unnerving Experience. j An unpleasant and alarming oxperi- j eilce undergone by some people who were walking along the l>cach from St. Kilda to St. Clair, in Dunedin, on a recent evening serves to draw attention to a danger that is often unsuspected. Two of the party of four were walking along the water's edge when one of them, a women, found herself sinking into a quicksand. She sank rapidly to her waist before her companions were able to rer.cue her with the aid of a | walking stick. The patch of quick- | sand, which appeared to be about Oft square, was almost opposite the Forbury Park grandstand. Ash Wednesday. To-dav, Ash Wednesday, the first day of the Lenten season, is observed in Catholic churches throughout the world. Its solemn observance was instituted by Pope Gregory the Great and confirmed by Celestlne 111. in 1101. Before the Mass, the ashes, those of the palms remaining from the preceding Palm Sunday, are consecrated. The priest recites the words, "Remember, man, that thou art dust, and into dust thou shalt return," as he places the ashes on the foreheads of the assembled people. In the Church of England the Coin m ination Service was substituted for this ceremony in the 10th century. Sir Christopher Wren.

On February 25, 1723, England lost the most famous of her architects. Sir Christopher Wren. His interests included mathematics, astronomy and chemistry. In 1(301 he wag appointed assistant to Sir John Denham, surveyor of Boyal buildings. Many of "the churches in the City of London were destroyed -by the Great Fire of 1006. Fifty of these were reconstructed by Wren. His architectural works include Trinity College and Temple Bar. Wren's masterpiece is St. Paul's Cathedral, where he is bulled. Above the north door is his own epitaph inscribed in Latin, "If you would sec his monument, look around."

When Scheelite was Detpited. Noting the statement of the Minister of Mines urging the need of increasing New Zealand's production of scheelite, the ore of tungsten, an old miner, who worked on the Waihi goldfleld many years ago, recalled that there scheelite was regarded merely as a nuisance, and large dumps of it accumulated over the years, reports a southern journal. When tungsten alloys were found to make the most suitable filaments for electric lights and other electrical apparatus, the ore became of considerable value, but the Waihi miners did not know that until too late, for a shrewd foreigner had bought "for a song" all the dumps of the despised scheelite. Not Allowed Overteas.

The fnct that Salvation Army welfare officers were not permitted to accompany New Zealand troops overseas, as were representatives of other organisations, was referred to by Mr. A. Ely at a meeting of the standing committee of the Auckland Provincial Patriotic Council yesterday afternoon. Reading from a letter which he had received from territorial headquarters of the Salvation Army, Mr. Ely stated although representations had been made to the authorities on the subject they had refused to allow Salvation Army officers to go overseas with Dominion troops. Members expressed surprise at the decision, and referred to the excellent work that the Salvation Army had performed during the last war. It was decided to ask the National Patriotic Fund Board for information. King's Appreciation. A reply to the loyal address presented to the King from the last Methodist Conference, held in Dunedin, was read at the conference at present being held in Auckland. The letter wag signed by Alexander Hardinge, Official Secretary, and read: "The'address adopted by the conference of the Methodist Church of New Zealand has been laid before the King. Such expressions of loyalty to the Throne and devotion to the cauae for which the British Empire has taken up arms are of great value to His Majesty at the present time. He appreciates no less your kind message of good wishes to the Queen and himself, for which I am commanded to convey to you His Majesty's sincere gratitude." Catch of a Bonito. A splendid specimen of one of the smaller game fish, a bonito, was caught from a New Plymouth launch off the coast at Oakura. Its weight was about 201b. The launch party were running 1 down the coast towards Cape Egmortt when they met a large school of shoal fish. There were kahawai, king'ish and bonito, and it is thought t'uere were tuna also present. However, this particular fish took the bait and (,ave the fisherman a merry quarter of si hour. The bonito is a widely distributed flsh, ranging freely over tropical and subtropical waters, but is found in the seas near New Zealand only Curing clear, warm weather such has been enjoyed during the pa*t few davs. Off the Australian coast it occur* in large shoala, but it is ft dftcp-eea flsK and is rarely found in coastal wate.-j and never in land-locked inlet*.