General News

Press, Volume LXXI, Issue 21363, 4 January 1935, Page 8

General News

♦ Penny Newspapers All the daily newspapers circulating in Oamaru are now selling for one penny. Excursions to Seaside The cheap excursion tramway and trolley-bus fares to and from Sumner, New Brighton, and to North Beach came into operation yesterday, but the weather was not favourable for great advantage being taken of them. The excursion fares are to remain in force till the primary schools reopen. Advertising' New Zealand New Zealand receives a preat deal of personal publicity overseas, according to Mr T. L. Jones, of Johannesburg, South Africa, who is at present visiting Christchurch. Mr Jones remarked yesterday that though perhaps the Dominion was possibly not so -well advertised as other countries through newspaper and magazine advertisements, it received even better publicity from people who had visited it. They all spoke highly of New Zealand as a place well worth visiting in spite of its remoteness, and encouraged their friends to take a holiday in it. Conditions for Climbing The effect of the small amount of snow which fell in the Mount Cook region during the winter, so that ski-runners had to travel further than usual for their sport, has been noticed in the last few weeks by climbers making the ascents of the high peaks of the region. Thev have found that the absence of the usual amount of winter snow, combined with the recent long fine spell when no new snow has fallen, has left the rocks in excellent condition for climbing. The tipper reaches of the glaciers, however, were far more crevassed than usual, and travelling over them was difficult because of the absence of snow bridges. Busy Day at Library The assistants at the Canterbury Public Library were kept very busy yesterday, when the library opened after being closed for two days. There was a fairly constant stream of subscribers changing books, while the reference department was used by a large number of readers. In the public reading room there was an unusually large number of people. In the circulating department approximately 800 books were issued. The unsettled weather of the holidays combined to cause this increased activity. Improvement in England "Things in England are definitely on the up-grade," said Sir Thomas Wilford to a Wanganui "Chronicle" reporter this week. "The English are a great race. They don't get panicky, but they keep their heads and move along solidly. They don't say much and you don't know what they are thinking. But they are thinking—all the time." An Exciting Tram Ride Passengers by a car to Aramoho leaving Wanganui with a full load on a recent evening had an exciting experience. One of the overhead wires broke, the resultant noise causing some of the passengers to think that the car had been struck by lightning. Women screamed, children cried, and there was a general scramble to get out of the car. This was wisely prevented by the conductor and the attendant inspector, who at once realised the danger of live wires, which could be seen burning the dry grass on which they had fallen. Later, when the wires were removed, a number of passengers alighted and proceeded to walk. Traffic was interrupted for half an hour until repairs were effected.

Oil in Oriental Bay Complaints that patches of oil are frequently encountered floating on the harbour water at Oriental Bay have been made lately by Wellington bathers. A few days ago a city solicitor while swimming not far from the beach failed to notice an oil patch, with the result that he spent the rest of the day ridding his body of a greasy deposit and attempting to clean his bathing costume. Another swimmer rose after swimming under water and found himself haloed with oil. "It took me two hours to get it out of my hair," he said. An Unusual Wager As the result of an argument, after which a wager was made, Mr Charles Kirby, a young Central Otago man, pushed a specially-made wheelbarrow carrying a bale of wool from Linnburn Station to the Waipiata railway station —a distance of 22 miles, states the "Otago Daily Times." After an argument in the woolshed at Linnburn he was offered a bale of finest merino wool, valued at £ 18, if he could wheel it to the Waipiata railway station in-time for the next wool sale. This feat was generally regarded as impossible, but Mr Kirby decided to make the attempt, and for that purpose had aj specially-constructed type of wheel- j barrow made in Dunedin with a wheel eight inches wide. He started on the journey at 4 a.m. one day, and after five days, during which most of his travelling was done at night, he reached his destination and won the wager. His load weighed 'nearly scw't, and the road over which he travelled included a watercourse that presented considerable difficulty. Absence of Fires Not one dwelling-house or building of any consequence was burned down in Whangaret during the last year. In fact, of the eight fires within the confines of the borough, qnly one affected a building, and that was a garage and wood-shed which i was damaged. The total value of the damage done during the year was, on a liberal estimate, about £SO, a record for fire loss in Whangarei. For the convenience of our patrons we have a number of PRIVATE CARS which do not bear trade signs. These are particularly suitable for Weddings, or private hire at taxi rates. BLUE STAR TAXI SERVICE. 'Phones 35-228, 35-229. —2 The McCormick-Deering Dual Purpose Harvester Thresher will successfully harvest wheat, oats, barley, grassseed, peas, clover, lupins, linseed, lucerne, and practically every crop grown in New Zealand. It will do the job quicker, cheaper, and better than any other method, and the saving effected by using one of these Machines is from lOd to Is a bushel. International Harvester Company of New Zealand, Limited, Christchurch. —3 Surprises are m store to those interested in the Taxi business, so watch our next move, also note that the fares of the Gold Band Taxis Private hire cars are only half the price of other taxis and even cheaper than trams for 5 passengers and luggage, so don't be foolish by going elsewhere and paying double. Spend a penny in the slot 'phone box and save ycur money, 'Phone 33-477. Thank you. —2