General News

Press, Volume LXXI, Issue 21646, 3 December 1935, Page 10

General News

Air Seirvice to Mount Cook , The proposed air service to -Mount Cook should be an accomplished fact by the end of the 'present summer, reported Mr R. L. Wigley, managing director of the Mount Cook Tourist Company, to a tourist conference at the Hermitage yesterday. Mr Wigley said that as soon as the grass on the aerodrome built near the Hermitage had grown'"a license would be granted the ground and a service begun, which would bring transport to Mount Cook to as modern a system as to the Westland glaciers.

Fish in Good Condition "I have never seen the fish in better condition," said a Christchurch fisherman who was at the Selwynduring the week-end. The improvement in the fish is attributed to the big runs of silveries at present in the river. But although the silveries are benefiting the fishermen in one way, they are also the cause of the poor bags being obtained in the river. In Lake Ellesmere fishermen using a fly or a lure were obtaining quite good bags, one man during the week-end catching nine fish of a total weight of 481b. Reports received from the lakes district yesterday indicated that the weather was not very, good, but those fish which were caught were in good condition.

Matriculation Examination The matriculation examination began yesterday morning. The number of candidates is about the same as usual this year, and has not yet been affected by the introduction of the leaving certificate system for those not intending to take up university work. Most of the candidates now sitting would have already entered upon a matriculation course when the new system was brought in two years ago, and it is not expected that any difference will be noticed till next year or the year after. The supervisor for the examination in Christchurch is Mr J. E. Purchase.

Cilty Relief Work r ■ A total of 270 men, including 45 men engaged under the five-day scheme, are at present en- £ ifeaged by the reserves department of the „ Christchurch City Council on unemployment relief work. The men are occupied in marram f planting and gorse grubbing at Bottle Lake, r \ removing willow * stumps and grading banks along Dudley creek, levelling sandhills at Ruru road reserve and clearing twitch and deepen--1 . ing the paddling pool at Spreydon Domain. l The department's expenditure on relief works for the month of October was £520, of which £303 was subsidy on wages (five-day men), t £66 was supervision, and £62 was truck [ drivers' wages. Tools, repairs, and materials [ cost £55. .... ■ Cyclists' Red Reflectors Cyclists who offend against the Christchurch City Council byrlaws by having an unsatisfactory type of red reflector on their machines are to be given warning and advisory tickets by traffic inspectors, according to a decision of the council on the recommendation of its traffic committee last evening. The committee recently selected seven types of reflector as being approved, and so that cyclists may know what sort of reflector satisfies the council, these will be on view at the office of the city traffic department. Tourist Cruise to Lyttelton A forecast that at least one of the tourist cruising vessels to visit New Zealand next summer would make Lyttelton its port of stay in the Dominion was made by Mr R. L. Wigley at the tourist conference at the Hermitage yesterday. Mr Wigley" said it was estimated that one of these cruising vessels at Auckland left in the city about £ 10,000 in providoring and wharfage charges, irrespective of what the passengers personally spent. Such a sum would . be of immense benefit to the South Island. Tree Killed by Gas The death from gas poisoning of a large plane tree in. Cranmer square was reported by . the reserves- committee at the meeting of the Christchurch City Council last evening. This tree is the second in that area to be killed by gas within a short period. The committee has asked "the Christchurch Gas Company to pay the cost of the removal and replacement of the trees, and to state what steps it will take to prevent similar happenings in future. Cr. ,M. E. Lyons suggested that the reserves ; committee might bring down a report about : the proximity of gas mains to trees. Imperial War Pensioners : An investigation of the position of Imperial ' war pensioners will be made shortly by Mr F. N. Smith, 0.8. E., a representative of the 1 Imperial Ministry of Pensions, who will visit ' New Zealand. The tour is the outcome of the recent British Empire Service League conference in Melbourne, and the headquarters of ] the New Zealand Returned Soldiers' Associa- i tion has been asked to prepare cases .for Imperial war pensioners who consider they have * no.t received justice at the hands of the Im- i perial pension authorities. ' ' -' - i Personnel of the Post Office : Permanent employees of the Post and Telegraph Department number 8685. It requires J 1167 supervisors and operators to conduct the 5 telephone exchange business, and 364 mecha- - 1 nicians are also needed to maintain the 3 efficiency of this service. Another large staff ( maintains and constructs telegraph and tele- ' phone lines and cables, the overseers, line- J ■ foremen, faultmen, linemen, and cable-jointers regularly engaged in this activity, all over the l Dominion, even its most remote parts, totalling > 892. For the delivery of correspondence and other postal packets, 755 postmen are employed, and r for the handling of mail and parcel mail re- I ceptacles, and for general duties in the mail J rooms there are 300 adult messengers. The * department also has more than 100 chauffeurs f on its staff. 1 , - ; ' .-..- . _ • t Tuition in Blind Flying t A recent statement that plans made by the Wellington Aero Club for the provision of tuition in blind flying. were a new departure for clubs flying in the Dominion is challenged s by the Auckland Aero Club, which has had a 1 machine at its Waikato branch in use for such n work for more than a year. The aeroplane r is ZK-ACK, in which Mr Oscar Garden flew *> from England to Australia some years ago. * The blind-flying instruments for the Auckland fi Club's machine were made in New Zealand, o Instruction in blind flying has been given to c a number of pupils.—"The Press" Special Ser- s vice. i ti About Two Horses r "You will find two horses there in an ad- *- vanced state of emancipation." Thus ran the * text of an anonymous complaint ' received by ** Mr D. J. White, the inspector of the Canterbury Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to v Animals, which he read at the monthly meet- *] ing of the committee' last night. "However, li when I arrived at Kaiapoi, where the horses c were. I found that they were not even emaciated, but were only aged," he said. One of ti the horses had since been destroyed, he added, tl Classroom an "Unsightly Shed" n The appearance of a classroom provided for a -. the New Brighton District High School by the jj Education Board, which has just been erected, has drawn much- dissatisfied • comment from 9 several residents living near the school. At a meeting of the New Brighton Borough Council a last evening a letter was received from a resident, taking exception to "the unsightly corrugated shed just erected in the school grounds in front of her property in Hawke street." The tl matter was referred to the chairman of the o: by-laws committee (Cr. C. V. Lester) for a tl report. At the last meeting of the school com- c] mittee, held nearly a month ago, a letter was w received from the Education Board stating that ci after representations made by. the committee d for additional accommodation in the infants' C department, the board had approved of a grant rr. for the moving of a portable building from tc the Shirley School to New Brighton, and that b the work would be put in hand immediately, tl The building, which was erected recently, is v, built of corrugated iron," with windows on two Ii sides. It stands at the back of the brick in-, tl . fants' school, in an open area formerly used al as a playground, and is only a few feet from V, , the road.- £