General News

Press, Volume LXXV, Issue 22795, 22 August 1939, Page 8

General News

Magpie Interrupts Power When a magpie carried a piece of wire into the main power line between Ashburton and Springfield recently, it caused one wire to be burnt right through and a second partly through. Power was weak in the Methven and Mayfield districts for about half an hour till the Mitcham loop line was cut in. When this was reported to the : Ashburton Power Board yesterday morning, a member asked what happened to the magpie. “He was a very troublesome bird and probably got his deserts, was the answer supplied by another meatier. Tree-Planting at Chaney’s “To date some 70,000 pinus radiata grown at the Municipal Nursery have been planted at Chaney’s, There is still another 50 acres at Chaney’s available for planting this yea r > a-nd further areas also at Bottle Lake, but the aepartment has not the trees available, stated the' report of the reserves committee to the meeting of the Christchurch City Council last evening. “Messrs Millichamp and Son, Ashburton, have offered 50,000 two-year-old pinus radiata at £2 15s a thousand. This is an exceptionally good offer and the firm concerned specialises in the growing of forest trees. Authority was given for the purchase of 50,000 pines, the money being available from the committee’s relief of unemployment vote. Funds for Highland Unit Permission to hold a street procession and to take up a collection to assist the funds of the Highland unit recently formed in Christchurch was granted by the Christchurch City _ Council last evening. A vigorous protest against this decision was entered by Cr. T. Nuttall. He said he must oppose it. If the Scotsmen wanted to be fully regaled it was a matter for the unit itself and the authorities. The collection would be for funds purely for the aggrandisement of the unit. There were Cries of No from councillors at this. The grant was approved with Cr. Nuttall’s protest recorded. State Mine Idle The Liverpool State Coal Mine was idle yesterday because of a slip which on Sunday '.damaged the • centre rail of the Dunollie-Re-•wanui railway line. Gangs of men were employed on Sunday and again yesterday in clearing work; and it is expected that the line will have been sufficiently restored to allow of the mine working to-day. Aircraft Experts from U.S. To supervise repairs to the Union Airways monoplane Kahii which was damaged at New Plymouth aerodrome on July 23, two experts from the Lockheed Corporation factory at Burbank, California, arrived at Auckland by the MonoWai from Vancouver. The machine was flown from New Plymouth to Palmerston North a week ago, temporary, repairs being made by the company’s engineers. interest infhe ocean"services which will join at Auckland was expressed by the visiting experts. Yesterday afternoon they inspected the , plant®and equipment at the bases of Tasman Empire Airways, Ltd., and Pan American Airways at.Mechanics Bay.—-Press Association. Power Poles. in Snow Areas Damage to .17 steel poles and four wooden poles in the Methven and Mayfield districts caused by a heavy fall of snow during boisterous weather last Thursday night will cost the Ashburton Electric Power Board about £IOO for- replacements. Interruptions to supply also entailed a certain loss of revenue. At yesterday’s meeting of the board, the chairman (Mr E. F. Nicoll) said the. effect of the snow on steel poles would indicate the need for consideration being given to their use in snow areas.. Some consisting of three pieces of railway line strapped together had bent over almost double. The trouble seemed largely the result of wires breaking and imposing undue stress on the poles; Members from the district commented that the snow was surprisingly wet and accumulated on wires, in some cases being six inches through. The weight of this and the wind all contributed to the damage. Air Base Penders Launched Launched by, the Auckland Harbour Board’s floating crane the two fast control launches to be employed at the base at Mechanics Bay of Tasman Empire Airways, Ltd., entered the service yesterday. Although their full capabilities were not explored t>otH the craft performed impressively in the trials which were subsequently carried out on the harbour. Their Speed, stability and ease of handling were well demonstrated. —Press Association. Not “Financial Gangsters” “The public cannot call us financial gangsters,” said a member of the Ashburton Electric Power Board at a meeting, yesterday morning when figures were . presented showing that each unit sold last year cost 1.33 d and was sold to the consumer at 1.46 d. In the first - year, of the board’s activities (1921), power was sold at 4.49 d a unit and the ne .. year the price came down to 2.76 d. It was another four years before the figure was below 2d. “These figures show that our activities are certainly not usury,” added the chairman (Mr E. F. Nicoll), The Memorial Baths Progress of the negotiations for the acquiring of a site for the proposed centennial memorial baths was reported to the Christchurch City Council in committee last evening. Subsequently the Mayor (Mr R. M. Macfarlane, M.P.) stated that the baths committee will meet on Thursday representatives of the Canterbury branch of ‘ the New Zealand Institute of Architects to discuss the suggestion that competitive designs be called for the elevation of the proposed baths, a prize to be offered for the most suitable design. Officials of the council will shortly inspect municipal -baths in other centres. Value of Experience William Cable and Company, Ltd., Kaiwarra, who fabricated the big steel towers to carry the improved aerial system for the Government wireless station ZLW on top of Tinakori Hill, also has the job of hoisting them to their foundations on this exposed hill-top. The company has reduced the work to a fine art. Each succeeding tower that goes .up is hoisted in faster time than the one which immediately preceded it. Yesterday morning the third of the new towers was placed upright and the actual lift took only four and a half minutes, ft was done, moreover, in a wind of 25 miles an hour. This is the best effort to date. Naturally there were points to be found out when the first of the new towers was hoisted. That lift by an electric winch took about 35 minutes. Five weeks later on a beautifully fine afternoon the second tower went up in about eight minutes. Three more towers remain to be lifted to complete the work. —“The Press” Special Service. Across America by Cycle Having obtained a position in a dairy factory at Huawai, North Auckland, through meeting friends in England who came from Ruawai, Mr J. E. Ashmore arrived at Auckland by the -Monowai after cycling across America. Leaving England on May 12 Mr Ashmore cycled from New York to Chicago by way of Niagara and through the central American states to Montana. After crossing the Can-' adian border he spent two weeks at Canadian winter resorts and cycled through British .Columbia. “The last 100 miles in Canada was rough going and I. had to go by motor-truck,” said Mr Ashmore. “The roads are rough in West Canada. My coast-to-coast trip ‘took 11 weeks and I caught the Monowai at Victoria.” —“The Press” Special Service. Electrical Water Heating The importance of securing a proper relationship between the size of heating element and the size of the cylinder in electric waterheating installations was emphasised in the report of the electricity committee to the Christchurch City Council last evening. “Unfortunately there, is a strong tendency for the* owner, the building and the wiring contractor, to put in an installation that will result in the minimum first cost, with the consequences that a fourth party—the tenant —finds the service unsatisfactory, and a fifth party—the electricial supply authority—receives the blame,” stated the report, which suggested that the only satisfactory remedy was to refuse to give supply unless water-heat-ing installations were made to comply with the department’s requirements.