General News

Press, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 25083, 15 January 1947, Page 6

General News

Electoral Petitions The petition to the Electoral Court seeking a reversal of the result of the Raglan election is the ninth since 1915. Other petitions have been:— Taumarunui, 1915; Grey, 1918; Stratford, 1920; Oamaru, 1923; Westland and Lyttelton, 1926; Bay of Islands, 1929; Rangitikei, 1932.

Stripping of the Philomel With only the simplest ceremony, the veteran cruiser Philomel, mothership of the Royal New Zealand Navy, will end her 56 years of service this week if conditions are favqurable. She will be towed on Friday from her familiar berth at the Devonport base to Coromandel, where her new owners, the Strongman Shipping Company, Ltd., will strip her of decks and fittings for use in new ship construction. At Coromandel the cruiser will be secured at a sheltered berth and will be ballasted to rest easily on the bottom. This will facilitate her being taken to sea for sinkin p when the stripping is completed.— CP.A.) Konini Trees Uprooted Thursday night’s storm on the Peninsula deposited about 300 konini trees on the Gough’s Bay flat, carried away fences and a chaff house, and left about 18 inches of mud on the valley floor. Mrs T. Masefield said yesterday that the mess made by the storm had to be seen to be fully realised. The flat portion pf the bay was covered with mud, and it was feared, with many gorse plants and seeds from higher up the valley. It was | thought that the heaviest deluge occurred within a period of two hours during the night and the whole flat portion of the bay was covered by water. The valley creek beds were swept clear of all growth by slips and flood waters. British Mental Nurses A party of 21 British women who will train for work in New Zealand mental hospitals arrived at Auckland in the Largs Bay. They were the first to come direct to Auckland, others having previously arrived at Wellington. Most of the women came from Scotland, and seven served in the armed forces during the war. —(P.A-) Royal Arms Still Used

Government Regulations issued last week still carried the Royal arms at the top of the first page, although in last week’s Gazette a change was made to the New Zealand coat of arms. The regulations were notified in the Gazette but were printed separately.

Maori Antiquities in Berlin The finest collection of Maori antiquities in the world apart from those in museums in New Zealand, has gone astray since the beginning of the last war, according to Dr. C. B. Humphreys, keeper of the West Pacific collection at Cambridge University Museum, England. He is visiting New Zealand to arrange for exchanges of exhibits between the Cambridge and New Zealand museums. Dr. Humphreys said in New Plymouth that the collection he referred to was in the Berlin Museum before the war, but whether the pieces were still in the museums of Germany or had been moved was not known. The armies of occupation did not seem to be concerned with tracing them. There were several fine collections of Maori exhibits in other German museums, he said, but there was no indication of where they had gone. In reply to a question about exhibits in the Vienna Museum which had been claimed by Maori tribes recently, Dr. Humphreys said the articles in question were not of very high value.

Forced to Stay on Ship Because of high seas. 21 passengers in the motor-vessel Port Chalmers, which arrived in Auckland from Liverpool yesterday and dropped anchor off Motuihi to discharge explosives, had to spend last night on board the ship. A launch was sent from Auckland to bring them ashore after the custom officials’ inspection, but the master, Captain B. H. Durham, considered that it would be too risky for them to be transferred. Arrangements have been made for the launch to return to the ship for the passengers this morning.— (P.A ) An Artist’s Adventures A New Zealand former serviceman, Mr Gordon McAuslan, who exhibited I some of his paintings at Christchurch a few months ago, is at present travelling in the North Island partly for adventure and partly to paint and sketch. After working his way up the Wanganui river he reached the National Park, Tokaanu, and Taupo. There began the most perilous and exciting part of his trip, when he tried to travel in a canoe made from an aircraft extra fuel tank down the Waikato river. He was advised not to make the trip down through the rapids at Whakamaru, but went on. About half-way down the rapids the canoe got out of control and capsized. Mr McAuslan lost some sketches and all his gear, but was able tp scramble ashore, although fully clothed. After being made comfortable during the week-end at the. new Public Works village at Mangakino he hitch-hiked to Hamilton. Now he plans to make some sort of boat “as much resem-

bling a canoe as possible” and to go downstream to Port Waikato, across the old Maori portage to the Manukau harbour, and so to Auckland. New Zealand Society at Poona News of the formation of a society at Poona, India, to foster good relations between India and New Zealand has been received by the Mayor of Christchurch (Mr E. H Andrews) in a letter addressed to the “Secretary, Government of the Canterbury Province, Christchurch,” and headed “A Thanksgiving Message.” The letter is

written on notepaper carrying the letterhead “The New Zealand Society” and giving the information that the founder was Professor D. V. Gokhale, M.A. The letter expresses admiration of the war effort of New Zealand generally and of Canterbury particularly and says the society will study the history, commerce, law, customs, and education of New Zealand. Any support from New Zealand would be appreciated, it says. Ideal Ski-ing Conditions v With the 96-roomed Chateau Tonga* r|ro still unavailable for use, the demand for nearby cabin accommodation 3000 feet up the northern slopes of Mount Ruapehu has been keen during the holiday season Last summer ski-ing was impossible because of the amount of volcanic ash on the slopes of the mountain, and tramping •was uncomfortable because of ash in the air. This year, however, conditions have been ideal and first-class ski-ing has been enjoyed from points above the Ruapehu Ski Club Hut. Ski-ing conditions on the glacier are also reported to be good. Fresh snowfalls have been recorded almost every week for the last few months, and there is still plenty of snow above the huts on the mountain. Wellington Apple Supplies It is nearly two months since apples were on sale in the shops in Wellington, and it may be two more before they are procurable. These are the usual off months for New Zealandgrown apples and the period has usually been tided over by importations I from Canada. Mainly because of the lack of shipping space, there have ' been no importations to bridge the ] gap on this occasion and the public I has had to go without. Some New 1 Zealand-grown apples will be available i early next month, but these will be ' diverted to hospitals. It will be late I February or early March before there l are full supplies availabe for the re- ' tail shops. The apple crop this sea- | son is expected to be poor as the re- • suit of frosts in Central Otago, Nel- ! son, and Hawke’s Bay. The overseas quota has not yet been decided. Lake Levels Still Falling

No slackening is yet visible in the gradual fall in the level of Lake Waikaremoana, which has been dropping at the rate of about a tenth of a foot a day since the beginning of December, and on Monday the lake had reached the very low mark of 2001.2 ft above sea level. Little rain ’has been recorded at the lake for some time. Although Waikaremoana is much lower than at any time during last summer’s drought, the water supply position for the hydro-electric generating stations in the centre of the North Island is made less serious by the relatively high level of Lake Taupo, which stood on Monday at 1176.15 ft. '“This is less than a foot beI low the maximum, although representing a slow falL