General News

Press, Volume LXXXIIi, Issue 25302, 30 September 1947, Page 6

General News

Rongotai Closed On the first day of Rongotai’s closing as a commercial aerodrome it was unusable in any case. A northerly gale yesterday made flying from it unsafe, and club aircraft could not use it. Paraparaumu was not affected. The Kelburn Observatory recorded three gusts of over 60 miles an hour and one of 68 miles an hour. —(P.A.)

Sale of Surplus Aircraft Surplus Royal New Zealand Air Force bombers and fighters are now being offered for sale by the War Assets Realisation Board, which has called tenders for 12 now stored at South Island aerodromes. These are the first combat aircraft to be sold. There are three Ventura bombers and five Kittyhawk fighters at Nelson, and four Hudson bomber reconnaissance aircraft at Woodbourne. Also offered for sale are 43 aircraft engines at Woodbourne. Thirty-four are Allison engines used in American fighters.

Teachers’ Code A proposal that a teachers’ code should be adopted, made at the annual conference of the New Zealand Educational Institute, is being investigated within the profession. *The Auckland branch is handling inquiries and is seeking the opinions of teachers on the need for a code, the practicability of its establishment, and the possibility of enforcing it. It has been suggested that the code of conduct should cover relationships of teachers to each other, to their pupils, and to the public. Those in favour of a code believe it could be used to' raise the prestige of members of the profession, protect schools, and control persons guilty of offensive conduct/ The example of other professional bodies with si,ich a code has been mentioned. Tug Forced to Run for Shelter

Forced to shelter at Napier by a severe storm during her voyage from Tauranga to Wellington, the small. 46ft diesel tug Barbara W is awaiting a favourable weather report before continuing her journey. In a battle against mountainous seas and a howling gale, the vessel, although within three hours of Wellington, was forced to turn back to Napier. In the dull light of early dawn the tug narrowly avoided striking Black Rock at the end of Cape Kidnappers, swinging clear with only a few yards to spare. In Wellington the tug will be engaged in lifting anti-submarine boom defences. —(P.A.)

Boys Cause Power Failure A circular piece of wire thrown over the fence of the Foster street sub-sta-tion in Riccarton by some boys caused a power break in a part of the borough for nearly an hour on Friday evening, said the town clerk (Mr R. Sarjeant), in a statement to members of the Riccarton Borough Council last evening. Mr Sarjeant produced two insulators of the heavy type which showed signs of having been badly burned as a result of the contact with the wire. The wire fell over some structure inside the sub-station which was carrying 11.000 volts, said Mr Sarjeant. The staff was called out to repair the damage temporarily. Thorough repairs had to be done at* 6 a.m. on Sunday.

Quality of Frozen Meat According to advice received from the Food Controller, the instruction to butchers to use 10 per cent, of frozen meat in their weekly quota will not in future apply to Southland. It was stated at a meeting of the Southland Master Butchers’ Association last evening that it had been reported to the controller that the quality of frozen meat in store in Southland was not up to the standard required by the trade and that the controller had agreed to waive the instruction.— (P.A.) Condition of Latimer square

The poor condition of Latimer square was commented on by the Director of Reserves (Mr M. J.. Barnett) in his report to the Christchurch City Council at its meeting last evening. He said that to make up the inequalities in the' lawn surface caused by the subsidence of the air raid trenches constructed during the war, 40 cubic yards of soil had been used as filling. Although the cost of this work, including grass seed and labour, was £5B, at best it was only a patchwork job. The whole surface of the square was full of inequalities, and the turf in poor condition. What was required was that the whole area be ploughed up, cultivated, regraded, and resown. Origin of Health Stamps To-morrow the 19th annual issue of health stamps will be on sale. The history of health stamps in New Zealand dates back to a letter written in 1926 by a Hawke’s Eay resident, Mr G Nielsen, to the member of Parliament for his district, Sir George Hunter. Mr Nielsen suggested that New Zealand should adopt the practice of Denmark and other countries of issuing Christmas seals. The proceeds from the sale of these seals might be devoted to some health project said Mr Nielsen. Sir George Hunter passed the suggestion on to the Postmaster-General, but it was decided to issue a stamp with a postage value instead of a seal. The Health Department suggested that the money should go to the children’s health camps, and a special clause was included in the Finance Act of 1929 to validate the stamps. The first health stamp, honouring the nursing profession, was issued in 1929. “Going Whitebaiting” “I’ll be whitebaiting, your Worship,” replied Cr. R. G. Brown, amid laughter, at the City Council’s meeting last evening, when a councillor suggested that he should represent the council at the operflng of a bowling club’s season on Saturday, October 11. Invitations from five sports clubs for the Mayor and councillors to attend the opening of the season were received, and the council spent 10 minutes deciding which councillors should attend the various functions. Hoarding Leases Not Renewed It was decided not to renew the leases for hoardings in the town and to allow three montha for the removal of the hoardings, at a meeting of the Ashburton Borough Council, last evening. When the Mayor (Mr E. C. Bathurst) moved formally that ' the licences be renewed, Cr. K. D. Mcllraith said that now was the time to get rid of the hoardings. He moved that the leases be not renewed. Cr. H. G. Ferrier said the town would look better without hoardings. Mr Bathurst mentioned the unsightliness of hoardings near the Christchurch railway station. Additions to Boys’ High School The Canterbury University College Council decided yesterday that the new building planned at the Christchurch Boys’ High School should be detached and parallel to the present building, and that the rooms should be in keeping with the rest of the school and not of the open-air type suggested.

Electronics Department A separate department of electronics in the School of Engineering at Canterbury University College was approved by the college council yesterday. Motor Drivers’ Licences "The revocation or amendment of the new amendment to the Motor Drivers’ Regulations, 1940, making “failure to carry” a licence an offence, was sought recently by the Christchurch City Council, which asked the Minister of Transport to take action so that the council could continue its present policy of granting drivers 24 hours’ grace in which to produce their licences. In»a letter received at the council meeting last evening, the Minister said that the only fresh provision contained in the regulation was the extension of the enforcement powers to the traffic inspectors oV the Transport Department, as well as to local body inspectors and the police. “Your council may be assured that the policy of my department will be to enforce the regulation along the same lines as enforcement of the regulation has been operated in the past,” said the Minister. “Reasonable opportunity will be given for the driver to produce his licence when he has omitted to carry it with him.” Food for Britain

The voluntary surrender of food coupons as part of the Aid-for-Britain campaign continues at a high level. Last week 104293 meat coupons and 1831 butter coupons were saved. Gisborne, Napier, and Nelson were again the leading towns on a population basis. Gisborne taking first place from Napier, and reversing the previous week’s placings.—-(P.A.)