General News

Press, Volume LXXXIV, Issue 25445, 17 March 1948, Page 4

General News

£150,000 Damage in Factory Fire The total damage to stock, machinery, and buildings destroyed in the fire which swept through the confectionary factory of Heards, Ltd., Auckland, on Monday evening is now estimated at more than £150,000. Fire insurance experts are still working on an assessment of the damage, and the final figure may exceed this - estimate. No arrangements for the replacement of the stock or machinery had been made yet, said Mr J. W. Weston, manager of Heards, Ltd. New machinery wculd probably have to be imported to replace that destroyed. Mr Watson said the present staff would remain in the firm’s employ while its future plans were being decided.—(PA.) Anzac Day In recent weeks, members of the Christchurch Returned Services’ Association have received a referendum asking if they were in favour of the term “Anzac Day” being retained. At the annual meeting of the association last evening, it was announced that the voting was in favour of the name being retained. Weeds in Rivers

To overcome the serious increase of weeds in the Avon and Heathcote rivers, shift and week-end work had been done by the Christchurch Drainage Board’s weedcutter, it was reported to the board last evening. Good progress had been made in the Hfeathcote, and the launch was waiting for a suitable day to shift to the Avon, said the report. Last year 117 working days were lost by the weedcutter because of engine troubles. This loss of time coincided with a long and warm summer which stimulated growth of aquatic weeds. The board was advised by a local engineering firm that no steel plate was available to build a new launch, and that inquiries were being sent to the British firm which supplied the original launch in 1909. Reports of Saturday’s Meteor The Magnetic Observatory, Christchurch, has received several corroborative accounts of the meteor reported by a Rolleston street resident at 9.50 p.m. on Saturday. The reports have come from Church Bay, Kir wee, Selwyn Huts, Fendalton, Spreydon, and St. Albans. The original report stated that the meteor appeared in the northwest sky and was a brilliant bluegreen colour, later appearing to explode and sending out a tail of red, orange, and yellow colours. Opinions differed among the reports received by the observatory staff, some stating that the tail appeared like a brilliant golden spear several seconds after the “explosion.” The combined reports will be sent to the Carter Observatory, for investigation. Big U.S. Housing Project B Designed to accommodate 18,000 families, one of the biggest housing projects in America was being built on the east side of Manhattan, said Mr R. G. Bailey, an American structural engineer, in an interview in Christchurch yesterday. Mr Bailey is assistant export manager of the Besser Manufacturing Company, Alpena, Michigan, which produces machinery for the manufacture of concrete building blocks. A site for the New York housing project was being cleared by the demolition of tenements, said Mr Eailey. The new suburb to be created would consist of blocks of flats, the highest of which would be of 10 storeys, together with parks and all the afcnenities of the most modern cities. s: Measuring Fish A laugh against themselves was enjoyed by members the council of the South Canterbury Acclimatisation Society on Monday evening when Mr D. F. Hobbs, senior freshwater fisheries officer of the Marine Department, explained that the length rather than the weight of trout was asked for in anglers’ diaries because it was found that anglers supplied more accurate lengths than weights. Spring balances were less reliable than the steel, rule, he said, amidst further laughter. Continuing in more serious vein, he said that the steel rule gave a more accurate measure—even research officers took two standard balances with them and checked them one against the other. Import Licences Licences to import dried apricots and peaches from Australia and South Africa will be granted this year for an amount equal to the value of such goods from all sources in 1938, according to an announcement from the Customs Department, forwarded to the Canterbury Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber of Commerce- has also received advice that the allocation of sago and tapioca for 1948 is 100 per cent, of the licences granted last year. Hair Oil Selling Machines If permission is granted, it may not be long before an impressive new slot machine is installed in Christchurch. This device, which was seen in Christchurch yesterday, will supply a handful of a popular brand of hair oil for one penny. The hand is held under a bell-mouthed tap and one pennyworth of oil runs into the hand. Aurora and Sunspots The United States National Bureau of Standards reported yesterday a magnetic storm in the upper atmosphere which began at midnight on Sunday (Washington time) and was expected to continue for three or four days. It disrupted radio communications all over the world- The disturbances were described as particularly severe across the North Atlantic? The storm was caused by a heavy outburst of sunspots, according to a Washington cable message. Interruptions to New Zealand telegraphic circuits were reported by the Post and Telegraph Department. An aurora was seen in New Zealand on Monday night, and reports from Campbell Island say it was an intensive display. The aurora was apparently the result of sunspots. The Exhibition and Housing The housing situation perturbed many people when the centennial exhibition was proposed, said the Mayor (Mr E. H. Andrews) yesterday, when the provisional directors met • the Prime Minister (Mr P Fraser). The directors felt that the accumulation of materials for the exhibition would give building a big fillip, he added* Later, Mr J. Mathison, M.P., said it had been suggested that a lot of difficulties about the exhibition would be overcome by imports, but he would hesitate. to agree to extend import licences to the detriment Of housing and essential industries. Fire Officer’s Record “Sprint” ‘•You should have been in Dunedin last week,” said Mr C. S. a champion athlete of his day, having in mind the New Zealand athletic championships, when a Fire Brigade officer yesterday first told the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Ballantyne’s fire the time in which he could cover the distance from his brigade flat, 500 to 600 yards away, to the engine room. He then corrected the distance to 800 feet. “That is 266 yards,” Mr Thomas reminded witness, following with a question as to the time he took to run the distance with his fire boots on. The officer ssid it took him 25 to 30 seconds to reach the engine house. Mr Thomas remarked that the officer could reach his engine faster than men who had to travel only 40 feet from their quarters. The officer said his flat was between Lichfield and Tuam streets. Mr J. D. Hutchison (for the Fire Board) was explaining to the witness that a city block in Christchurch measured five chains by 10 chains when his question was ruled out. Any possible claim to record sprints over long distances by the officer were set aside when another officer, who lives in quarters 50 to 80 feet beyond those of the speedy officer, said that his flat was only 160 feet south of the engine room.

Grocery Prices in 1914 The habit of saving receipted bills is not uncommon, but one Christchurch housewife recently found that her stock or receipts covered a period of 34 years. A comparison of “her earliest grocery receipts with her latest, while, no doubt, of interest, did not provide her with the satisfaction such careful book work should have done. She found that in 1914 she had paid the following:—lls 8d for 10 pounds of butter; 4s 2d for 20 pounds of sugar; Is for two pounds of lemon jam; 6d for a tin of pineapple; lOd for two pounds of currants; 10s lOd for 10. dozen eggs; 3d for a pound of biscuits; Is for 12 pounds of potatoes; and Is for a bottle of Worcester sauce.