General News

Press, Volume LXXXVI, Issue 26030, 6 February 1950, Page 6

General News

Mother and Son in Harbour Race A mother and her’ son took part in the harbour swim from the launch jetty at Lyttelton to Corsair Bay on Saturday morning. They were Mrs L. D. Rafferty and her son, W. A. Rafferty, aged 13 years. The two swam together, Mrs Rafferty completing the distance of approximately one and a half miles in one hour one minute 30 seconds, and her son finished five seconds behind her. As they are not members of the Lyttelton Men’s Swimming Club, which held the race, they were not actual competitors, but were allowed to swim with the competitors and were timed by the club officials. Mrs Rafferty also completed the course when the race was last year. Beetles, Not Flying Ants The insects seen in swarms by residents in several parts of Christchurch, principally in the Port Hills area, on Thursday evening are beetles, not flying ants, as was suggested at first. The zoologist at the Canterbury Museum •Mr R. R. Forster) said yesterday that many specimens of the beetle had been sent to the museum for identification. The beetle was the 1 same as one in the museum collection, which was not named. “A specimen will have to be sent to a beetle expert for identification,” he said. “It . seems highly probable that it is an introduced species, but it is not a new one; the one in the museum collection has been there since 1916.” Racing Motor-cyclist’s Escape G. Mardon, a Canterbury rider, had a lucky escape in a race at the Christchurch Speedway on Saturday evening when the gear counter-shaft of his motorcycle snapped. The entire body of the clutch spun off the machine and across the track to the fence. It was fortunate for Mardon that the flying metal took a horizontal instead of a vertical path. Public Service Wage Claims The hearing of claims by the Public Service Association for .increased salaries in the civil service will be resumed before the Government Service Tribunal at Wellington to-day. The New Zealand Railway Officers’ Institute in its otficial journal announces that after the association’s case has ended the Railways- Tribunal will hear wages and salaries/claims. It says the three general division railway organisation's are asking for general increase of 6d an hour, and 'the institute a £52 a year increase. Enterprise

The decision to limit the crowd at Eden Park for’-the opening of the Empire Games to 40,000 did not escape the attention of some Auckland residents with homes near the ground. On Saturday afternoon there were many spectators on properly constructed tiered seating in the back yards of homes near the park.—(F.O.O.R.) Too Old to Run Pleading guilty to a charge of being a rogue and vagabond, in that he was found playing a game of chance, John Piggot, aged 73, a labourer, told Mr S. L. Paterson, S.M., at Hamilton that he was too old to run when the police arrived on the scene. Senior-Detective Murray said that two constables saw a group of men playing “two-up” on the roadway leading to the Horotiu freezing works. By the time the police arrived the men had scattered and defendant was the only one who was caught. The sum of £42 was found in his possession. Piggot was fined £2. 70,000 Words on Empire Games Overseas journalists covering the Empire Games for newspapers in many parts of the world cabled 70,000 words from Auckland on Saturday. More than half that amount was sent from Eden Park during the athletics in the afternoon. From 1 p.m. qn Saturday to 2 o'clock on Sunday morning three high speed cable circuits were used to handle the traffic, which was dealt with by Cable and j Wireless. Ltd., in conjunction with the Post and Telegraph Department. There was no hold-up in the overseas channels, and the dispatches were cleared quickly.— (P.A.) Friend of Gandhi A friend of Mr Gandhi, Sir Robert E. Holland, who has spent 30 years in India in the civil service, recalled in aq interview yesterday his last meeting with Mr Gandhi. “It was in 1942 and I tried to persuade him to come out on the side of the Allies,” said Sir Robert Holland, “but he was not willing, being determined to pursue a policy of non-violence. He told me: T am a man of complete non-violence. I live in a mud hut with no defence or protection. If they wished, anybody could come in and murder me.* And that is exactly what happened.” Record Tasman Traffic Passengers carried by Tasman Empire Airways, Ltd., in the last three weeks have reached the record total of 2438. Travellers from Sydney to Auckland numbered 1322 and from Auckland to Sydney 1116. Of those bound for Auckland it is estimated that 80 per cent, travelled for the Empire Games. On several occasions it was necessary to charter a land aircraft, but flying-boats carried some 90 per cent, of the traffic. Visit by Athletes On behalf of the Westland District League, the president (Mr G. R. Harker) has sent a telegram to the Prime Minister (Mr Holland) saying that the people of the West Coast were greatly incensed that the visiting athletes were not to be given the opportunity of seeing the scenery of Westland. The telegram suggested that if it was not too late, the itinerary be rearranged to enable the athletes to visit the district. Auckland Underground Railways Works Department engineers are making the first tests for Auckland’s underground railways. A mobile rig, operated by a contracting firm, has started a test bore in Albert street, to obtain samples of the rock below the city. The depth of the bore, will be 90ft—about 10 feet below the level of Queen street. So far the drill has shown that the Albert street “ridge” consists of mudstone and sandstone

which begins about 25ft down. This is considered to be good material for tunnelling. A feature of the rock is the variety in its formation, about 15 layers being found in 10ft of core samples. When the city tests have been completed, the rig will be used for test borings for the harbour bridge. New Peak on Tasman According to Chief Guide H. Ayers, of Franz Josef glacier, Mount Tasman (11.475 ft is developing a new peak. Chief Guide Ayers led a party which climbed the mountain last week. He said on his return that the new peak was forming about 10 feet south of the old one. Out of 17 hours’ climbing time 15 hours werd spent by the party on crampons, difficult snow conditions being met on the Syme ridge. Auckland Cafes Not Busy

Most Auckland restaurant proprietors complained yesterday that they have suffered a financial loss as a result of remaining open for longer hours to cater fcr visitors to Auckland for the Empire Games. Cafes which were open on Saturday and Sunday did little business during the day and had only a sprinkling of customers between 5 and 7.p.m. Snack counters and milk bars, however, had a fairly steady stream of customers during the week-end.—(P.A.)