General News

Press, Volume LXXXVI, Issue 26124, 29 May 1950, Page 6

General News

“Flying Saucer” in Australia Two pilots of the Governmentoperated Trans-Australia Airlines reported to-day that when near Canberra on the Brisbane to Melbourne flight, they saw what appeared to be a "flying saucer.” On reconsideration, one of them, a former group captain, Gordon Savage, who has had 5000 hours’ flying experience, says that what he saw might have been the planet Venus rising. When flying a freight aeroplane he sighted a powerful white light which alternated at 15-second intervals to red. The aeroplane was then at 3000 feet. The light appeared to be proceeding in the same direction as the aeroplane but much faster. The aeroplane climbed to 5000 feet, but the object appeared to draw away and disappear at high speed.—Melbourne, May 28: Coastal Vessel Refloated The • Northern Steamship Company’s 220-ton coaster Toa, which ran aground in Whakatane harbour, was refloated at 2 p.m. on Saturday. While the crew of the Toa used barge poles to gain extra leverage, a Whakatane Harbour Board launch pulled the Toa out of the sand. Picture Banned on Stage When the Manawatu Repertory Society produced Aldous Huxley’s play, “The Gioconda Smile,” in Palmerston North, the Modigliani nude which enters into the plot was covered with gauze and kept facing away from the audience. This variation from the usual presentation was made because the City Council’s Opera House, Commil tee ruled that Modigliani’s famous Red Lady was unfit to be exhibited on the Opera House stage. The picture was a faithful copy of the original, chosen as the most suitable of Modigliani’s works for the plot of the play. Commenting on the banning of the picture, the producer, Mr John Trevor, said he “had not thought such a thing could happen this side of 1910.” Mr A. H. Leary, of the art department of the technical school, said he could not see why the picture could not be shown on the stage when it could be seen in books in the public library, and when copies of it were hung in galleries in many parts of the world. Lessons in Crime Three high school students at Long Beach. California, who modelled their behaviour on criminals in detective stories, admitted the hold-up and murder of a liquor store owner, Dominic Calaraco. who was shot on May 12 when he refused to hand over money to the three. The police said they had learned of the students’ exploit when questioning a 16-year-old high school boy whom they arrested during another hold-up attempt. The boys told the police that they learned from detective stories how bandits operated. They said; “We figured out the. criminals’ mistakes and decided

we could do better.”—San Francisco. May 27. Hotel Grading When eggs were being discussed in the Court of Arbitration, Mr Justice Tyndall found it hard to agree readily with the statement of the Director of Marketing, Mr L. C. Webb, that consumer resistance to the new egg prices was developing. “The fact is,” said his Honour, “that five-star plus hotels will give you only one egg. I have adopted my own formula for grading hotels. I call them one-egg or twoegg hotels.” Mr Webb: “My experience of five-star plus hotels is not extensive, your Honour.” Flying Over the Floods On Saturday morning the chairman of the North Canterbury Catchment Board 'Mr W. Machin), the chairman of the board’s river control committee 'Mr H. B. Anderson), and the board’s assistant engineer (Mr E. B. Palmer) flew over the Waimakariri flood area in an Air Force aeroplane. It had been proposed that they should radio from the ’plane messages which should be transmitted from Wigram to the board’s employees fighting the floods. The aeroplane’s radio developed a fault, however, and a landing was made at Harewood, and the board's officers at the flood scene communicated with by telephone.