General News

Press, Volume LXXXVII, Issue 26376, 21 March 1951, Page 6

General News

Kerr’s Resch Complaints Complaints of the accumulation of rubbish and filth, accompanied by stench, in the sealed-off part of the Aven river at Kerr’s reach have been forwarded by the North Linwood Burgesses’ Association to the Christchurch Drainage Board. "As soon as the ‘fill’ across the old portion of the river at the upper end of the ‘cut’ has consolidated, it is proposed to construct a pipe culvert to allow the free circulation of water through the old course of the river,” the works committee reported to the board last evening. Air Service to Stewart Island The inaugural passenger flight from Invercargill to Stewart Island was made yesterday by a Grumman Widgeon amphibian aircraft. The aeroplane took off about 1.20 pm., and 25 minutes later was moored at Half Moon Bay. There is expected to be a weekly service to the island.—(P.A.) Flooding at Beckenham "There is no easy solution to the flood problem in Waimea terrace,” Mr A. Beaumont, a resident, will be informed by the Christchurch Drainage Board, which was asked by him to undertake improvement works in the Heathcote river. The works committee reported to the board last evening that dwellings in the locality, which were subject to flooding when rainfall was abnormal, were actually in the “storm bed” of the river. Widening and regrading would not remedy the trouble. A possible solution might be the raising of the road level along the river frontage so as to form a substantial stopbank, but that would be hardly the function of the board. New Auckland Wharf Auckland’s 1200 ft long four-berth Import wharf will be built at a cost of £1,835,632 19s 7d by the Fletcher Construction Company, Ltd. of Auckland, in association with the Raymond Concrete Pile Company, of Delaware, and the Merrit, Chapman, and Scott Corporation of New York. Their tender was accepted from five overseas and Dominion tenders by the Auckland Harbour Board yesterday. The contract provides for the completion of the first two berths in two years after it has been signed, and the remaining two berths six months later. The chairman of the board (Mr Harvey Turner) said that in addition to the price of the contract, the first major work let by tender by the board for 40 years, the cost of equipping the wharf would be about £500,000. — (P.A.) Improvement of Avon The work of cleaning and deepening the Avon river above the Bower bridge continues. “Conditions are very wet,” said a report to the Christchurch Drainage Board last evening. “The area is little above tide level and this is slowing down the progress of the work.” Willows are being poisoned ahead of the work. Refectory Block at Lincoln The Works Department has been requested to prepare working plans and specifications for the refectory bloc* at Canterbury Agricultural College, Lincoln. This advice was received from the Education Department by the Board of Governors yesterday. >The refectory will adjoin the big dormitory building being erected near the main entrance to the college.

Flow Of Estuary Water “The plotting of salinity of the water outside the Estuary shows that the estuary water is forced northwards, probably by an ocean current flowing northwards round Banks Peninsula, the engineer (Mr E. F. Scott) reported last evening to the Christchurch Drainage Board. It should be possible to find whether the water flowed back into the Estuary or whether fresh sea water from the south flowed up the Estuary at flood tide. That could be found by taking samples throughout kie tide changes at places along the beach and, possibly, seme out at sea. Another report said that tests carried out in the Estuary with the trial pumping unit had given the consulting engineers much valuable information and when completed should enable them to make constructive recommendations on dredging method.

Tasmanian Farmers Nineteen Tasmanians, tach wearing a distinctive gold badge, arrived at Wellington on Monday in the Monowai from Sydney. One of them, Mr E. Benham, is of the Department of Agriculture. The rest are farmers. They will spend five weeks in the North and South Islands studying New Zealand farming methods. Duty on Educational Bequests The Association of University Teachers intends to ask the committee reviewing taxation to liberalise income tax, gift, and succession duties on bequests for educational purposes, whether teaching or research. The Board of Governors of Canterbury Agricultural College, Lincoln, agreed yesterday to support this effort to encourage benefactions.