General News

Press, Volume LXXXIX, Issue 26944, 21 January 1953, Page 6

General News

Musical Departure An unexpected musical send-off was given to the overseas ship Port Chalmers when she left Lyttelton last evening for London. Members of the Lyttelton Marine Band who were practising in the bandroom overlooking the harbouj, noticed the ship leaving the wharf, and they 'at once assembled outside and played “Now is the Hour.” In the stillness of the evening, some of those on board the ship could be heard singing witir the band. Outbreak of Swine Fever Swine fever has broken out on the North Shore, Auckland. About 30 animals in one small piggery near Birkenhead were destroyed yesterday and the carcases burned. The whole farm was thoroughly disinfected and. placed under quarantine. The Department of Agriculture, in a broadcast last evening, announced that an infected area had been declared under the Stock Act. Pigs in that area may not be removed without the written permission of ah inspector of stock. The Livestock Superintendent in Auckland (Mr T. H. Hankin) said that the disease affected only pigs. The last outbreak occurred about 20 years ago, and on that occasion the disease “got away.” This time it had been diagnosed early, and the department was quite optimistic that it would be successfully controlled, Mr Hankin said.—(P.A.) Heavy Fog Over Christchurch A heavy blanket of fog moving in from the Islington area descended on Christchurch at midnight. At first visibility was not very restricted, but by about 1 o’clock this morning the conditions had deteriorated and it was necessary in'some suburbs for motorists to exercise great care. At this time the worst areas affected were Sockburn, Riccarton-Fendalton, and Bryndwr. At Sumner, however, there was no fog. Cocktails and Prestige

The American Temperance Society has called a mass meeting for Thursday to protest against the cocktail parties given by Government officials at home or abroad. The society stated that its executive secretary had found on a recent tour of Europe and the Middle East that the 122,000,000 cocktails served by the State Department m the last nine years had been a “significant factor in the decline of American prestige over the world.”— Washington, January 19. Launch Being Towed to Chathams

The fishing launch, Gleneagles, which last year made two unsuccessful attempts to reach the Chatham Islands, left Wellington for the islands yesterday in tow of the Holmburn. The Gleneagles was formerly the Southern Cross. The skipper is Mr M. Meo, and members of his crew are his cousin, Mr S. Meo, and Messrs R. Broughton and E. Thornhill. They will fish from the Chathams in the Gleneagles. MrS. Thornhill, a traffic officer, is going to the Chathams in the Gleneagles for a holiday trip. He hopes to return in a fortnight, either by sea or flyingboat.—(P. A.) Power Failure at Rangiora A switch at the State Hydro-electric Department’s sub-station at Addington blew out about 9 o’clock last evening, cutting off power in Rangiora township and some areas of the county. Some patrons of the Regent Theatre in Rangiora went home a little while after the power went off, but the majority stayed to see the remainder of the main feature when the power supply was resumed. At Addington the faulty switch, was cut out and power was restored to the affected area after a delay of 32 minutes. Liverpool Mine to Resume Closed on Monday because of heating in Morgan east dip section, the Liverpool mine will probably not resume full production until tomorrow, although the dog-watch may work tonight. The sealing of the heated area with concrete stoppings was completed on Monday night, and it is a rule to keep the mine closed for 48 hours after sealing-off. An inspection of the stoppings was carried out yesterday by senior -officers of the Mines Department and the district mines inspector, and everything was in order. A further inspection will be made today. New places will have to be found temporarily for six pairs of miners who were engaged in winning coal from the area now sealed 0ff.—(F.0.0.R.). Cadet Course at Godley Head

A total of 180 Army cadets from . school units in the Nelson, Greymouth, . and Canterbury districts will spend a 1 week at Godley Head on an n.c.o. . training course. The cadets will go . into camp today and start work to- ’ morrow. The purpose of the course ' is to teach the cadets how to instruct , others. Their chief instructor will be Lieutenant F. L. S. B. Philpot, 1 R.N.Z.A.C., and the course command- ■ ant will be Captain C. V. Wilson. The ’ cadets will leave for their homes on Monday. K Force Mail Lost The Post Office received advice yes- , terday that shortly before Christmas . a Royal Australian Air Force Courier ■ plane carrying New Zealand tC Force [ mail from Japan to 'Korea was forced , through engine trouble to jettison the ■ five bags of mail it was carrying. Two i were recovered intact, but the others , must now be considered lost. Only a small quantity of personal mail, mostly i redirected letters, was involved.— i (P.A.) Water Shortage in Greymouth The Greymouth water supply system has been under a severe strain after [ the long dry spell, and the municipal authorities are calling for economy in • the use of water. The town is now , using 1,500,000 gallons of water a day, and the pumping plant at Omoto can- ■ not cope with the abnormal demand. ; There was a sharp drop in the reser- . voir level yesterday. The use of hoses is forbidden, and in the meantime water must be used only for domestic , and other essential purposes.— ! (F.0.0.R.) Hospital Cleaning Costs i To have the Timaru, Talbot and Wai- , mate hospitals cleaned (their daily averages for Weds occupied last month were 188, 44 and 72) the South Canterbury Hospital Board will this year pay £20,059. The board yesterday apf proved a recommendation that a clean- - ing firm’s contract should be renewed for three years at £20,059 a year. The ! chairman, Mr H. J. Clark, said: “It . sounds a tremendous amount. We have had the sum considerably reduced, but ' that’s the best we can get from them.” —<F.0.0.R.) Progress on Homer Tunnel The contractors for the Homer Tunnel, Downer and Company, last week widened the tunnel for 75 feet of its length. The excavations are proceeding at an average rate of 60 feet a week. The contractors have only 507 feet of the tunnel left to widen. The tunnel is about 4000 feet long. This is the second occasion this season on which a length of 75 feet has been completed in a week. Work on the project, which was resumed after the Second World War. will stop with the approach of the avalanche season, , about the third week in May. The contractors expect to finish the tunnel widening this season. The main tun- . nel drive should be completed in eight , weeks, but widening near the Milford ’ portal will require additional time.— ! (P.A.) Car Conversion In Wellington ; All of the 135 cars converted in WeiJ. lington last year have been recovered by the * police. Careless owners were again fault in. most cases, car doors ; being too pften left open with the , keys in the ignition. There were few ■ cases in which thieves were found to '■he in possession of specially made keys. The city itself and Lower Hutt ' Wene the worst areas for conversions, ’ and the hours, between 8 p.m. and 11 ■ p.m* the most popular with thieves. ; One day wasthe average time taken to recover a converted car. Cars that ’ were recovered usually lacked radios and tyres and “any Valuables the own- : ers had left in. them. 1200 Tourists Expected Bringing 1200 Australian tourists on a- two?day visit to New Zealand, the Orient Line’s second cruise ship of the season, the Oronsay, will arrive at i Auckland at 6.30 a.m. tomorrow. Her passengers will be offered two-day and i one-day visits to Rotorua, the Waitomo Caves, and the Wairakei thermal area, bus tours of Auckland and its suburbs, and air trips. The Oronsay, ; which has already visited Suva, will , leave Auckland at midnight on Friday for Sydney.—(P.A.)