General News

Press, Volume LXXXIX, Issue 27010, 9 April 1953, Page 8

General News

Drift to the North In the 6.30 o’clock news bulletin last night, the 8.8. C. recorded the opening of the new Session of New Zealand’s Parliament—in the wrong city. Brief reference was made to the Speech from the Throne delivered by Sir Willoughby Norrie “at the formal opening in Auckland of the New Zealand Parliament.” A Bad Start Mr Charles B. Mclntosh of the University of Nebraska at Lincoln who has arrived in Christchurch with his wife and three young sons to take up a visiting lectureship at Canterbury University College, is waiting hopefully, if a little impatiently, for his luggage. The Mclntosh family reached Auckland in the Aorangi on April 1 and arrangements were made for their luggage to be sent to Christchurch by rail, air and rail. Mr Mclntosh expected that their baggage would have reached Christchurch when the -family flew south last Saturday, but after much anxious inquiry he now finds that by some error the baggage was placed on a coastal ship sailing direct from Auckland to Dunedin and calling at other South Island ports on its return. Unless the baggage is taken off the ship at Dunedin it will probably not reach Christchurch till about the middle of next week. In the meantime Mr Mclntosh has little-more than he stands up in, and is without his notes and books. Apart from this trouble he thinks he is going to like New Zealand. Oyster Supplies Oysters were on sale in Invercargill shortly before 5 p.m. yesterday. Instead of closing at 5.30 p.m., some shops stayed open until 9 o’clock. It was only towards 8 o’clock that the queues disappeared, and a steady stream of customers then flowed into the shops till closing time. The first northern consignments will be bagged about 6 a.m. today. Dunedin and Christchurch will have oysters tomorrow, and supplies should reach North Island centres early next week. — (P.A.) Doughnuts by Air Doughnuts made in Hamilton are now being flown to Christchurch each day by the National Airways Corporation for sale in a city shop. The firm which makes the doughnuts distributes about 5001 b by air to the main centres each day. Vacuumpacked, the Christchurch consignment arrives for sale in the afternoon. Missing Launch Found A 16ft Auckland launch which had been missing with a young man and a girl on board since Monday evening was found anchored off Chelsea yesterday afternoon without its crew. The launch left Surfdale, Waiheke Island, on Monday evening to return to Auckland, a two-hour journey. Yesterday morning a launch answering its description was seen off Blackpool, Waiheke. It was later seen to leave there, and later still found at Chelsea. —(P.A.) Pheasant Mortality From 225 pheasants’ eggs distributed for hatching by the game committee of the North Canterbury Acclimatisation Society last November, 30 birds now survived. This information was given to the council of the society last evening. Forty-seven of the eggs were infertile, and 76 were “lost in hatching.” Of the 102 which hatched, 72 had since been lost, leaving only 30— 11 cocks and 19 hens. Widening of Homer Tunnel

The main work of widening the Homer tunnel has been completed. The contractors, Downer and Company, are trimming the tunnel, bolting some parts of the roof, and cutting the water tables. It was hoped that the 20 or so men would have the job finished before they withdrew or were forced to withdraw, said the resident engineer at Invercargill of the Ministry of Works (Mr H. W. Smith) yesterday. The bolting of some parts of the roof consisted of driving special bolts into the roof where it was inclined to flake, attaching a steel screen, and Setting it in concrete. On the Milford side of the tunnel, the completion of the road was going ahead. Thouhands will flock to Milford when the tunnel opens after the avalanche season ends about September.—(P.A.) School For Cerebral Palsied

A property of slightly more than one acre in Worcester street has been acquired by the Canterbury Education v Board as a site for a special school for cerebral palsied children. The property, which is on the south side of the street between Fitzgerald avenue and Stanmore road, was formerly acquired by the Housing Construction Division of the Ministry of Works as a site for a block of flats. At present the board’s school for cerebral palsied children is in temporary premises in Gloucester street. Tenders were called recently by the board for the removal of an old house on the site in Worcester street. “My Right Eye” Project

In the short time he has been in New Zealand the Governor-General (Sir Willoughby Norrie) has met many Maoris, but the pronunciation of Maori names has caused him some concern. To Cabinet Ministers at a meeting of the Executive Council yesterday, he confessed that he was having difficulty in pronouncing Maraetai smoothly, and he had to use it with reference to the hydro-electric station there in his Speech from the Throne. The Minister in charge of Police (Mr W. H. Fortune) suggested that the word could be pronounced. “My right eye.” At the opening Parliament yesterday afternoon, his Excellency paused before the word, took a quick breath, and said distinctly. My right eye.” His deliberate enunciation of the word passed almost unnoticed. except among Cabinet Ministers, who smiled broadly. His Excellency told the story against himself at a social function given after the opening by the Speaker of the House of Representatives (Sir Matthew Oram). —(F.O.P.R.)

Health of Atomic Workers Mr A. S. White, head of the chemical engineering division of the Harwell Atomic Energy Research Establishment, last night discounted the idea that atomic workers had a shorter life expectancy than workers in other industries. Mr White, who was speaking to Wellington scientific workers on chemical engineering in atomic energy research, said that the life expectancy of workers at Harwell was probably even higher than that of workers outside because of the good care that was taken of them. People working there might, if they were careless, expose themselves to dangerous radiation, but it was soon detected.—(P.A.)

School Printing Jtob The Canterbury SchoolWbommittees' Association is recognising more than 10 years’ service by members with the award of a certificate. As the number of forms was small and printers were busy, the job was given to pupils of the Christchurch South Intermediate School. With their own types and printing press they produced a certificate which won high praise at the association’s meeting last evening. Muttonbird Supplies The first few of the new season’s muttonbirds have reached Bluff A muttonbirder who has just returned said that the birds were plentiful ard of a good average size. The catcher had been “flat out” every day except Good Friday, working in good weather he said.—(P.A.) “A Good Bargain” “A good bargain” was the description given by members of the Canterbury School Committees’ Association last evening to the benefits gained from their subscription for membership. They had been hearing reports from the Dominion conference. The secretary (Mr A. Greenwood) said he had been able to show one committee that £3OO it had received ifi subsidies was payable wholly through the efforts of the association. That benefit would pay the committee’s subscription for 200 years, Mr Greenwood said. The payment of two-thirds of the cost of grass cutting, gained by the association, was-another major advantage, said Mr R. J. Cooper. 1118 Miles an Hour

France’s latest radio-guided rocket “Matra M 04,” broke all French records with a speed of 1118 miles an hour m a level flight, the Matra aeronautical firm announced. The rocket is designed to carry an atomic explosive.—Paris, April 8.