General News

Press, Volume LXXXIX, Issue 27206, 25 November 1953, Page 10

General News

Camera Thief Photographs Himself A man who was today found guilty in the Alice Springs- Magistrate’s Court of stealing a camera valued at £125 was caught because he accidentally took a photograph of himself reflected in a mirror. The police prosecutor tendered a photograph showing the accused, Lionel O’Sullivan, a 39-year-old miner, sitting at a dressing-table in a hotel ‘room, with a camera in front of him. The owner of the camera told the Court O’Sullivan must have taken the photograph accidentally while examining the camera. The proprietor of the hotel where O’Sullivan was staying gave some films to the police, who developed them and found the accusing photograph. The police said O’Sullivan at first maintained his innocence, but confessed when shown the photograph. He was remanded for sentence. —Darwin, November 24. Whisky to be Cheaper Although the recent wage increase has brought threats of rising costs, the price of Scotch whisky is to be reduced from 35s to 30s a bottle tomorrow. Wellington hotels have been advised of the price cut by the Licensed Victuallers’ Association. Already one hotel has advertised its stocks at the new price.—(P.A.) Fatal Reactions to ACTH This was the first case he knew of where death followed reactions to the drug ACTH, the Hawke’s Bay Hospital Board’s pathologist (Dr. L. G. Cook) told the Coroner (M? K. W. Mills, J.P.) yesterday, during an inquest into the death of a man in the Napier Hospital on July 1. To his knowledge the case was one without precedent, said Dr. Cook. The inquest was into the death of Ronald David Wiggins, a 27-year-old. storeman driver. The Coroner found that the cause of death was “cerebral anoxia due to respiratory failure precipitated by acute shock following an injection of the drug ACTH given to Wiggins at the Napier Public Hospital.”—(P.A.)

No Vice-Regal Preview Two hours before the Mayor of Auckland (Mr J. H. Luxford) opened an exhibition of Coronation robes and regalia at the Auckland Art Gallery yesterday a queue of about 300 persons waited to enter. As he arrived for a preview, the Governor-General (Sir Willoughby Norrie) saw the crowd. Turning to the Mayor, he said: “I do hope they are not being kept waiting for us to finish.” On being told that they were, Sir Willoughby Norrie said: “Oh, do let them in, please. I love having people around* ipe.” His Excellency had not long to wait.—(P.A.) Vehicle Permit Exemption Passenger service vehicles on the Chatham Islands and the Great Barrier Islands will not, “for the time being,” be required to have certificates of fitness. An order in council gazetted this month exempts such vehicles from the certificate of fitness requirements of the Transport Act. 1949. Lincolns Return Royal Australian Air Force trainee navigators and their accompanying instructors and air crew, who arrived in three Lincoln bombers at Wigram on Friday morning, took off to return to East Sale, near Melbourne, yesterday morning. The bombers arrived on a routine navigational training flight, one of the many undertaken by the R.A.A.F.’s navigational training school. Importation of Flower Seed New Zealand imports most of its flower seed from Great Britain, the United States, and Holland. Formerly it was necessary under the plant quarantine regulations for all imported flower seed to be certified as free of disease, but a recent amendment to the regulations permits the entry of most flower seed without a health says the Department of Agriculture. Some types of flower seed, such as ornamental tobacco, peach, plum, and cherry and sunflower seed from certain places, are prohibited because of • the possibility of bringing virus diseases into New Zealand. All consignments of imported flower seed, whether accompanied by a health certificate or not, are inspected on arrival by plant quarantine officers. If the seed is infected, it is destroyed or sent back to the sender* Ballot for Houses It is expected that a ballot will be held next week to determine the purchasers of nine new houses situated in Mitre place, Shirley, which the Government has made available for sale. Applications for purchase of the houses closed yesterday afternoon, and applications posted before 4 p.m. yesterday have still to be included. An officer of the State Advances Corporation said that there were about 50 applications. so that a ballot would have to be held. The houses, which are priced from £2690 to £3lOO, are constructed in weatherboard and brick veneer and have tile roofs. They are connected to the sewer and the high pressure water supply. Fences, footpaths, and outside buildings will have to be provided by the purchasers, who may not have incomes exceeding £9OO. Pipe Band Contest at Westport Eight Canterbury pipe bands will travel to the West Coast this weekend to take part in a pipe band contest at Westport on Saturday. A special train with accommodation for 400 will leave Christchurch at 9.30 p.m. on Friday and arrive at Westport at 6.50 a.m. on Saturday. It will leave to return at 2 p.m. on Sunday and is scheduled to arrive back m Christchurch at 11.15 p.m. Port of London The net register tonnage of shipping using the Port of London during 1952-53 totalled 59,659,598 tons, about 2,000,000 tons more than in the previous year. The figure represents nearly 95 per cent, of the 1937-38 total when the highest tonnage in any one financial year was recorded. Imported and exported goods, foreign and coastwise, handled at the port during the year totalled 48,284,513 tons. Imports from overseas dropped by more than 2,000,000 tons, but exports overseas rose by 387,000 tons and coastwise exports by 751,000 tons. Work on Homer Tunnel In preparation for the opening of the Homer tunnel to traffic this season, the Ministry of Works s has arranged for the scaling down of the interior of the tunnel as a safety measure, and this work is now being carried out. Work will also be done this season on the construction of additional sections of the new road leading from the Milford portal to the sound. The road at present is negotiable by heavy buses and with some difficulty by smaller vehicles.—(P.A.)