General News

Press, Volume XC, Issue 27387, 28 June 1954, Page 8

General News

Tensing to Join Expedition ■The Sherpa Tensing, conqueror of Everest with Sir Edmund Hillary, had agreed tentatively to join an ’ expedition to the unconquered 23,440 ft Himalaya peak Gauri Sankar in August, to be led by the famous Swiss alpinist, Raymond Lambert, it was learned today. The expedition will include Mrs Clause Kogan, a French mountaineer, who has climbed higher than any other woman.—Geneva, June 26. State Housing in Auckland Final results were likely to disprove a prediction that State housing in Auckland might fall short of a target of 800 completed houses a year, said the Minister of Housing (Mr W. Sullivan) in Wellington on Saturday. Replying to a report from Auckland that a crisis was developing in the city’s State housing programme, the Minister said that Auckland would have not 800 new houses, but almost 1000 built by the State this year. The figure of 800 in the report appeared to have been confused with the target for purely State rental houses, he said. Auckland would get nearly 1000 if the totals for rental houses, departmental houses, pre-cut houses, and others were added together. “Auckland will get its fair share of State houses,” Mr Sullivan said. “If the letting of tenders should lag behind schedule to a point where this quota is prejudiced—and this is not likely—we would consider adopting the simple procedure of buying sufficient group-built houses to make up the leeway.”—(P.A.) Hillary’s Illness

Sir Edmund Hillary’s illness is still a mystery, Mr James McFarlane, the • injured Himalayan climber, brought : back the latest news, when he , arrived in Auckland yesterday. Mr McFarlane said: “Nobody seems to know what struck him down.” He > said Sir Edmund Hillary was now very fit, but everyone was puzzled by the 1 illness. “It definitely was not pneu- ; monia,” Mr McFarlane told Lady Hillary. Dr. Michael Ball, the expedition’s doctor, thought it was possibly some type of malaria, he said. A blood : test would be taken later. Sir Ed- ■ round Hillary is not known to have had malaria previously.—(P.A.) Mount Somers Domain Three reserves totalling 125 acres in the Alford survey district have been I set aside as a public domain, which • will be controlled by the Mount Somers Domain Board. Messrs A. E. J. ‘ Dalton, C. R. Dickie, P. F. Gifkins, A. L Kerr, and J. A. Mears have been appointed as members of the board. Transformers too Heavy for Streets A Hamilton firm has been refused ■ a permit to carry electric-power transformers weighing 32 tons through the ’ streets from the Auckland wharves on a low-lQader tractor and trailer. The i City Council works committee has confirmed/ the action of the City Engineer, Mr A. J. Dickson, in refusing a permit. Mr Dickson said the axle loads would L be in excess of the statutory maxi- . mum. The city streets had a highclass pavement. He could not recom- ! mend the council to approve, even in , principle, the use of its streets for the ; transport of equipment for the State '■ involving heavy loads, unless the State ; relieved the ratepayers of the cost of damage. Frigate’s Speed Trial The frigate Tutira showed that she was almost as good as new when, for one hour on Friday, she maintained her designed maximum speed of 19 knots on a full-power trial in the Hauraki Gulf. The 10-year-old ship was on the last of three one-day tests after an extensive dockyard refit. With two other frigates, the Taupo and the Rotoiti, the Tutira is to be “mothballed” and kept in reserve. Work on "moth- ; balling” the Tutira will bdgin this week, when a start will be made on “cocooning” equipment on the upper deck. The noise in the engineroom was deafening as the frigate surged through the calm waters of the gulf. At 19 knots, the ship’s boilers were using more than three tons of fuel oil an hour. During the day, a little more than 40 gallons of lubricating oil was used to keep the engine bearings cool. —(P.A.) Interest in Parking Meters Many Australian municipalities are showing interest in Auckland’s parking meters, which are expected to give the City Council a revenue of £25,000 a year. So many inquiries have been received that the Auckland authorities now reply with a cyclostyled circular containing full information on the subject.—(P.A.) Famous Mere Returned The Prime Minister (Mr Holland) returned to the Ngapuhi tribe in Northland a historic mere named Te Uira (“the lightning”). The mere, which is believed to have been captured by one of the fiercest warring Ngapuhi chiefs of bygone days— Hongi Hika—from the inhabitants of the Thames area, was last December presented to Mr Holland when the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh were at Waitangi. The presentation symbolised the desire of the Maori people for the protection of Her Majesty at all times during the tour, and jt was taken by Mr Holland throughout New Zealand. After the presentation there was an agitation for its immediate return to tribal custody. Mr Hone Heke Rankin, a Ngapuhi chieftain, made the presentation, and on Thursday morning Mr Holland handed back the mere to him for return to Northland and to the Poata family, in whose possession it has been for some generations.—(P.A.) Hot Mineral Water Supplies Boring at Mount Maunganui in the search for a pure water supply revealed that unlimited supplies of hot salt water are available. The Mayor of the borough ' (Mr S. F. Newton) said there appeared to be possibilities for the establishment of an openair hot mineral bath. The hot water has been pumped from three separate levels at 70ft, 200 ft, and 300 ft. The temperature of the water from the deepest bore was 95 degrees Fahrenheit. The engineers have estimated a potential flow of 500.000 gallons a day. —(P.A.) Speed Limit for Heavy Lorries The National Roads Board has recommended that the speed limit on heavy goods vehicles be raised from 30 miles an hour to 40 miles an hour—the limit for heavy passenger transport. The recommendation will be studied by the Commissioner of Transport (Mr R. Smith). The decision was announced by the chairman of the board (Mr F. M. H. Hanson) after a meeting of the board. The board’s opinion, Mr Hanson said, was that the disparity in the speed limits of heavy vehicles was a major cause of congestion on the roads, with a consequent effect on safety.—(P.A.) Cashmere Water Supply The Heathcote County Council on Friday approved an increase in the rate for the Cashmere water supply from £1 4s on each £lOOO of capital .value to £2 2s on each £lOOO. The Cashmere ‘water supply accounts at March 31 showed a debit balance of £1457 17s 6d. The deficit was reported to have increased each year because of the steady increase in the cost of wages and materials. The existing rate had not been increased for more than 20 years. The .new rate is estimated to yield £3500 in the coming year. To Stop Prowlers The Wellington Hospital Board has approved the expenditure of £3O for louvre windows for the nurses’ home at the Ewart Hospital. The windows are “to prevent more trouble from prowlers gaining access to nurses’ bedrooms on ground level.” Heathcote County Power Supply There is an average ratio of 85.63 electric water-heaters to 100 consumers in the Heathcote county, where the county council is the supply authority, and there is no power authority m New Zealand with a higher figure. The average number of units used by each consumer each year is 6102, a figure exceeded by only two other authorities. The average maximum demand in the county is 1.464 kilowatts a consumer, there again being only two authorities with a higher figure. When these annual statistics, prepared by the State Hydro-electric Department, were presented to the council, the chairman (Mr F. W. Freeman) said the reason for the remarkably high figures was that the county was entirely a resi- ' dential area.