General News

Press, Volume XCI, Issue 27593, 25 February 1955, Page 10

General News

Captains All The captain of a secondary school first eleven is almost inevitably the unwilling subject of adulation among the rank and file who fulfil modest functions in even more modest teams. At the Christchurch Boys’ High School yesterday, the first eleven captain, A. F. Rapley, won a further claim to schoolboy fame. He was introduced to Sir Arthur Sims, who led the school eleven 60 years ago, and he was given a card of introduction to M. C. Cowdrey, one of the outstanding young batsmen in the M.C.C. team which will arrive in Christchurch next week* * Submarine Cables s Recent developments overseas in the 1 field of electric power engineering in- , eluded a 62-mile** submarine cable J across the Baltic Sea, which might be * of great value to New Zealand in the J transmission of power from one island J to the other, said the president of the * New Zealand Institution of Engineers * (Mr R. S. Maunder) ift his address to • the annual conference of the institu- f tion last ln addition* Denmark 1 was exchanging power with Sweden . by a 4>-mile submarine crossing, and * tests were proceeding on alternative J designs of cables being considered tor I the proposed English channel crossing. J The largest submarine cable crossing * scheme in the world was being pro- J ceeded with in a 17-mile crossing be- ; tween Vancouver and Vancouver Island. “A serious study of this . British development should be made, * also its possible application as a first , stage of power linking between the a North and South Island,” Mr Maunder t said.

Flood Damage Repairs | The main Reefton-Greymouth highway will be closed to traffic for the s next two or three weeks while the s flood damaged bridge over the Big t Grey river, south of Ikamatua, is re- jpaired. During the period of repairs, a traffic will be diverted via the Atarau road, from Ikamatua at the northern f end to Ngahere in the south. The j

southernmost span of the bridge a dropped 2ft 6in and swung downstream three feet in last week’s flood. Traffic has used the bridge this week, but to allow a Bailey bridge to be installed, two spans of the bridge will have to be dismantled and this work will begin today. The Bailey bridge will cover two s£ans of 100 feet. Good ( progress has been made in the work of re-opening the Otira Gorge route, where last week’s floods brought down

numerous slips as well as causing a major washout at Candy’s Bend. It is hoped to have the route opened by Sunday night. NJE. Soldier Praised Brigadier J. T. Burrows, Commander Of Southern Military District, who re-

turned to New Zealand in November 1 after spending a year as commander , of New Zealand Forces in Korea, said , at the annual dinner of the Canter- i bury Junior Chamber of Commerce last evening that he had come back ; with his admiration for the New Zea- 1 land soldier as great as ever. “He , manages to cope with problems in his . own way,” he said. “Unorthodox, may be, illegal . . . but in no matter what he does and what you have to J do to him for it you can’t help feeling . a sneaking admiration for him.” Harbour Extension Scheme 1

The Mayor of Lyttelton (Mr F. G. Briggs) said last evening that a meeting of local bodies, which the Lyttelton Borough Council had proposed for today to discuss the Lyttelton Harbour Board’s finance proposals, had been “cancelled pro tem.” The Borough Council was not happy about some clauses in the scheme, and had wished to obtain the opinions of other local bodies, Mr Briggs said. It had not been possible to call the meeting yet, and the matter might be discussed again by the Borough Council on Monday evening. Two Coal Mines Idle

There was no work at the Blackball State coal mine yesterday because of an extensive fall of stone in the main drive overnight. It is expected to resume work today. The Strongman State mine was also idle yesterday when the men decided to return home as a result of a dispute developing around the dismissal of two miners. Dobson State mine, Idle for the last two days, resumed yesterday. Stoppages this week have cut the district coal output by almost one-fifth. Opawa House Sold at Auction A house in Opawa road which has five bedrooms, a lounge, a diningroom and a kitchenette, was sold at auction yesterday afternoon for £2OOO. Bidding began at £l6OO and four bids of £lOO were made. Also on the 36perch section are a brick garage, a fowlhouse and some sheds. Price of Tea in Britain A chain of 420 grocery shops in Britain will cut the retail price of tea by 4d per lb to 6s 4d per lb from February 28, according to the “Daily Express.” The cut was made in recognition of the “housewives’ refusal to buy tea until the price comes down,” said the newspaper. K Force Recruiting A steady flow of inquiries had been received at recruiting offices throughout the Dominion in response to the latest call for replacements for K Force, an Army Headquarters spokesman said yesterday. Three hundred men are required by next January under the present K Force replacement programme. Recruiting began a fortnight ago. The first draft is ex-» pected to leave New Zealand for Korea toward the end of August.—(P.A.) Tail Lights on Bicycle* Replacement of tail lights and reflectors on bicycles with strips of luminous tape will be suggested by the Gisborne Road Safety Committee to the National Road Safety Council. Chief Traffic Officer B. M. Boyle said that many cyclists when approached showed him a mangled bracket where the tail light had been torn off. Cyclists would not need a burning tail light if they had a strip of tape, he said. Mr D. B. Dallas said that the reflector and tail lights used at present were thoroughly ineffective. The chairman (Mr G. A. Nicholls) said that the suggestion would simplify the regulations and make them more effective. —(P.A.)