General News

Press, Volume XCIII, Issue 27992, 12 June 1956, Page 12

General News

Power Cuts There will be an hour power cut in areas E and F of the Municipal Electricity Department’s district between 6 p.m. and 7.30 p.m. today. Tomorrow there will be a similar cut in areas A and B. Electric water heaters may be used where there is no alternative means of heating water between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. each night. Auction of Subdivision One section in a subdivision of orre acre and three-quarters in Ham road, comprising six building and four shop sites, was sold when the subdivision was offered for sale by public aution in Christchurch last evening. The section, of 33.5 perches, was the first to be offered, and sold for £950. Bidding opened at £7OO and rose by five bids of £5O to its final'price. The other sections failed to reach the reserve price and were withdrawn for private sale. Thirty-four persons attended the ; motion. Bicycle Parking Residents near Lancaster Park are concerned at the mass parking of bicycles on footpaths and against fences during Rugby matches. The bicycles are said to damage fences and block the paths. The traffic department of the City Council did all it could to stop this parking, and the council had only recently written to the Victory Park Board suggesting that more accommodation should be provided for bicycles, said the superintendent, Mr G. P. Kellar, in a letter received last, evening by the Linwood-Phillipstown Residents’ and Ratepayers’ Association. “People in our street are getting very savage about it.” said Mr T. Doran. “I think there will be quite a bit of fun when we have the Ranfurly Shield and Springbok matches. Traffic officers go round frantically, but they might as well save their breath.”

Wishing Well for Christchurch? Erection of a wishing well in the Christchurch Botanic Gardens has been suggested to the Canterbury Horticultural Society by a correspondent, M. F. Peter, in the journal, “The City Beautiful.” This could be a memorial to the horticulturists who have made Christchurch a garden city and the Botanic Gardens a place of such beauty, the letter says. In Europe. India, and the East, holy wells have been venerated for their reported cures of the sick, and man'”' have now become wishing wells into which coins are tossed. In Whangarei the coins from the wishing well go to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. In the Wanganui winter garden, the Junior Chamber of Commerce raises funds for local causes through a wishing well. There is another at Larnach's Castle, Dunedin. Grids prevent unauthorisc I removal of coins. No mention of coins is made in the Christchurch suggestion. Change of Meaning

An error in a letter from the Director of the Dominion Museum (Dr. R. A. Falla) to a veteran car collector. Mr S. R. Moult, of Paraparaumu. mistakenly led him to believe the museum was accepting his collection of old motor-cars. In reality; Dr 7 Falla agreed to accept a collection of photographs of the cars. His original letter to Mr Moult omitted two vital words, “photographs of.” Dr. Falla said that the Dominion Museum regarded Mr Moult’s collection of cars as of potential national value, but until storage and exhibition space was available. the Dominion Museum was unable to accept responsibility for them. He hoped arrangements could be made for the permanent preservation of the cars by some responsible institution.— (P.A.)

Tasman Liner Delayed The Wanganella arrived at Auckland from Sydney eight hours late yesterday afternoon after a stormy Tasman crossing. Due at 8 a.m., she berthed at the Prince’s wharf about 4 o’clock. The master (Captain H. O. Norris) said that a breeze sprang up when the ship was about 24 hours out of Sydney. The weather worsened until late on Sunday night. “At one time.’’ he said, “we were slowed down to about 10 knots. It was certainly rough, but nothing extraordinary.”— (P.A.)

Coal Mine Idle

The Denniston State coal mine was idle yesterday because of a dispute between the union and management over the placing of men in the Sullivan mine. The union claimed that men were employed contrary to an agreement that it be advised of such placements. It is not expected that the dispute will be protracted.—(F.O.O.R.)

Rabbit Destruction The provincial' executive of Southland Federated Farmers yesterday advocated total coverage of New Zealand by rabbit boards. Mr T. McKenzie, a member of the Rabbit Destruction Council, said extermination was the only method of fighting rabbits back into the box from which they came—the liberation of four Scottish rabbits at Sandy Point in 1863. <P.A.)

Aid to Church Schools Opposed A long resolution urging the Government to refuse any requests for diversion of public funds to support church schools was passed by the annual meeting of the Auckland Baptist Auxiliary. It claims that any such diversion would involve a misuse of taxpayers’ money; that it would “inevitably” result in fragmentation of the country’s educational system; and that the principle, if allowed in one direction, would be invoked in others. “We affirm our conviction,” said the resolution, “that the country is best served by a non-partisan system of education under which standards of academic work are maintained by a State department, and all children are assured of equal treatment, irrespective of race, social status, or creed, and which does not apply improper pressure on parents to favour one secretarian school as against another.”—(P.A.)