General News

Press, Volume XCVI, Issue 28473, 31 December 1957, Page 8

General News

No Paper Tomorrow

“The Press’’ will not be published tomorrow. New Year’s Day. Co-drivers

Royal Canadian Mounted Police are still chuckling about the couple who set out in their car to drive from Boston to St. John, each taking a turn at the wheel. Yesterday the husband finished his driving stint, climbed out, and headed for the back seat of the car and some rest. His wife, still sleepy, slid behind the wheel and continued the journey. Nearing St. John, about 75 miles further on, she called for her husband to take over again and received no answer. It took the police 24 hours to find him at a motel, where he had hiked to spend the night after his wife had driven off and left him by the roadside.—St. John (British Columbia).

Disease Among Penguins

An Emperor penguin, one of four sent to the Vancouver Stanley Park Zoo after an Antarcticexpedition by the Oregon City Zoo, died yesterday from aspergillosis, a fungus disease of the lungs. The disease has already killed 11 of the 56 birds brought back by the expedition. Other penguins in the United States have also been stricken. Officials at Stanley Park Zoo have been using a heavy diet and doses of a special drug to try to ward off the attacks. They hope to build up the resistance of the birds in this manner, and have been feeding them 121 b of salmon and herring a day. Meanwhile doctors and veterinarians in both the United States and Canada have been asked to help find a cure for the disease.—Vancouver. December 3.

A.T.C. Camp More than 1000 Air Training Corps officers and cadets, from town squadrons and school units will live and work on selected Air Force stations throughout the Dominion in January. All will spend at least a week on their home station living in barracks or under canvas, where facilities are available and the weather suitable. On January 7 the first of the groups—lso boys—will go into camp at Woodbourne. Other camps will be held at Whenuapai, Hobsonviiie, Ohakea, Wigram and Taieri. Some of the stations will hold up to three separate camps. Camps are conducted three times a year—in January, May and August school holidays. Cadets during these periods see how an Air Force station works and receive some special training.— (P.A.)

Veteran Pilot When the National Airways Corporation’s flight No. 120 touches down at Paraparaumu at 3.40 p.m. today the pilot of the DC3 aircraft, Captain F. C. Allen, will have completed 20,000 hours’ flying—a New Zealand and probably an Australasian record. Captain Alien’s flying time works out in distance at between three and a half and four million miles. In 1929, Captain Allen joined the Royal Air Force and flew fighters before he transferred to a heavy bomber unit. He joined Imperial Airways in 1934 and three years later joined Union Airways of New Zealand and later N.A.C. Captain Allen lives in Auckland. —(P.A.) “Sunny” Wellington Total sunshine in Wellington this month may be the lowest for years. The lowest total was in December, 1952, when 180.9 sunshine hours were recorded. Up to last night, 174.2 hours were recorded for this month. It rained throughout yesterday and further rain is expected today.— (P.A.)

Clutha Falling The Clutha river had fallen from its Saturday level of 69ft to 68.45 ft at noon yesterday, but the Otago Catchment Board considers the flood danger is by no means over. Farmlands at Barnego are back to the November flood condition, but Weirs causeway spanning the 350 ft gap, through which a third of the river flooded Inchclutha farmlands last month, remains firm.—(P.A.) -Oranges From Cyprus A shipment of 30,000 cases of oranges, the first ever to be imported into New Zealand from Cyprus, is due to arrive at Auckland in the Danish refrigerated ship Egyptian Reefer early in February. The oranges are being imported to fill a gap caused by the failure of Australian orange growers to meet New Zealand requirements. They will be of the Jaffa variety.—(P.A.) Notifiable Diseases Infective hepatitis (jaundice) is still occurring in Canterbury, but not to the extent of last year. Three cases were notified in Christchurch for the week up to last Saturday, and two at Greymouth. Notifications of tuberculosis decreased: only two cases were notified in Christchurch. No deaths were reported from notifiable diseases, and the only other notification was of two cases of salmonellosis (food poisoning) in Christchurch.