General News

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28529, 7 March 1958, Page 6

General News

Base For Plaques The proposed standard concrete base for plaques to mark historic places was described at the an-! nual meeting, of the Christchurch < regional committee of the Historic| Places Trust’as “punk,” “horrible” and “funereal.” Discussing a sketch of the base in the Trusts I newsletter, Mr C. R. Straubel said that the presence of a lump of stone was not suitable for every situation. The local circumstances should dictate what should be done. I Professional Skill The travelling expenses of only one of several guest speakers—a sum of £2s—were entered in the annual statement of receipts and payments submitted to the annual meeting of the Canter-bury-Westland branch of the New! Zealand Society of Accountants last evening. When he was asked hew the branch had been let off so lightly, Mr H. G. Hay, the retiring president, explained that other speakers had been able to charge their expenses to their own organisations. £1785 For Piano A French grand piano in gilt with magnificent art work was sold for £1785 in Wellington yesterday when the contents of •‘‘Homewood,” Karori, the home of the late Mr B. Sutherland, were auctioned. Buyers from Australia and all over New Zealand were present. A pair of Sevres urns brought £157 10s, a French gilt five-piece suite brought £525 and a china cabinet £l3l ss. A Royal Doulton vase fetched £l6O after keen bidding. ‘‘Homewood” was recently purchased by the British Government as an official residence for Britain’s High Commissioner in New Zealand.—(P.A.) Sputnik Sightings For the third evening in succession the second Russian earth satellite, Sputnik 11, was seen in the north-western sky by residents of Christchurch. One telephone call was received by ‘‘The Press” at 8.30 p.m. from a man in Sumner, who claimed that be and his family had seen it at that time but, on the evidence of the number of calls received later, just after 9 p.m., it seems probable that he and his family were mistaken. According to the later reports the satellite was clearly visible for about 20 seconds, and then faded suddenly.

New Zealand House New Zealand House in London is a disgrace, according to Mr Gerald Lascelles who returned this week from a year spent in America, in England and on the Continent, and in the East. “The service, reception, general welfare and information are not anywhere near the standard of the other houses. It is surprising how many New Zealanders become Australians when they discover just how much better the service is in Australia House,” said Mr Lascelles. In one, he was told to ask if he wanted information; in the other he was told everything! of any interest that was on and offered any tickets he wanted. Travel On Time Payment Overseas travel on time payment is being offered by a firm in Christchurch. Although this method of paying for travel has been in use in the United States and Great Britain for the last 10' years, it is the first time it has. ever been used in New Zealand The firm has only been operating for little more than a week and already there have been a dozen applications to trave’ in this way from persons in Christcurch. Last! week a man left for Israel. He' paid a small deposit and later he ( will pay the balance of the fare. Game Fish Three species of fish found in New Zealand waters have been declared game fish by the International Game Fish Association, in New York. They are the Pacific barracouta, the blue shark and the hammerhead shark. This means that anyone catching what he considers to be a very big fish of these species will be able to apply to New York to have the catch registered as t a record. The association has also announced that Mr T. H. Pettit, of Auckland, has been reappointed as its New Zealand representative for a further three years.—(P.A.) New Spreydon Church Building of the new Anglican Church of St. Martin’s, Spreydon, will begin this month. It will cost £■■3,ooo and will heat 250 persons. It is hoped that it will be finished for the fiftieth anniversary of the old 'Church. The new church, of Gothic design, will be on the site of the old church, which has been moved back. The official opening is likely to be on November 11 next year. Aluminium Blinds Aluminium sunblinds to replace canvas will be allowed in the Auckland city area as a result of a decision by the Auckland City Council. Conditions for the erection of the aluminium blinds are that they will be tern-1 porary structures existing at the pleasure of the council, that no advertising is on them, that they must have a nine-foot clearance above the footpath and that their appearance and maintenance satisfy the city engineer. f Magnificent Feat Admiral George Dufek, the commander of the United States Antarctic Expedition, congratulated Sir Vivian Fuchs and Sir Edmund Hillary on their work in the Antarctic when he spoke at the Auckland Travel Club luncheon yesterday. To Lady Fuchs and Lady Hillary, who were present, he said: ‘‘Your husbands have completed a tremendous task—one of the outstanding single achievements in the Antarctic. Their journey was the last great adventure on the face of the earth. What they did was magnificent.’ ’—(P.A.) Rugby Coach Last season’s senior coach of the Poneke Rugby Club, Wellington, Mr G. Chesterman, said at the annual meeting of the club, that a Rugby coach was a com-1 bination of doctor, nurse, outfitter, physical instructor, banker, economist, genius, no-hoper and diplomat. “If you take on the job you must do so to the limit,” he said. He said he thought that the duties of a lower grade coach were twice as great.