General News

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28766, 11 December 1958, Page 16

General News

Best Telegraph Boy Brian Burke, aged 15, has been named as the best boy in the Post Office telegraph delivery branch. This award, made sixmonthly, is for general excellence. Brian, who joined the Post Office as a telegraph messenger in January this year has recently been promoted to a cadetship.

Traffic Lights New traffic control lights for Colombo street, between the north end of Cathedral square and Armagh street, were given a 15minute test yesterday morning. The lights would come into full operation this morning the traffic superintendent (Mr G. P. Kellar) said yesterday. With this new system,, it is expected that traffic will get a clear run through on the green lights. The two sets of lights installed are synchronised; they are also linked with the traffic lights at the intersection of Armagh and Colombo streets, which have been working for some time. “Saintly Warning” A correspondent to “The Times,” discussing the abolition of the new speed limits on the Preston by-pass, refers to the “reported existence” of an American gadget which can be fixed to the speedometer of a car. When the speedometer registers 50 m.p.h. a voice is heard saying “0.K., St. Christopher speaking. You’re on your own now.”—London, December 10. Smart Trips By Coaster Consistently , smart trips have been made recently by Holm and Company’s coastal motor-ship Holmburn. Two weeks ago the Holmburn made the passage from Onehunga to Dunedin—6l7 miles—in 51 hours, an average speed of more than 12 knots. At the week-end the vessel left Onehunga at 5 p.m. on Saturday and arrived at Lyttelton at 10 a.m. on Monday, having covered the distance of 451 miles in 41 hours. During part of the trip she met with westerly and southerly winds The Holmburn is Dutch built, and arrived in New Zealand early this year. She is at present running between east coast ports of the South Island and west coast ports of the North Island. Courage Rewarded A popular employee of the Inland Revenue Department in Wellington was forced to retire recently after 38 years’ service because of the effects of a playing field accident which crippled both his legs, when he was 11. The man, Mr Hugh Pepper, found that his courage and good humour had not been forgotten by all who worked with him and the largest gathering of tax officers, from former commissioners to juniors, met to present him with an illuminated address sighed by. more than 300 officers. Mr Pepper was also handed the title deeds of his house and told that his fellow workers had paid off the mortgage so that he could go into retirement with no worries.—(P.A.) School For Deaf Site “That means we are not going to get it,” eommented the Mayor (Mr W. Meads) at a meeting of the Marton Borough Council when the Minister of Education (Mr Skoglund) advised that the choice of a site for a second School for the Deaf in the North Island would probably lie between Wellington and Palmerston North. The council had suggested that the proposed school should be in Marton. Mr Skoglund said that the school would need to be located near a large centre to provide sources of employment for the parents of pupils.—(P.A.) Squadron’s Mascot “The Puckered Penguin,’’ for many years the cartoon designator of the Navy VX-6 squadron, now has its live counterparts—seven Adelie penguins. Members of the squadron caught seven Adelie penguins at Cape Hallett and flew them back to the squadron’s headquarters at McMurdo Sound. The men have built the penguins a special swimming poo] out of a seven-man life-raft and are hoping to take them back to the United States with them. “We will definitely take the birds back with us when we return to Quonset Point next spring,” said the squadron’s commanding officer (Captain Robert Slagle). “We are proud of our puckered penguin.” '. /