General News

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 28820, 14 February 1959, Page 12

General News

Languages Congress The biennial congress of the Australasian Languages and Literature Association in January, 1961, will be held in Christchurch. This will be the first time the congress has been held in New Zealand. The choice of venue is partly a' compliment to. Professor R. T. Sussex, professor of modern languages at the University of Canterbury, who has been elected president of the association for the next two years. Oranges From Cyprus Approximately 2000 cases of oranges from Cyprus; for the Christchurch markets, arrived in the Indian Reefer which berthed at Lyttelton yesterday. The oranges will be available in the markets on Monday and are expected shops during the week. -The Tarawera, also at Lyttelton, discharged 9000 cases of bananas from Samoa. Big Run For Sale One of Southland’s best-known high-country runs, the Walter Peak Station, on the southern shore of Lake Wakatipu, is to be sold. The 57,150-acre property will be auctioned at Dunedin on April 10. The present owner, Colonel Peter Mackenzie, was born on the property and has lived there for 70 years. Walter Peak station has been in the Mackenzie family for 79 years. The founder of the family, Mr Hugh Mackenzie, was born in the Highlands and for a time served in the Royal Navy. After leaving the Navy he decided to seek his fortune abroad.—(P.A.» “Pinch Hitter” Making his first speech to any sizeable gathering of New Zealanders in London, the ActingHigh Commissioner (Mr G. R. Laking), responding to the toast of New Zealand at the annual dinner of the New Zealand Society, described himself as a “pinch hitter.” He explained: “In baseball circles a pinch hitter is a player who has ho place in the regular batting order but is called upon to deal with a particular situation in time of difficulty. His assignment completed he retires again to decent obscurity.”—London, February 13. Triplets Record Last year was a record one for triplets in New Zealand. The preliminary statistical figures for 1958 show that eight sets of triplets were born to establish a New Zealand record. Eight sets were European and one Maori. The previous best was eight sets in 1951.

Parrot Stolen A 40-year-old parrot named Cocky which talks a lot but does not swear was stolen late on Thursday from the Railway Hotel, Thorndon quay, Wellington. Cocky, who was taken from the back yard of the hotel in his cage, has been a personality at the hotel for nearly all his life. He is owned by the family of the licensee, Mr C. J. Delay.—(P.A.) Harris Point Bridge The Automobile Association (Canterbury) advises that tomorrow, the bridge at Harris Point, five miles east of Dillmanstown on the Greymouth-Christchurch State highway, will be closed to all traffic from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Fishing Rivers The condition of fishing rivers for the week-end, as reported by the North Canterbury Acclimatisation Society yesterday, is as follows:—the Hurunui at the main traffic bridge is fishable; the Ashley, the Waimakariri at Woodstock, and the Selwyn at the mouth are clear and fishable; the at the mouth is slightly discoloured; the Rakaiaat the gorge and at the mouth is dirty; and the Halswell at Greenpark is clear and fishable subject to Catchment Board operations. At Arthur’s Pass the weather was fine with a light northerly, and some low fog, and at Culverden and Lake Coleridge there were light winds but fair weather is expected for the week-end. Superstition Workmen on the scaffolding surrounding the office of “The Press” grinned and waited yesterday as two pretty girls who were fully aware that it was Friday the thirteenth, could not decide whether to go under the ladders or on to the roadway The superstitious and the scoffers alike were all cautious. And 1959 has at least two more black days to come, one in March, and another in November.