General News

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29170, 2 April 1960, Page 12

General News

Road Deaths There were 27 road deaths in March, the same as for March, last year. Road deaths for the first three months of 1960 were 85, two more than for the first three months of 1959. The Minister of Transport (Mr Mathison) said yesterday that week-ends so far this year were proving a particularly dangerous time on the road, with 66 out of the 85 road deaths occurring then, compared with 50 out of 83 for the same period last year. The Minister said that extreme care by all drivers was the only answer to the accident risk during the present dangerous months of autumn and over week-ends. —(P.A.) £40,000 Trust Hotel A £40,000 hotel is to be erected at Kuripuni by the Masterton Licensing Trust- The hotel will have bar and lounge facilities only and will be erected at the site of the present Kuripuni bottle store. Tenders have not yet been called. It is expected it will be about a year before the building is completed. Police Teleprinters The first police teleprinter link to operate on a 24-hour basis between the North and South Islands came into regular use between Wellington and Christchurch yesterday. At present there are direct teleprinter links between Wellington and Auckland, Wellington and Palmerston North and Auckland and Hamilton. The extension to Christchurch is part of the planned development of police communications services. Eventually there will be a communications network linking all police districts. It is also proposed to install switching equipment in Wellington to facilitate through switching of any of the three circuits terminating there, and to enable messages to be transmitted simultaneously to other centres. Geese Drives Restrictions placed on the use of aircraft for Canadian geese drives have been extended in the Southern Lakes district. A notice published in the Gazette says that aircraft are not to be used for geese drives in the area. The area concerned is in the WanakaHawea district, where runholders do not wish to have Canadian geese completely exterminated.— (PA.) Price Lists Banned A Trade Practices and Prices Commission order outlawing price lists, price fixing and similar practices in the grocery trade was gazetted this week. Far From Home A young homing pigeon from Christchurch was found in Devon street, New Plymouth, with a severe gash on. its head and neck and some tail feathers missing. The president of the Egmont Homing Club (Mr J. James) stitched the wound and will return the bird when be finds the owner. He said it had been attacked by a sparrow hawk. New Catholic College Roman Catholic parishes in the Waikato area will combine this month to launch a £lOO,OOO scheme \ to build a Marist Brothers’ college at Hamilton. The first Marist Brothers’ college in the Waikato, the new building will occupy a 48-acre site and will be known as St. John’s Catholic Boys’ College. It will provide post-primary education for pupils from Hamilton city, the Waikato and surrounding districts. Hot Pools For Swimmers Hot water swimming pools are being planned for Mount Maunganui and Tauranga. Bores at both towns havi revealed that plentiful supplies of hot water are available. At Mount Maunganui, the borough council has provided £2OOO in the estimates for the necessary drilling, plant purchase and testing for a hot water pool. At Tauranga, where ihe bore is alongside the present municipal swimming pool, testing has been in progress for some time. River Conditions The condition of fishing rivers in Canterbury at 9 a.m. yesterday as reported by the North Canterbury Acclimatisation Society was: Waiau, dirty; Hurunui, Ashley, Waimakariri, Selwyn, clear and fishable; Halswell at Greenpark, dirty; Rakaia, clear and fishable.

Full Port H.M.N.Z.S. Royalist was unable to berth at the port of Napier when the vessel arrived on Thursday on a five-day visit. All berths at the port were filled with overseas and coastal shipping and four other ships were in the roadstead awaiting berths. The Royalist anchored in the roadstead and , leave parties are ferried ashore in pinnaces.—(P.A.)