General News

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29350, 1 November 1960, Page 16

General News

Safety In Silence “A eivil servant lives the life of a whale. When he is down below be is in no danger. It is only when he comes up to spout that he is likely to be harpooned.” —Mr H. B. Smith, retiring commissioner of Transport at a farewell function in his honour yesterday.—(PA) Poor Whitebait Season Whitebait catches throughout New Zealand during the last few months bad been the poorest for many years, and for the whitebait fishing industry in general the season had been regarded as the worst on record, it was stated in Wellington yesterday. Prices had been high accordingly. In Wellington prices had reached Ils per lb, compared with 3s per lb in flush seasons. Catches in the Buller area were not anything like a moderate run. The east coast of the North Island, mainly in the Wairarapa district, had been about the only place in the country that had had anything like a reasonable run.—(,P.A.)

Holmburn’s Return After several days’ delay because of rough seas, the servicing vessel, Holmburn, on Sunday completed unloading stores at the Raoul Island weather station, 600 miles north-east of Auckland. The Holmburn is now on her way back to New Zealand with- eight members of the weather station staff who have been on the island for the last year. The vessel is due at Wellington tomorrow. On Thursday, the Holmburn will begin loading supplies for the annual visit to Campbell Island, 450 miles south of Dunedin, and will sail with the relief team for the weather station there when loading is complete.—(P.A.)

Unsightly Rubble The board of the Christchurch Girls’ High School last evening was discussing the' problem of removing an unsightly collection of rubble resulting from the demolition of the old school property at 30 Armagh street. “If every girl took a brick or two home for a few days we could get rid of it all,” suggested one member amid laughter.

Party Lines Telling delegates to the New Zealand Grain, Seed, and Produce Merchants’ Federation conference in Christchurch yesterday that he had laid the foundation stone of the new Christchurch railway station when he was Minister of Railways in the National Government, Mr J. K. McAlpine said he had been invited to the opening today. “As history has a habit of repeating itself I intend to ask Mr Moohan to come along to the opening of any extensions to the station in three years’ time.”

Nuclear Reactor Thirty-five thousand dollars worth of equipment associated with the sub-critical nuclear reactor given to Canterbury University by the United States Government under the “atoms for peace” programme will arrive at Lyttelton on November 24. The neutron source, fuel slugs, and other gear will follow soon afterwards. The total value of the gift is 142.000 dollars.

Political Pamphlets The president of the New Zealand- Labour Party (Dr. A. M. Finlay) denied yesterday that the Labour Party was seeking the withdrawal of a National Party pamphlet called “The Essential Difference between National and Labour.”. He also denied a report that the Labour Party had withdrawn one of its pamphlets on taxation from circulation. “The Labour Party,” he said, “stands by everything it has published.”—(P.A.)

Engine Trouble The 8681-ton freighter Port Townsville is having engine trouble while on a voyage from Lautoka to Dunedin. The extent of the trouble is not known, but the company’s agents in Auckland said yesterday that there was no cause for anxiety. The nine-year-old ship left Lautoka on Friday, and is due at Dunedin tomorrpw.—(P.A.)