General News

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29746, 13 February 1962, Page 12

General News

Stiletto Ban A ban on fashion and a curb on adventure have been directed at the wives of men attending the conference in Christchurch of the New Zealand Institution of Engineers. The conference programme requested women not to wear stiletto heels last evening as they would damage floors at the University of Canterbury at Dam. These heels are also prohibited on their Canterbury Museum visit on Friday. Then, yesterday, the chairman of the Canterbury branch conference committee, Mr T. M. Stanton, had to tell the women that, though they could visit the road tunnel scheme on Friday, they might not be welcome inside the tunnel. Women are considered unlucky in an unfinished tunnel by the American engineers, he explained. Paying For Politics A suggestion worth examining was that, instead of the two main political parties canvassing for financial support, the Government make an appropriation of say £50.000 to each party for its election campaign and at the same time prohibit any further moneys being received or spent by either party, said the annual report of the New Zealand Master Grocers’ Federation to its conference at Wairakei yesterday. Fewer Pupils There had been a decrease in the number of day-school pupils at the Christchurch Technical College because of the growth of new schools round Christchurch, said the principal of the College (Mr D. W. Lyall) last evening. This year there were about five boys to every two girls at Technical College. Mr Lyall said the reason for this was that girls could be taught commerce and home science at the many high schools, whereas boys came to the Technical College to specialise. Hong Kong Service The arrival in Auckland yesterday of the China Navigation Company freighter, Kweichow, marked the inauguration of the first direct shipping service between Hong Kong and New Zealand Today another new service will begin when the Crusader Shipping Company’s freighter Crusader sails for Port Moresby and New Guinea on the first monthly service between Port Moresby and Auckland Both ships are refrigerated. Their discharge-loading programme in New Zealand will take just more than three weeks. —(P-A.) Caves Discovered A number of caves, containing galleries up to 50 feet high and with spectacular limestone pillars and formations, have been discov- ■ ered high on the slopes of Mount Luxmore, near Te Anau, by a party of Invercargill men. Messrs D. Gieseg. B. Campbell and G. Sutherland discovered the , first cave on a ski-ing expedition to the mountain early last winter. Throughout the , winter months they extended their search and have now discovered and explored about a dozen caves. AU are around 3500 feet up the 4835foot high mountain, which rises across the lake from : Te Anau township.—(P.A.) H.P. Comparisons i New Zealand hire-purchase . debt in 1959 was between £8 12s and £l2 18s a head This compared with some £53 I in the United States, £35 in r Canada, £33 in Australia, and , £l6 in the United Kingdom 1 These figures were given in i a paper to the annua) con- - ference of the New ■ Zealand Association of Economists by Dr. N Runcie, of ' the University of New South > Wales. One reason for low , hire-purchase debt in New Zealand was the restrictions i on finance companies leading j to “conservative” terms offerf ed by finance companies. Dr 1 Runcie said.—(F.O.O.R.)