General News

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30058, 16 February 1963, Page 10

General News

Apple Picking Picking of the first of the season's export apple crop, Cox’s Orange, has begun. The crop is assessed at medium to good, but is not expected to grade out as well as in previous years. The Gravenstein crop in Netoon this season is down by about 80,000 cases and with a small crop in Hawke’s Bay there may be a shortage of apples on the New Zealand market early in the season.—(P.A.) Focal Point Noticeably more people were in Cathedral square last evening than on a normal Friday night. Many of them were looking at the decorations for the Royal visit today. The Square was encompassed by a single string of coloured lights; the coloured lights in the trees on the Godley plot being most effective. The bunting on the Chief Post Office and on the United Service Hotel also attracted attention. Probably the chief attraction was flower arrangements by the Ladies’ Flower Guild in the Cathedral. A continual stream of people passed into the Cathedral where the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh will worship tomorrow. Allocation Tickets sent to the council for the reserved stand at Lancaster Park for the reception to the Queen today had been allocated by the chairman of the Kowal County Council (Mr A. J. R. Blakely), he told members yesterday. "First things first —I gave myself one. I thought the deputy chairman (Cr. C. D. Lewis) and the county clerk (Mr G. A. Hay) were also deserving. ' That left one, so I put councillors’ names into a hat and drew out Cr. Fletcher. I hope everyone is satisfied with the way things were done,’’ he said. “Couldn’t be fairer,” commented Cr. R. K. Fletcher. Mr Hay declined his ticket and it was accepted by Cr. J. S. Bowker. Hallett Station The resupplying of the joint New Zealand-United States Hallett station was completed yesterday. The Arneb finished unloading supplies which will last the station through the coming winter and left for McMurdo Sound where she is due at noon today. In March an icebreaker will call at the station on its way back to New Zealand to pick up men who have been doing construction work there.

No Proceedings Yet

The proceedings of last year’s mental health conference, prepared under the title of “Mental Health and the Community,” with Dr. P. J. Lawrence as editor, have not yet been published, but are still in printing, the chairman of the Canterbury Mental Health Council (Professor H. E. Field) said yesterday. A news items in “The Press” yesterday said the proceedings had been published. (The item was based on an advertising enclosure in the January issue of the “New Zealand Medical Journal”). Royal Farewell As the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh are visiting Christchurch at a weekend and there are plenty of opportunities for the public to greet them, there will be no general closing of businesses on Monday, the day the Royal couple leave New Zealand for Australia. One retail shop is allowing its employees off for threequarters of an hour to join the farewell crowd in Cathedral square Some others are expected to give time off to staff members who want to wave goodbye. Research Grant The Canterbury Medical Research Foundation has approved a grant of £295 to Dr. A. C. Arcus, biochemist in the Full-time Medical Unit, Princess Margaret Hospital. to assist him in continuing his research into the electrophoretic analyses of proteins. Dr. Arcus began this line of research while in the nutrition research department of the Otago Medical School, and has since continued it in his own time.

Doctors And Smoking

Doctors will receive a questionnaire soon on their smoking habits. The questionnaire is being sent out by the Director of Public Health (Dr. C. N. D. Taylor) with the “full support” of the New Zealand branch of the British Medical Association. Warmest Year Last year was the warmest ever recorded, the Weather Office reports in a review of 1962 weather conditions. For the whole country, the mean annual temperature was IS degrees above normal.— (PA.) Poor Start The opening of the 1963 oyster season yesterday was one of the most disappointing in years Sixty-five men in the Bluff fleet of 13 oyster trawlers toiled for 13 hours for a total gain of 645 sacks of oysters. One boat came home with only 16 sacks. The biggest catch of the day was 72 sacks The new member of the fleet, the Marjorie Maude, the skipper of which is Mr H. McNeil, brought home 63 sacks.— (P.A.) Fishing Rivers The Waiau, Hurumiii, Ashley and Selwyn rivers were reported dear and fishable yesterday by the North Canterbury Acchmetisetion Society. The Waitrwkariri mouth and gorge were also dear and flshable. The Rakasa mouth was discoloured and the gorge dirty.