General News

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30480, 30 June 1964, Page 12

General News

Fast Mail

An envelope dated 9.30 p.m., June 24, in Sheffield, England, was .delivered to a Christchurch Post Office box at 8.30 p.m. on June 28. The letter was sent to “The Press” by its recipient, Mr B. H. Nixon, in support of the Post Office request for boxholders to have their mail addressed to boxes to speed up delivery. Jug To Well The Minister of Customs (Mr Shelton) has now granted a licence for a small Greek jug to be imported by the University of Canterbury. This was the first time the university had approached the Minister on such an issue. “We will not take this particular jug to the well again,” said the Vice-Chancellor (Dr. L. L. Pownall). TV Equipment The New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation had five cameras in Christchurch costing a total of £25,000, said the district manager of the N.Z.B.C. (Mr K. Hay) at an English Speaking Union luncheon yesterday. Each time a camera tube eye needed replacing at about 500 hours, he said, it cost £5OO for one tube. The corporation had bought land at Halswell to build, in the future, a broadcasting centre for TV. This pattern of building out of the city was very common in all parts of the world. When five acres or so of land was required, it could not be bought in the city. Office Block A three-storey office block in Auckland, owned by the Prince Albert College Trust of the Methodist Church will be opened by the president of the Methodist Conference of New Zealand (the Rev. A. R. Penn) on July 24. The building is the first stage of a long-term redevelopment plan for the three-acre block of land in the inner city.—(P.A.) Concert Party The Maori concert party from the Royalist gave an entertainment in Hong Kong on Sunday. The group was invited to appear in the Mandarin Hotel, and the customary audition was waived. The 30-meniber concert party made two appearances, with action songs, traditional chants and modern songs included in the programme. An encorse was demanded by applause at the end of the second 20-minute performance.—(P.A.)

“Honeymoon Period”

The “Honeymoon Period” for television viewers, on the average, went on for two years, said the district manager of the N.Z.B.C. (Mr K. Hay) in a luncheon address to the English Speaking Union in Christchurch yesterday. This, he said, was the period when the novelty of watching TV was so strong that viewers were largely nonselective. Later they became critical viewers watching only what they wanted to see. “The problem in Christchurch is that we have only one channel,” he said. “The question of alternative channels is a matter for the Government to decide.”

Academic Salaries Academic salary rises, accepted in principle some time ago by the Government, were still under consideration by the University Grants Cofnmittee, the Vice-Chancellor (Dr. L. L. Pownall) told the Canterbury University Council yesterday. Some nonacademic salaries had been increased in line with the recent ruling rate survey. Noon Weather Weather, temperatures and winds in the four main centres at noon yesterday were:—Auckland, 55 degrees, cloudy, showers, south 10 miles an hour; Wellington, 52 degrees, partly cloudy, southeast 5 miles an hour; Christchurch, 48 degrees, fine, calm; Dunedin, 54 degrees, fine, calm. Coupons For Lepers In the last 12 months, without reward, Mr and Mrs C. H. Harvey, of Murray’s Bay, Auckland, have sorted and counted more than 338,000 tea coupons sent as donations to the Mission to Lepers’ office in Auckland. The secretary (the Rev. M. Feist) said that with the bonuses given by tea companies these coupons were worth at least £2820 to the mission. The Harveys’ task represents the double handling of more than 1000 coupons a day, six days a week, for 52 weeks. No tea company has yet challenged their tally.