General News

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30642, 7 January 1965, Page 6

General News

On Tap Off Broadway, Sydney, on Tuesday, the Dental Health and Research Foundation [erected a display which included a water cooler from which the public will be invited to sip, just to see what fluoridated water tastes like, reports “Granny” in the “Sydney Morning Herald." A Woman, anxious to be first, begged just a sip—and then cast most of it into the gutter. “It tastes dreadful!” she protested. They explained to her that it was ordinary tap jwater; the fluoride had not been added yet.

Stoat-Ferret Cross The efforts of a Wellington scientist to produce <a cross between a stoat and a ferret brought an immediate offer of assistance from a Christchurch resident when he read of them in “The Press” yesterday. From Kaiteriteri, where he is on holiday, he sent “The Press” a telegram asking that the scientist be told that he was keen to assist in the breeding experiment. Farewell Blast When the Union Steamship Company’s 26-year-old steamer, Waipori, left Lyttelton for Timaru yesterday afternoon, she gave one mournful blast of farewell. The Waipori, so well known in Lyttelton, was recently sold to Hong Kong purchasers. Wann Weather The weather in Christchurch yesterday was warm, with overcast skies and a light north-easterly breeze. Temperatures at Harewood rose from 61 degrees at 9 a.m. to a maximum of 72 degrees at 3 p.m. The temperature on the Government Life building showed 74 degrees at 4.30 p.m. All Black Saves Boy An All Black, Mr Kevin Briscoe, rescued an eight-year-old Upper Hutt boy from drowning in the Urenui river yesterday afternoon. The boy ran into deep water in the river near the beach. He was sinking when Mr Briscoe saw him and swam into the river and pulled him to shore. —(N.Z.P.A.) Labour Scarce Labour was again scarce at Lyttelton yesterday, and at 8 a.m. the Purnea, Maunganui and Moanui were idle, while the Napier Star was short manned The departure of ships later in the day made the position easier. Life Boy’s Success A'Rangiora boy who is on holiday in Picton has won a Commonwealth competition organised by the Life Boy movement. He is Barry Palmer, aged 10, a member of the Ist Rangiora Life Boy team. The competition was run by the international Life" Boy magazine, “Life Boy Link,” and was open to Life Boys outside the British Isles. It was a test of knowledge of events in the movement during the last 12 months.

Banana Cargo The Danish motor vessel, Indian Reefer, at present discharging 21,000 cases of Fijian bananas at Lyttelton, is expected to sail on Saturday for Lautoka, to make one more charter loading of bananas for New Zealand. After this she will load 2400 sheep at Lyttelton for Buenos Aires. Busy Tunnel More than a million tons of freight was carried by the New Zealand Railways through the Otira tunnel to Canterbury from the West Coast last year. The actual figure, was 1,011,512 tons. Comparative figures are available only for a nine-month period. These show a small rise in 1964.—(F.0.0.R.) Party In Endeavour Six scientists from the Oceanographic Institute, at Wellington, headed by Mr I. Estcourt, went aboard H.M.N.Z.S. Endeavour yesterday. The party will sail in the supply vessel on Monday morning. The Endeavour has already bunkered and is taking other stores aboard before leaving for an oceanographic survey of the Campbell Plateau. Crayfish Slaughter A professional fisherman has protested against the indiscriminate slaughter of crayfish at Whatipu, near the Manukau Heads. Mr T. M. Andrews, of Epsom, said that when he inspected the crayfish grounds on Sunday he found the bodies of about 30 crayfish. The rest of the colony had disappeared. He said some skindivers must have just stuck spears into the crayfish in their holes among the rocks and left them there.