General News

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31088, 17 June 1966, Page 8

General News

Record Fine Spell As mid-winter approaches, the West Coast still basks in sunshine. An almost unbroken and unparalleled spell of fine weather began at the start of May, which was a record month for sunshine and little rain. On May 16 there had been 60.3 hours of sunshine in Greymouth. After more than seven hours of sunshine on Wednesday, June’s total rose to 58.4 hours, and yesterday the sun shone out of a cloudless sky. Only 1.58 in of rain has fallen, compared with the monthly average of Bin.—(P.A.) Licence Renewals Motorists are slow to renew their driving licences with the Christchurch City Council, and last evening only 11,039 of the 31,000 licences due to be renewed in the city area had been renewed. The traffic department has asked that drivers check their licences and renew them as soon as possible to avoid the lastminute rush—there are only 10 more days in which licences can be renewed before they expire. Drivers may renew licences by post. The licence and a fee of 5s a year for- up to five years should be sent, with a selfaddressed envelope, to the council’s traffic department. 11-Degree Frost A frost of 11 degrees, the heaviest since last August, was recorded at Harewood yesterday. There was a ninedegree frost in the Botanic Gardens. Temperatures during the morning were cold, 28 degrees being recorded at Harewood at 6 a.m., 31 degrees at 9 a.m., and 45 degrees at midday. The maximum temperature of 50 degrees was reached at 3 p.m., and the same figure was recorded in the Botanic Gardens at 3 p.m. The temperature at both Harewood and on the Government Life building temperature clock at 4 p.m. was 49 degrees. The weather was fine and sunny all day, and after a calm morning, a moderate north-easterly wind developed during the afternoon. Bishop’s Farewell The diocesan farewell to the Bishop of Christchurch (the Rt. Rev. A. K. Warren) in the Winter Garden will be held on Thursday, June 23, not June 29 as reported in “The Press” yesterday. Evensong in the Cathedral at 5.15 p.m. the same day, in which Bishop Warren will take part, will be open to members of all denominations. Siren Test A mobile siren would be tested for civil defence warning in the Spencerville area at 9.30 a.m. today, the Christchurch civil defence officer (Mr J. F. Moffat) said last evening. At present there was no means of alerting such areas which did not have fire stations and factories and were beyond the range of the Christchurch fire stations’ sirens. The mobile siren had been assembled in Christchurch, and was mounted on a trailer. In today’s test, it would emit a series of five-second or sixsecond blasts, each rising and falling in pitch. The length of the test would depend on atmospheric conditions, he said.