Reporter’s Diary

Press, Volume CXVI, Issue 34041, 3 January 1976, Page 2

Reporter’s Diary

Outstanding WHEN Sir Jack Hunn said on Thursday that his knighthood iu the New Year Honours recognised the New Zealand fire services, he was surely being modest. Sir Jack’s years of public service since he joined the Public Trust Office in 1924 have continued since he formally retired in 1966. He must rank as one of New Zealand’s most able and versatile public servants. Though lately he has been one of the architects of the new fire service for the country, and earlier was chairman of commissions on wildlife and fire safety, one of Sir Jack’s most important efforts was to produce a report in 1960 on the Maori Affairs Department. This report was made public by the new Minister of Maori Affairs (Mr Hanan). It contained far-reaching and controversial recommendations for reforms, not just within the department, of which Sir Jack was acting head, but on land, crime, housing, employment, and education. Many people who are interested in Maori affairs and reform would do well to turn back to that report for guidance on what has happened since 1960. When the Government decided to reorganise military administration, Sir Jack became first head of the new Ministry of Defence in 1963. In his long- career he has also spent seven years as a member of the old Public Service Commission, and was once acting Secretary for Justice, not to mention assignments on the South Pacific and United Nations affairs. He has been an outstanding public servant. Back on the road NOT ALL the hitch-hikers on the roads today are Australian visitors or impecunious university students. A Christchurch man driving north this week was reminded of his

father’s tales of Depression days by an elderly man he gave a lift to. His passenger had very few effects, but a long history to relate of his varied working career and his medical problems. And at the end of the journey he “borrowed” $4 but omitted to take a note of his driver’s name or address. The benefactor was so impressed and delighted with his passenger’s performance that he felt it was a fee well worth paying. Up the scale GOOD news for young would-be pianists who suffer while learning and practising scales — and for those who have to teach them: a Napier music teacher, Mrs Jeanette Steel, has devised a book for young children which includes rhymes to sing and pictures to colour along with the scales. Mrs Steel believes that, with the right encouragement, children can enjoy learning and playing scales. Her book will be published early this year. Fast crying FIRST class cricketers become as accustomed as most public performers to excessive praise and criticism. But a section of the Canterbury Shell series team is wondering how to improve its reputation. A recent newspaper article stated that Canterbury had “the most poignant newball attack in the country.” The fast bowlers do not feel they are a crying matter, and cling hopefully to one of the Synonyms for poignant. Not pathetic — but moving. The first pet THE craze for “pet rocks” in the United States is making a fortune for the firm. Rock Bottom Productions, which began marketing ordinary stones in neat boxes, complete with air holes and cushioning. The craze is not as new as its

promoters claim, however. A journalist clearly remembers that, at the age of eight, while attending Auckland Point School in Nelson, he carried a pet stone swathed in cotton wool in a matchbox. You see, there was this girl with pigtails which he rather fancied, and when he was pestering her one day she threw a stone at him, and he picked it up and kept it — for a week or two anyhow. Where is Julia now . . . ? Underground club ONE of the strangest clubs in the world recently held its Christmas meeting in London at a pub called the Rising Sun. "Sewers Synonymous” is not a joke; it really exists, limits itself to a carefully chosen membership of 120, and has no hesitation in blackballing applicants who are too eager to join, who show insufficient sympathy towards sewers, or who slide under the table after only a few pints of bitter. Most of its members are drawn from the Public Health Division of the Thames Water Authority, although those who can claim descent from the men who redesigned the whole London sewer system in 1855 stand a good chance of election. The club has the motto: “Stercus tibi, sed vitus meus.” ‘With a honk honk* FOR a small additional fee, and on a first-come, firstserve basis, many American states permit motorists to apply for “personalised” car number plates made up of any combination of letters and numbers they like — provided the result is not obscene. First prize for originality in the selection issued in 1975 might go to an elderly farmer in New Jersey whose name is Macdonald. His car proudly sports the plate, “E I E I O.” Heavy reading RECENTLY, the "Diary” noticed the impressive size of one of the new calendars received by

"The Press”; now we have been overwhelmed by the size and weight of a book. The Embassy of the Republic of Korea, to mark the thirtieth anniversary of Korea’s liberation from the Japanese occupation, has distributed a lavishly coloured and illustrated history of the Republic. The book measures 37cm by 27cm and weighs three kg. The result is a comprehensive reference book and guide to South Korea, covering the field from archae-

ological treasures to space-age telecommunications. The illustration here, which cannot do justice to the original colours, shows a model wearing traditional Korean dress made from modem fabrics. A short, flared blouse, called a chogori (in green) hangs open in front over a long, highwaisted skirt known as a chima (in this example, in bright scarlet). Most attractive, but not a book to be propped up lightly to read in bed.