Reporter's Diary

Press, 15 August 1978, Page 2

Reporter's Diary

End of the war TH 1 RT Y-THREE years ago. World War II officially ended with the Japanese surrender, which was announced in Christchurch on August 15, 1945. Mr Bernard Lawler, of Christchurch, has sent in a photograph of the front page of the “Egyptian Mail” newspaper, which he bought while in Cairo with the 2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force. Dated Wednesday, August 15, the newspaper proclaims that “today is V-J Day.” Although the Americans did not officially celebrate V-J Day until September 2, the rest of the world rejoiced as soon as the Japanese signed the surrender — five days after the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Nagasaki, and eight days after the even more devastating atomic bombing of Hiroshima. In Christchurch, as in the rest of New Zealand, Aug* ust 15, 1945. was a great day when the streets were filled with throngs of people, singing and dancing. Shops and schools were closed for two days, church services gave thanks for peace, and in Christchurch, according to a report in “The Press,” there was “revelry in the Square and surrounding streets where thousands of people gathered.” The report goes on to say, “Victory ‘champagne’ was freely offered by those carrying the familiar brown quart bottles.” Different version WITH ALL due respect to naval directors of information, the person who looked into the legend about the cruiser New Zealand seems to have got his wires crossed, or his flags tangled. As mentioned in the Diary on Friday, the captain of the cruiser was given a Maori skirt and tiki to be worn in battle. But it was not Tamati Waka-Nene who gave it. nor was Halsey the cap-

tain at the time the cruiser visited New Zealand. Thomas Woodroffe tells the story in his book “Moanalua.” In a chapter about New Zealand and the Navy, he does not name the chief, but records the prophesy to Captain Green that the ship would be in action with the same crew and would be hit in the aft gun turret, but there would be few casualties. On May 31, 1916, the New Zealand steamed into action in the Battle of Jutland. The crew was the same as when the cruiser visited New Zealand, and Captain Green put on the Maori skirt and the tiki. The ship astern was blown up, and the New Zealand steamed through wreckage from the Queen Mary, which was blown up ahead of her. The cruiser was hit only once — in the turret. There were no casualties. Obeying orders A TOUCHING tale of a Christchurch taxidriver’s experience last week reached us yesterday. He was instructed by his radio operator to pick up a little girl from primary school. Her' mother, he was told, had intended to collect her but the car had broken down and she was unable to get to school on time to meet her daughter. When the taxi-driver arrived outside the school gates, however, the wee girl refused to get inside his cab. She had been told firmly’ by her mother never to get into a stranger’s car and there was no way she was going driving with this strange man. I oluntary poverty THE environmentalists may have had considerable success in teaching us how to take care of our world, but they may encounter some stiff opposition with their next step — they want us voluntarily to get poor. Michael Phillips, head of a group

called Mint, in San Francisco, says that if people make money, they or someone else will only spend it. “Spending means consuming and consuming means using up what is available,” he says. “It’s an irrefutable law of the market place. The more you earn the more you spend. So a burgeoning economy means more trees felled, more land strip-mined, more wildlife destroyed, more water consumed and more oil burned.” In order to persuade people to go into voluntary poverty, Mint has set up a telephone hot-line service. If anyone feels like buying a new car, a colour television set, or anything else they think they need, they can ring Mint during business hours. A Mint volunteer will then try’ to talk them out of such extravagance. Eyesore IT WAS one in the eye for Radio New Zealand when it moved into its new building in Durham Street. The view from the window was filled by an enormous billboard on the N.Z. Road Services building. advertising Radio Avon. So it was with some relief yesterday that the Radio New Zealand people watched the eyesore being covered over with a new advertisement — even it it does say “Smoking Stinks.” Unplanned A LIONESS at Orana Park which has been taking her contraceptives regularly for the last 12 months has defied her family planning programme — on Friday she gave birth to two cubs, both males. However, only one of them is well; the other died at the week-end. It was the lioness’s third litter, and from now on. according to park staff, her contraceptive dose will be increased to cope with her fertility.

“We now have 45 lions at Orana Park, and all the females have been on contraceptives to control the breeding,” says Mr Paul Garland, the park’s animal director. “That one slipped up, though.” twine he

IN TORONTO on Saturday, about 75 demonstrators attended a left-handed day rally and marched through the streets with placards supporting their claims that 10 per cent of the population was discriminated against because it was left-handed. We particularly liked the Press Association report, which says, “about 75 lefthanded people marched through Toronto today in support of their rights.” —Felicity Price