Reporter’s diary

Press, 27 February 1986, Page 2

Reporter’s diary

Statuette

A FINE porcelain statuette of the then Princess Elizabeth on her hdrse, Tommy—one of only 100 made—is expected to fetch up to $20,000 when it is offered for sale at the Chateau Regency in Christchurch on April 8. The 35cm statuette of the Queen on her favourite horse was commissioned by the Queen Mother in 1947 and beautifully made in fine detail by the craftsmen of Royal Worcester. The face of the then Princess, wearing the regimental uniform of the Grenadier Guards, is remarkably lifelike. Only six of the statuettes came to New Zealand. Mr Ross Morrison, of Neil Auction Galleries, said that at least one had been broken. Another was in a museum. Neil Auction Galleries has advertised the sale in Britain and Australia, and considerable interest has been expressed by prospective buyers overseas as well as in New Zealand. The last statuette sold in New Zealand fetched $B2OO in the early 19705. Remember!

DAYLIGHT TIME, boon to the “nine-to-fiver” and curse of the night shift worker (who actually starts work an hour earlier and still gets home in the dark) will officially end at 3 a.m. next Sunday, March 2. Then, or at a more convenient time, such as before you retire to bed, clocks should be put back one hour. Daylight time runs for 18 weeks, from the last Sunday in October to the first Sunday in March. Past words

WITH THE amalgamation of Christchurch local bodies now looking pretty much a formality, an eagle-eyed local Government watcher — has ■

unearthed from his yellowed pile of clippings a quote from Cr Vicki Buck on her return from a local Government conference in Australia in 1982: “We should tell them (the surrounding local bodies) that we really do hot want to take them over. We are big enough as it is. I worry about how big we can go as a city and still remain accountable. The argument on amalgamation could profit from a change of focus to financial rationalisation—not amalgamation.” Cr Buck’s words were a voice in the wilderness, but she has been careful hot to take part in discussions on the Christchurch amalgamation issue both on the Local Government Com-

liaission, of which she is a member, and as a Christchurch City councillor.

Torlesse mines

TWO MEMBERS of the Malvern County Council staff at Darfield have been digging into the bistog of the Mount Torlesse Colliery, which many probably do not know- existed, with the idea of compiling a record of the mine. It was first noticed on a Lands and Survey map about five- years ago, and since then many trips have beep made to the site in search of old shafts and abandoned machinery. The ' Torlesse mine was about five kilometres from Avoca, on the banks

of Broken River. A company formed in Britain in 1916 had by 1918 built up an extensive network of inclines and railways to bring the coal up out of the riverbed, from where it was hauled by a small locomotive to the Avoca railway siding. Cottages, a store, a school, and a post office were built on the flats above the river to house and provide for the 50 or more miners who worked there. The remains of the cottages can still be seen today. After the completion of the West Coast rail link to bring cheap coal to Canterbury, and the faulty nature of its coal seams, the Torlesse mine was abandoned in 1928. Anyone who was associated with the mine at any time, or who might have photographs of historical interest, should get in touch with R. Green or W. E. Findlay, care of the Malvern County Council, P.O. Box 1, Darfield. Tongue twisted THE MANGLING of the English language continues apace, according to “Encounter” magazine, the guardian of the mother tongue. Chinese guides are apparently telling the tourists that Shanghai is so crowded that “the city is pouring out to the skirts.” On the ball

A READER reports that the sound from the headphones being worn by a young man on a bus the other day so annoyed a passenger sitting behind that he tapped the youth on the shoulder and said loudly, “You’ll be stone deaf by the time you’re 20 if you keep listening to the pop rubbish.” The youth removed his headphones and reported calmly: “290 for four. Hadlee’s on 56.”

—Peter Comer.