25 YEARS AGO

Dominion, Volume 26, Issue 70, 15 December 1932, Page 8

25 YEARS AGO

Parliament House Fire (From “The Dominion,” Dec. 16. 190*.) On arriving from the south yesterday morning the Premier drove straight from the steamer to Molesworth Street and made a cursory examination of the remains of the Parliamentary Buildings. Speaking to a “Dominion” reporter later in the day, Sir Joseph Ward said that having regard to the extensive area that was needed for the proper accommodation for both Houses of Parliament in a building, as must now be the case, of stone, brick, or reinforced concrete, lie thought that from £lOO,OOO to £150,000 would have to be spent, and that without any attempts to provide a palatial structure, but simply to meet the requirements in a common-sense practical way.

The public clock that tells the hours away at the toot of Cuba Street has been given a Christmas present in the form of a much-needed new case. This clock is not one of yesterday, and many people missing it from its accustomed place over the premises of Messrs. W. N. Tucker have been making Inquiries as to whether Time had at length claimed the instrument which had for so long kept a wary eye on his movements. Mr. Tucker believes that the clock is about forty years of age.

The Union Company’s turbine clipper Maori established another record on her Saturday night run from Lyttelton. She left the Lyttelton breakwater at 11.53 p.m., stopping at the Queen’s Wharf yesterday morning at 8.47 o’clock. The time occupied over the passage was therefore 8 hours 17 minutes. Considering the adverse weather encountered throughout the passage, the Maori’s average speed was 19.66 knots an hour, although during part of the trip a high average speed of 20.5 knots was registered.