NEWS IN BRIEF

Dominion, Volume 29, Issue 99, 21 January 1936, Page 11

NEWS IN BRIEF

Cable Car Break-down

Koiburn cable ear services ceased about 9 o'clock last evening when one of the cars broke an axle near the foot of the incline. A gang undertook the work of repair immediately, but was not finished in time to resume the normal schedule. It is expected, however, that this morning’s servlet's will be run as usual.

A Queer Appetite. A farm hand who lives alone in a two-roomed wliare near Blenheim had reason to suspect that someone was stealing his rations which the farmer usually left on a nearby tree stump. Among other things, three loaves of bread mysteriously disappeared and, as there were neither human beings nor animals (except a few horses) iu the neighbourhood, tlie worker was puzzled —and hungry. He constructed a wooden safe with a loose-fitting door which was hung on Ihe outside wall of the building. All to no avail; a loaf vanished from the safe. Then, Carly one morning, the farm hand was awakened by the sound of someone in his kitchen. Stealthily he crept to the door and gazed, not on a marauding eat burglar, but at old "Blossom,” a pensioned-off draught mare who, with her head thrust through Hie window, was in the act of finishing off the. farm hand’s breakfast —a saucepan of. cold stew — which had been left on the. kitchen table.' A Nice Present. The satisfaction of handling a 69ounce bar of gold, the result of a week’s operations at the .Stafford dredge, was experienced by the Minister of Public Works, Hon. R. Semple, bind the .Minister of Mines, Hon.' P. C. Webb, and party when a brief stop was made at Hie area being worked by the Stafford Gold Dredging Company. Tlie bar, whiclt is valued at £5OO, was obtained from 15.000 yards of material, which is considered a very good return, for tlie company, in the past, lias becu dredging about tin average of 50oz. a week. In answer to a question, Mr. Semple was told that there still remained enough country to be worked for 10 years. The dredge has been- operating for about two years and employs 18 men. Mr. Semple jocularly presented the bar to Mr. AV ebb as a memento of the visit. Later in the day the party went over the big Rimu dredge, which works 24 hours with shifts and has covered many hundreds of acres, leaving behind huge piles of tailings. It is understood that the Rimu yield for a recent week was 3500 z., while .the record during the time it has been working is 700 oz. for a week.

Aged Maori Lost. The disappearance of a Maori, Ahia Mokomoko Rongo, aged 92, from his home at Patikirau, Raglan, led to an extensive search. The old man was found in an exhausted condition nt Te Akau, six miles from his home. Rongo is well known throughout the Waikato and owns extensive are.as of property in the Raglan district. . When his disappearance was reported, Constable J. T. McGrath, who is relieving at Raglan, organised large parties which conducted a thorough search over rough country. The wet weather made conditions very unpleasant. Launch parties cruised round tlie foreshore of the Raglan Harbour, while other parties covered hundreds of acres of bush and scrub country. Rongo was eventually found by Mr. E. Hemingway. He had had no food since he wandered away, and was suffering severely from exposure and exhaustion.

Christchurch Engineer's Distinction. With the latest developments in the welded construction of great buildings is associated the name of a Christchurch man, Mr. C. W. Hamann. He was joint consulting engineer in the building of a huge entertainment pavilion at Bexhill, on the south coast of England, at a cost of more than £BO,OOO. The pavilion was opened toward the end of last year by the Duke and Duchess of York. The building is the largest all-welded structure yet attempted in England. It was designed purely upon .lyelding principles, and aroused great interest. During its construction the pavilion was visited by the King and Queen, who were interested to be shown how welding was done, and how the various sections were joined together. Before that the district surveyors of London paid a visit to Bexhill. fi'liey also had wished to acquaint themselves with , the latest developments in welded construction. Mr. Hamann was once a pupil of the Christchurch Boys’ High School, afterward going to Canterbury University College, where lie studied engineering. Later lie worked with Mr. R. A. Campbell, a well-known consulting engineer in Christchurch. It was in April, 1932, that he went to England. lie has become now an associate of the Institute of Structural Engineers and of the Institute of Welding Engineers.