NEWS IN BRIEF

Dominion, Volume 30, Issue 154, 27 March 1937, Page 11

NEWS IN BRIEF

Air Travel Popular That the popularity of air travel is growing with holiday-makers is demonstrated by the fact that on Thursday a record number of Cook Strait crossings was flown by Cook Strait Airways planes. The machines made nine flights from Wellington to Blenheim and four to Nelson, carrying 65 outward and 55 inward passengers. Yesterday, seven trips were made to Blenheim ami four to Nelson, and 111 passengers were carried, making the two-day total 231. At one period yesterday, the entire Cook Strait fleet was in the air. In addition to the usual services, Union Airways chartered a Cook Strait machine, which left 'Wellington for Christchurch with six passengers, and carried the same number on the return trip. A special passenger flight was also made from Palmerston North to Christchurch and return. As an official remarked to “The Dominion” at Rongotai on Thursday, “the aerodrome becomes more ami more like Croydon every day. There can be no doubt of the wonderful future that travelling by air has in front of it.” Flying Trips. Piloting the Wellington Aero Club’s Miles Hawk machine, Mr. H. Edwards returned to Rongotai from Auckland on Thursday afternoon. He was accompanied by a passenger, Mr. Campbell. The club’s Moth Major, piloted by Mr. C. Morris, left the same day for the New Plymouth Aero Club's Easter camp and carried a passenger. The machine will probably return when the camp concludes on Monday. Big Shark in Harbour.

A shark estimated to be from 10 to 12 feet long was seen yesterday afternoon swimming in Wellington Harbour just inside York Bay. The slowly-mov-ing fin of the shark was sighted by a man and his wife who were out in a sailing dinghy. Lowering the sail they rowed closer and had a good view of the sinister fish, which was swimming lazily just beneath the surface. Later an impromptu shark hunt was organised, a party of men putting off equipped for the fray, but the shark was not seen again.

Wellington Earthquake. Many people in Wellington were awakened early on Thursday morning by an earthquake. The shock, preceded by a rumbling sound, occurred at 5.18 a.m. It w.as short and sharp, and although its record on the seismograph at the observatory lasted two minutes, its duration to most people who were conscious of the disturbance could not have been more than three seconds. It registered force 4 on the RossiForel scale and its origin is stated to have been in the Cook Strait area. The shock appeared to be fairly local, although it was felt as far afield as Cape Campbell. Parents and Boys Warned.

According to the general secretary of the Wellington Y.M.C.A., Mr. Len J. Greenberg, reports have been received that young boys have been accosted in the streets with offers of employment at tempting rates of pay. These boys are already in regular employment, or attending school; and parents and boys would be well advised, says Mr. Greenberg, to exercise caution in accepting such offers. The jobs offering are mostly of the “dead-end" vocationless type, and hardly likely to lead to any real progress for the boys, although at the moment they may offer the inducement of higher rates of pay.