NEWS IN BRIEF

Dominion, Volume 31, Issue 105, 28 January 1938, Page 13

NEWS IN BRIEF

Funds For Cancer Clinic A street appeal made yesterday by rhe Wellington Division of the Cancer Society realised £206/8/11}. The money is to go toward the free consultation clinic at the public hospital and will also be used to assist indigent patients who may have to travel long distances to attend the clinic. The previous street day, four years ago, resulted in £76 19/11 being collected. Caddies’ Golf Match. The annual caddies' golf tournament will be lielU at tlie Heretnunga links to-day under the direction of the professional, J. Watt. About seventy youths have entered for the tournament. Tlie prize-giving will be held about 3 o’clock. “Iron Lung’’ For Hospital. The purchases committee of the Wellington Hospital Board recommended al the monthly meeting last night that, subject to tlie consent of the Minister of Health, a respirator, or “iron lung,” be purchased from Melbourne at a cost of £175. The recommendation was adopted. Social Welfare. A total of 590 cases for December were dealt with by the social welfare department of the Wellington Hospital Board, according to the report which was received at last night’s board meeting. Four hundred and twenty-five cases remained for attention. It was also stated in the report that the estimated expenditure for the nine months of the financial year was £16,035: the actual expenditure was £9780. Food Consumption at Hospital. According to the matron's report, which was received at last night’s meeting of the Wellington Hospital Board, meat consumption at the hospital for last month, including the Ohiro Home, was 10,8381 b. beef, 78001 b. mutton, 594 ■ lb. tripe and 10701 b. lamb. Milk consumption for the month was 5551 gallons and 378 pints of cream. The number of pieces of laundry handled during tlie month was 250,972. New Ship’s Debut. Paying her first call at' Wellington, on her maiden voyage, the new Montreal-Australia-New Zealand Line’s motor-ship Kaikoura arrived at Wellington yesterday and is berthed at the Taranaki Street Wharf. She is a fine up-to-date freighter, her squat funnel and raked bow being typical of recent trends in design. Launched at Gias gow last September, she is a steel single-screw vessel of 5900 tons, built specially for the trade between New Zealand and the Atlantic Coast of North America.

Hospital Plant Purchase. At last night’s meeting of the Wellington Hospital Board, upon the recommendation of the house committee, the decisions to purchase a deep therapy X-ray plant at a cost of £1657/10/-, and - that alterations be made to the stand of the present deep therapy plant at an estimated cost of £lOO, and to the existing stand for sinus work at an estimated cost of £l3O. was reaffirmed. Railway Regrading.

All branches of the railway services were represented by a deputation which waited upon the Prime Minister, Rt. Hon. Al. J. Savage, the Minister of Railways, Hon. D. G. Sullivan, and the Minister of Finance, Hon. W. Nash, yesterday. The interview was iu private and lasted for about three hours. The Prime Minister said later that a number of anomalies arising out of the recent regrading had been discussed, and several “hardy, annuals” had also been considered. There was nothing to report for publication. Bridge Not Impassable. The temporary Orua River bridge was not impassable during the recent flooding of the Hawke’s Bay district, states Mr. W. Robertshaw, contractor at Awahuri. “The flood waters were never nearer to the deck than three feet,” he said. “Th'e six inches of water on the bridge, referred to in the Press message, applied only to a small portion of the approach which runs down rather low, but this was never impassable. EVery precaution has been taken to keep the traffic going while the new bridge-is being erected.” A Determined Travelling Party. Last Wednesday a travelling party walked through the slip area on the Taupo-Napier Road frofti Tarawera Hotel. They started at '8.30 a.m. on foot and struggled through slips until they were within 12 miles of Napier, where they were met by service cars. The walk 'took about seven hours and necessitated a considerable amount of digging to negotiate the larger slips. Members of the party were at times thigh deep in mud, but with the aid of ladders and shovels they forced their way through tlie largest slips. Hospital Finance. On the recommendation of the executive and finance committee of the Wellington Hospital Board, which met last night, accounts for December amounting to £31,485/17/11 were passed for payment. It was reported that the consent of the Minister of Health had been received to incurring, by way of bank overdraft, a sum not exceeding £50,000 for the quarter ending March 31, 1938. The sum of £3696/17/6, being six months’ interest on fixed deposit of £295,750, had been placed to the credit of the board’s fund account.

Naval Base Expansion. It is expected that a start will be made on Monday on the construction of a large oil tank at tlie Devonport naval base. Tlie provision of the tank forms part of the extensive programme of improvements at the base by the Public Works Department. The department is also starting on the construction of a large workshop. There has been considerable reclamation, and work on this is practically finished except on the retaining wall.

Admissions to Hospital. It was reported by the house committee at last night’s meeting of the Wellington Hospital Board that during December there were 616 admissions to the hospital compared with 719 iu December. 1936. There were 799 (compared with 812) discharges, 50 (53), deaths, and 369 (403) operations. The number of patients in hospital three mouths or more was 46 (67) and the daily average number of occupied beds 667.19 (648.7).

Bishops Visit First Mission. While on his recent holiday at the Hay of Islands in his yacht Morewa, Sir Ernest Davis, mayor of Auckland, took Archbishop Averill and Bishop West-Watson, who are spending January at Paihia, for a sail to Oihi, in the northern part of the bay, where the Marsden Cross marks the site of the first mission station established in New Zealand by Samuel Marsden, who also preached there upon his original landing in 1814. The party spent some time in attending to the graves of members of the King family, pioneer missionaries, who lie buried near the foreshore and not far from the cross.