NEWS IN BRIEF

Dominion, Volume 33, Issue 69, 14 December 1939, Page 11

NEWS IN BRIEF

King George 44 Today

Today is the 44th birthday of His Majesty King George VI. The King is the second son- of the late King George V and of her Majesty Queen Mary. He was born at York Cottage, Sandringham, on December 14, 1895. He succeeded to the Throne on December 11, 1936, and was crowned at Westminster on May 12, 1937. He married Lady Elizabeth Angela Marguerite, daughter of the 14th Earl of Strathmore, in 1923, and the children of the Royal marriage,- Princess Elizabeth, heiress presumptive to the Throne, and Princess Margaret Rose, are now aged 13 and nine respectively.

New Central Library. The public library, Wellington, will be forma'll}’ reopened in the new building on February 13 and the library will be closed from February 9 to February 13 inclusive for the change-over of book stock.

Floodlighting Parliament House. Preparations are being made for ths floodlighting of Parliament House at Chri.stmas. The new building is to be lit with a soft amber colour. The old wooden building, contrasting as it does in architecture, will also contrast in lighting, as red is to be its colour. Gear Island.

Special attention was being given to Gear Island in the Hutt. Valley plan being prepared by the Government Town Planner, stated- the Minister of Internal Affairs, Mr. Parry, in advice read at last night’s meeting of the Wellington City Council.

Christmas Day Pictures. Permission to show pictures for one night session only on Christmas Day was granted by the Wellington City Council last night. H akso granted permission for a play to be given at the Opera House on Christmas night. This was stated to be a detective drama, suitable for all classes of the public. Sunday School on Beaches.

.On the recommendation of its beaches committee, the Wellington City Council decided last night to agree to the request of a deputation from the Tory Street Hall Young People’s Committee urging it to continue to permit Sunday school services to be held on the city beaches.

War Correspondent. The likelihood of an Expeditionary Force war correspondent being appointed by the Government was mentioned by the Minister of Defence, Mr. F. Jones, in an interview in Auckland recently. Mr. Jones said that nothing had been done by Cabinet so far, but in the event of a decision to send a correspondent overseas all journalists would have an opportunity of applying for the position and setting out their qualifications for the appointment.

Army Officers’ Reserve. The Minister of Defence, Mr. Jones, stated yesterday that letters had been received in the War Office, London, from persons in New' Zealand, who previously had registered their names in the Army Officers’ Emergency Reserve, asking whether they should return to the United Kingdom. The Army Council desired it to be known that such persons should not return to the United Kingdom to serve, unless they were specially called with a view to being offered military employment.

Pheasants for Zoo. A request for five or six hen and two or three cock pheasants for the Wellington Zoological Gardens was received by the Wellington Acclimatization Society from the curator of the gardens, Mr. C. J. Cutler, at a meeting of the council of the society last night. The curator said the show varieties such as silver and gold, bred well at the gardens, and he thought the common varieties would do equally well. It was decided to accede to the request, if there was a surplus of birds available.

Killing by Magpies, Complaints about raiding on young birds by magpies was made by Mr. A. G. Winstone in a letter received by the council of the Wellington Acclimatization Society at a meeting last night. Mr. Winstone said that the magpies waited round the nests for young birds to leave, and then swooped down and killed them. Fortunately the magpie was too awkward to perch on the slender branches, when, the small fantails and riroriros built. Mr. Winstone said a large outside aviary containing mostly foreign finches at bis place was a source of interest to magpies.

More Motor Vehicles. At the end of September this year the number of motor vehicles licensed in New Zealand was 285,586, an increase of 12.479 on the figures at September 30, 1938. Of the total number 203,543 were cars. Between April ( 1 and October 31, states the Abstract of Statistics, motor vehicle accidents numbered 2426, 2156 of which were collisions of one sort or another. These accidents involved the deaths of 13; persons, while 1249 suffered serious injuries and 1876 minor injuries. Roughly speaking, therefore, one motor vehiclein every 140 during those seven months was involved in an accident of some sort.