NEWS IN BRIEF

Dominion, Volume 33, Issue 147, 16 March 1940, Page 13

NEWS IN BRIEF

St. Patrick’s Day St. Patrick’s Day will be observed in Wellington on Monday by a Bank Holiday, as well as with customary festivities by local Hibernians. Patron saint of Ireland, Patrick lived about the beginning of the fifth century. Born in Roman Britain, he was carried off to Ireland by a party of raiding marauders under the Celtic king NiulL Noigiallach. After five years he managed to escape to Gaul in a boat engaged in tlie export of wolf-hounds. Subsequently he returned to Ireland as its first Christian missionary, and the first Bishop of Armagh, at a time when to be a missionary to the Iri.di was not unlike a similar role among the Maoris of New Zealand a century ago. Gifts for Airmen. Air Force Relations, the organization in New Zealand, with beadquarters in Wellington, which is responsible for dispatching gifts for New Zealanders serving with tlie Royal Air Force, has sent a further batch of comforts overseas. It consists of sweaters, balaclavas, gloves and other useful articles. Fire Alarm Defects. Tlie Wellington Fire Board’s electrician has discovered that in certain areas, after heavy rain, tlie fire alarm systems can not be expected to work perfectly as the insulation of the wires has perished. The Fire Board yesterday authorized the expenditure of £3O on new conduit to rectify the defect. Daylight Saving. Though daylight saving does not end till April 28, when clocks will go back half an hour, a number of inquiries regarding its termination have already been received. With Easter coming early this year, .people have become somewhat confused as to when the clocks will revert to standard time, as Easter is usually close to the time of the change. Mount Victoria Look-Out. The new look-out on Mount Victoria can never be shut out. Land has been secured which ensures a roadway approach to the vantage point for all time, and a good road has been made and surfaced round three sides of the site, with a turning point for cars on the western side, overlooking the city. It will be necessary for drivers to take this road carefully, as most of it is on a bend, and the fall-away is steep. Bounty of a Flood. The deluge of December, which did much damage in the Mangaroa Valley, left heaps of shingle in the paddocks. The quality of it as metal was praised at a meeting of the Hutt County Council vesterday and Cr. J. J. Usher, who said be bad a great quantity on his land, offered to give it to the council. The offer was accepted, but shingle left nicely graded in the creeks hr the flood is to "be carted away and dumped before freshes wash it away, and the shingle in the paddocks used later. Filling Up Gaps. So far the Wellington Fire Brigade has lost three permanent men and 17 auxiliaries through enlistments for war service. In view of the experience in the last war the superintendent, Mr. C. A. Woolley, brought down a report in which recommendations were made as to the reorganization of the brigade. This report proposed that certain auxiliaries be appointed to bring back the brigade to its right strength. Also that some system of training young men of about 17 years of age in brigade work, should be introduced, so that when men left or enlisted, there would be others to take their place. The board decided yesterday to consider the report with a view to discussing it at the next meeting.