NEWS IN BRIEF

Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 97, 20 January 1944, Page 4

NEWS IN BRIEF

Pinehaven Fire The fire at Pinehaven, Silverstream, was described last night as “pretty 'yell finished off.” The last party.of soldier fire-fighters left the area yesterday morning. Angling at Taupo. A party of live American Army officers fishing at the Lake Taupo western buys in two and a half days eaught 107 tisll, mostly between the Waihuhu and Wliangauui streams. The largest ball was one of 111 b., but several of bib., Jib. and 101 b. were caught. Essay Prize. The Senate of the University of New Zealand, which is meeting in Christchurch, declared D. W. Oxuam (Christchurch) winner of the Arnold Atkinson essay prize. uMrs. Brenda Margaret Howel (Auckland) was highly commendcd. The subject of the essay was the Future of British Communities as Affected by Recent Developments. —P.A. Raft Drifts Ashore. # A raft made of balsa wood similar to that used in the manufacture of aeroplanes has been found at Stewart Island. It is 12ft long and Bft. wide, the sides mid ends consisting of five thicknesses of the wood. The corners are rounded, the raft being the shape of the rubber boats carried by aircraft. It has no handgrips or grab-lines and appears to be new and unfinished. Auckland Water Problem.

An application by the Manukau County Council to the Otahuhu Borough Council for assistance in maintaining its water supply is the first positive indication Of the' seriousness of the present water shortage round Auckland. The position is not as serious in the metropolitan area as in the areas under the care of the various county councils. Particularly affected is the Mangere market gardening area. Dear Toiiiatoes.

During December tomatoes of good gimllty were being advertised for sale in Melbourne (Victoria) at 561bs. for 5/6, whilst in Wellington the price was 2/per lb. retail. Even how, at the end of six weeks of very warm weathMvtomatoes are still selling retail in Wellington at from 1/- to 1/6 per lb., probably dearer than they have ever been at this time of year. Scarlet Fever. . Twenty-four cases of scarlet fever in the Canterbury district were reported to the Health Department during the past week. Fifteen were in the city area. Two were at the Sumner health camp; two at New Brighton; and one at Lyttelton. Three other cases were notified from Ashburton and one from Southbridge. During the previous week 13 cases of scarlet fever —eleven' in the city area—were reported. Tourist Traffic. The traffic to the tourist resorts during the holiday period, DecemberJanuary had eclipsed all records for several years past, said the Minister of Internal Affairs, Mr. Parry, yesterday. Rotorua, Waikaremoana and Queenstown were the resorts strongly favoured. A large rush. of people to the Chateau Tongariro would have taken place had it been possible to reopen the resort. Hotel Losses.

Auckland hotels and restaurants are losing hundreds of pounds’ worth of property every, week through petty pilfering by guests and customers. Though experiences differ, the general opinion is that thefts are increasing in spite of various preventive measures taken by managements. The pilfering is partly attributed to servicemen in search of souvenirs and to civilians seeking articles in short supply or unobtainable in the shops. West Coast Honey Crop. ■ < There is every sign of a good honey crop on the West Coast this season. The weather has been favourable for several weeks, and the rata vines, the chief Source on the West Coast, have been a mass of bloom in the principal honey areas. Clover has also been more extensive than in past years, and this will askist production. The past four or .five seasons have been disappointing and honey production has been barely payable. A Newspaper Sold. The sale of the “Otorohanga Times,” a weekly newspaper, and the attached printing business has beeh approved by the South Auckland Land Sales Committee. The vendor was Mr. Edwin Thomas Gordon, Otorohanga, and the purchaser was Mrs. A. M. Craig, Te Kuiti, the principal owner of the “King Country Chronicle." The price agreed to by the parties was £2139. The “Otorohanga Times” has been published for 27 years. Tennis Balls Production. “The production of tennis balls is now slower than before the holidays, and the outlook is anything but promising,” said Mr. S. A. Cleal, president of the Auckland Lawn Tennis Association, on Tuesday. “The work has just recommenced and there are only half a dozen women on the job at present. About 30 dozen balls a week are being manufactured, and the only way in which the output can be speeded up, and the whole of New Zealand supplied with balls in anything like reasonable time, is fbr more voluntary labour to come forward.” Tinned Turnips.

The long spell of hot and dry weather in Central Otago has made the country, specially where there is no irrigation, look very 'burned up, and feed is short on many farms. A well-known Dunedin firm has recently come to the rescue by placing on the market tinned turnips, and the line is prominently displayed, in retailers’ windows. But whether this commodity is only for domestic use or is to take the place of the usual'fodder erop 'for sheep is not made clear in the display. Sheep-shearing Record Claimed. A new world record for sheep-shearing is claimed on behalf of Mr. Henry Thomas Tuwhangai, aged 47, Kawhia, who shore 417 ewes in nine working hours. The record was established on the farm of Mr. 11. Robinson, I’utaruru, under the supervision of Mr. -A. R. Vos-. per, J.P. Previous records were claimed for My. P. de Malmanche, who shore 412 sheep in 10 hours in South Taranaki in 1933. Before that the figure stood, at 406 sheep in the same working period. A good average for nine hours’ shearing is 220 sheep. Manufacture of (Moves. Gloves are the Worry of a great many women. For the past three years stocks of imported goods of any quality have been in very short supply, and in the case of many stores non-existent. In this predicament manufacturers have been doing their best to supply the market with substitutes for best leather and kid gloves, and gradually are improving the quality and cut of their products. Tlie price of these gloves is possibly three times that of imported peace-time gloves, and cut and style are not comparable, but it. looks like the dawn of a new industry in this country. Raspberries in Keen Demand. «Not a third of the quantity of sort fruit, raspberries especially, is reaching the public markets this season that usually comes to, hand at this time of the year. There is a fixed ceiling price for raspberries (1/1J per lb.), and any supplies which do come to hand are rushed by the buyers, in some cases before they are off the trucks at the door, on account of the keen demand. The growers, on their part, hold that the ceiling price, in this instance, is too low to allow for a fair profit, and so they have sought other buyers for their produce, who are prepared to pay a little more. This does not augur too well for industrious housewives in the city who like to make their own stocks of jam at this time of year. Worth of Volunteers. The value of volunteer fire brigades in districts not large enough to maintain full-time paid brigades has been well proved by the Upper Hutt and Silverstream brigades. In the past five weeks they have dealt with 30 outdoor fires in the Upper Hutt borough and, with the Stokes Valley brigade and soldier and civilian helpers, played a big part in fighting the serious fire at Pinehaven. Ao homes suffered in the fires in the borough. though in the outbreak which swept the subdivision area between Mason’s store, Silverstream, and the Heretaunga post office, part of the .exterior of one house got a mild scorching. The fires have largely started on vacant areas which it has not been possible to clear because of the labour shortage, lhe fires did the clearing, but at the expense of the efforts of firemen and helpers. Last night there was a short-lived outbreak in the gorse of the Hutt riverbed near the golf course at Heretaunga.