NEWS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume CIV, Issue 35, 10 August 1927, Page 8

NEWS OF THE DAY

Why Wellington is Windy. Addressing the Wellington Rotary Club, Archbishop Averill, of Auckland, solved the riddle why Wellington is more windy than Auckland. The northern city,' he remarked, had been said to be able to blow for itself so well that it needed no outside assist.ance. Wellington, on the other hand, was so modest that it needed outside assistance in the way of blowing. Another Name In Danger. There are many good Wellingtonians who cannot tell.offhand where Watts Peninsula is, and even residents of the Peninsula are not satisfied with the term. The Watts. Peninsula Municipal Electors' Association", which looks after the local interests of Miramar, Seatoun, and their environs, decided last night that the name is too vague and cumbersome to be practical, and resolved to alter it. "Miramar Progressive Association" was suggested tentatively, but further consideration will be given to tho matter at the nest meeting. No Cricket at Athletic Part, . Recently a letter was received by the Management Committee of the Wellington Rugby Union, inquiring as to the prospects of obtaining a wicket at' Athletic Park every Saturday afternoon for the playing of senior matches next season. At last evening's meeting of the Rugby Union Management Committee, the Grounds Committee, which considered the matter, reported that there was little prospect of Athletic Park being available for cricket next summer. Mention was made that the Park would be in use for some time yet. A good deal of work, would havo tobe done to make the turf suitable for cricket. It was decided to reply to the Wellington Cricket Association that Athletic Park would not be available for criekot next season. Tire Plant Needed. A reply to the Watt's Peninsula Progressive Association's letter to the Fire Board concerning a. new station for the district was received at the annual meeting of the association last night. The board stated that the purchase of a property in Miramar for the erection , of a fire station had been completed. The Fire Board had not been able to clear up with the City Council the question of ownership of the Central Station, and it was upon this that the whole organisation of the brigade would be based. When agreement has been reached with' the City Council the board would be able to go ahead with raising the necessary finance. The chairman of the association stated that the fire-fighting appliances of the district were very primitive.' The brigade had an ineffective hand-cart, and there were not enough alarm boxes. The growing demands of a large suburb, which had within its boundaries gas and oil plants, should receive the attention of the committee. New Zealand Goods. The Wellington Manufacturers' Association received a letter from the New Zealand Made Preference League (Auckland) yesterday in which the league asked if the association would favour the holding of a three days' exhibition in Wellington with the purpose of popularising New Zealand made goods. It was proposed that the exhibition, which would be held in the Town Hall in September, would take i the form of mannequin displays. The Wellington Association favoured the j idea, and the secretary was instructed ! to obtain further information from the Preference League. Preference to Local Goods. In a statement to the Press last night the chairman of the Stores Control Board (the Hon. K. S. Williams) dealt with the supply of New Zealand-made goods to Government Departments. Mr. Williams said that it was the policy of the Stores Control Board to purchase stores manufactured in New Zealand whenever they could be obtained of suitable quality. When this condition was fulfilled a generous preference was | allowed to Dominion manufacturers who were in competition with overseas manufacturers. Recently the board completed a number of contracts to the value of approximately £20,000 per annum, the whole of which would go to New Zealand manufacturers. A much larger number of contracts was now being arranged, and in every instance imported goods would have the amount of Customs duty payable added to their cost when a comparison with local prices was being made. The Minister added that the board, kept in close touch with manufacturers' representatives at the various centres, and where stores were found after test and analysis to be unsuitable the manufacturer was advised of the reason. Appreciation of this practice had been made by several of the principal chambers of commerce and manufacturers' associations. Island Bay's Playground. When Island Bay's children's playground is completed the residents may well claim that theirs is one of the biggest and best equipped in Wellington, probably in New Zealand. The ground space is roughly an acre, and though not dead level will in no way suffer from that, the easy slope rather improving the playground in regard to surface drainage. As it is to-day the 'ground is irregular in outline, but two properties on the north sido were recently purchased by the council, and in a month or, so these sections will be cleared and the playground extended. A flower and shrub border, bounded by big boulders on the street frontage and protected from youngsters' feet hy an ornamental netting fence along its inner edge, will be carried right round the playground. A twelvefoot pathway will divide the area roughly in two, and along it will be placed seats for adults, as the area is to bo a combined playground and rest park. Tho ono difficulty of any moment is to combat tho sand drift from the beach in heavy Boutherlies, but it is considered that this can bo done effectively by means of n. manuka fence on tho beiicli lino. Island Bay's successful campaign, which resulted in the raising of about £1000 for tho equipment of tho playground, and a share of Mr. Goo. Shirtcliffo's fund (the Bay gets £300) will combine to make a real improvement and to add a big attraction to the Bay, for residents and visitors alike;

Jame3 State Colliery. It is understood that the question of equipping the James State Colliery on the West Coast with more up-to-date plant is now under consideration. An official visit of inspection of the colliery was made this week. Tree Planting. The Forestry Department has projected a big planting scheme this seasou at Balmoral, where about 6000 acres will be planted with trees. One hundred men are engaged at that station, and about 60,000 trees a day are being planted (reports the Christohurch Press"). The strength includes 25 unemployed, for whose accommodation a special camp is established, and provision is to be made for another 20 unemployed. About 25 men are engaged at the Hanmer nursery lifting trees for planting and sales. About 800 acres are being planted at Hanmer, where about 30 men are engagIndustrial Art. A statement dealing with the work of the British Institute of Industrial Art was received at a meeting of the Wellington Manufacturers' Association yesterday. It was mentioned that the institute supplied apt designs 'for covera and labels for tin and glass containers, with the object of making the appearance of goods as attractive as possible, and to assist British articles to compete as successfully as possible with those of foreign manufacture. Designs would be supplied to manufacturers from the institute's headquart- j ers.at London. The statement «aid: "It is held by experts that a purchaser will often be attracted to a particular manufacture by the label on the tin and the form in which it is offered for sale." The Wellington Manufacturers' Association decided to bring the work of the institute to the notice of its members. Miramar Sections Tied TJp. Mr. E. O. Thornton, president of the Watts Peninsula Municipal Electors-" Association, stated at the annual meeting last night that Miramar 'a progress was retarded owing to the slow development of the State Advances Department's property in the vicinity of Broadway and Hobart street. Sections were in demand, but people had to go further out to obtain them. The Department was evidently "sitting" on the land, and waiting for a rise in prices. If the land was held back it would disorganise people who contemplated business, and might shift the centre of population. It was decided that the committee should approach the State Advances Department and ask for the opening of the area. Sickness In Schools. Every winter the attendance at schools are affected by epidemics among children, and the present winter has been no exception. Mr. C. E. Kirk secretary of the Canterbury Board of Education, states that schools in all parts of the district under the board's jurisdiction have suffered to a greater or less extent through mumps, measles, chicken pox, influenza, and colds since May, one school also being affected by some of its pupils suffering from scarlet fever (reports the Christchureh "Press"). Dr. T. Fletcher Telford, Medical Officer for Health for the district, stated in answer to an inquiry this week that there was a considerable i amount of measles and mumps about at present, but the position was not such as to cause alarm nor to necessitate any special precautions beiiif taken to cope with it. Foreign Markings. The secretary of the Dominion Federated Sawmillers' Association wrote to the Wellington Manufacturers' Association yesterday pointing out that there was no regulation or Act in New Zealand making it necessary for an article of foreign manufacture to be branded with the name of the country in which it was made, such as was necessary in England, under the Merchandise Marks Act. The association decided to take the matter before the conference of Manufacturers' Association with a view to obtaining the compulsory marking of foreign goods. Winter Show Date. Speaking at a meeting of the Manufacturers' Association yesterday, Mr. F. Campbell said he thought that if the date of the Winter Show was altered to Easter, it would be much better than in July, when the Worst weather of the year was experienced. There was nothing on at Easter in Wellington, and he thought that an exhibition starting a"bout a week bofore Easter and continuing towards the end of Easter week would be very popular. Mr. li. JJ. Partridge said tho Show had always been held to suit the Harbour Board. It was a question of getting the sheds. Mr. Campbell said he was referring more to the time when the Show Association would have its own building. Mr. A. L. Brookes raised the question of the difficulty of getting a staff at Easter. Mr. Campbell said he did not want members to vote on the matter just then, and suggested that they should keep it in mind till nest meeting. The Late Mr. Newton King. A well-known Taranaki farmer has offered a substantial donation as the nucleus of a fund to provide for a fitting memorial to the* late Mr. Newton King, says the "Taranki Daily News." It has been suggested that the Taranaki Agricultural Society should take up the matter and make the memorial an addition to the Winter Show buildings. Another suggestion is that the memorial should be a new pavilion, say for sheep exhibits, at the Waiwakaiho Showgrounds. The Finance Committee of the Agricultural Society is to consider tho question aDd submit a report. 'Senseless Larrikins. The officers of the Reserves Department of the City Council would be extremely well pleased to meet certain high-spirited persons who engaged in a window-smashing festivity in the Kilbirnie Reserve pavilion on the night of Thursday last, or, failing that, to hear from anyone else who knows anything of this stupid act of larrikinism. Ten windows of heavy gauge glass were smashed, notwithstanding that they were protected by netting against any moderate ill-treatment; lengths of spouting were torn down, and the fittings in one of the lavatories were torn ' away from the wall. It is not likely that this general smashing up could havo been done without making a considerable amount of noiso, but so far the larrikins are not known. One result of the raid is that in future the lavatories will probably be locked up at night. What a Xiot of Good They Do! The word "seagull" as pronounced by those in charge of the city's reserves, at this time of the year especially is almost invariably accompanied by an appropriate adjective, and when some hopelessly ignorant but wellmeaning person remarks: "What a lot of good they do," the reserves man returns a stony stare. The seagull does not do any great amount of good that the caretaker is able to recognise, but, on the contrary, he spuddles about and plays up generally with the turf. Boing gifted with a certain amount of working sense, moreover, ho confines his spuddling and worm searching to a patch et ground just big enough for him to manage, with other seagulls all round him managing their own particular patches, and after a long spell of wet weather the worm-searching operations change tho top soil to slush, with the grass well tramped under. No reserves man objects to any; amount of seagull—out at sea*