NEWS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume CXV, Issue 10, 13 January 1933, Page 6

NEWS OF THE DAY

Capture of Otapawa Pa. Tho anniversaries of Maori war engagements are apt to bo forgotten in these days, so many other battles, tbo anniversaries" of which are remembered, having intervened. To-morrow, however, is tho 67th anniversary of the capture of Otapawa Pa, South Taranaki. Tbo pa was stoutly defended by more than 200 Hauhaus, but the British force under Major-General Chute, assisted by some friendly natives, dislodged the ; foe with tho loss of 11 killed and 20 wounded. A survivor of this engagement is a rosident of Wellington, Sergeant-Major E. Bezar, who will be shortly entering his 95th year.' Trip $ound Harbour. , Nearly 1100 people travelled on the Eastbourne Ferry steamer .Muritai when she made a daylight harbour excursion yesterday. It was one of the largest > passenger carries the steamer has made this season, and the docks were covered with people enjoying the sunshine. and the trip. At 10.30 a.m. the Muritai left the Wellington wharf for the Heads, and then returned to Day's Bay, where she arrived, at 1 p.m. After an hour spent ashore for' lunch and swimming the steamer cruised near Somes Island and proceeded to ; Miramar, after which she returned to Wellington, arriving at the wharf at 4 o'clock. The passengers took nearly 15' minutes, to disembark so great was their number. During the trip a jazz band, played, music, . ■ Training Upset. Training operations for ratings of H.M.S; Diomede, being carried out at Whangateau (Auckland), wore inter-" rupted by heavy, north-easterly weather (states an Auckland message). Th'o Dioinedo was forced to shift her anchorage from Omaha Bay to a sheltered anchorage at Kawau, but,before she sailed she- landed emergency provisions for the 112 ratings under canvas. _ The rough weather prevented the landing from the cruiser of a company of marines who_ were to have co-operated in an extensive programme, of field manoeuvres!- with the shore party and aircraft from the Hobsonville air base. These- exercises were cancelled. Kadio at National Park. An" important arrangement- which should prove of the utmost value in time of need has. just been ma.de between, the manager : of The Chateau, Tongariro National Park, arid the Badio Emergency Corps of Kaetihi, Members of the' latter organisation' are experienced in various phases of radio work and in the use of the Morso code, arid under the new arrangement would/ b6 available for instant! service in case of any emergency. While one member re-mained-at Tho Chateau with a ro^ eeiving sot, the others would move off to any .part of: the Park' required, talcing their .portable sets with them. They would thus be able to keep in close touch with headquarters, ana would save hours of valuable time in getting information direct to those in charge of operations'. ; '■■ ~: , . White Butterfly Pest. ' A serious view of the ravages of the white butterfly, which has gained a strong hold in the Hawkes Bay district, was taken by tho North Canterbury Executive,of the Farmers'. Union at a meeting on Wednesday, and a donotion <,f £1 was made to a fund established by the Hawkes Bay Agricultural and Pastoral Association for fighting the pest (states the "Christchurch Times"). The' Government is importing a, parasite to combat the insect and a considerable amount of research work has been done by Mr. J. Muggeridge in co-operation with the Department of Agriculture, ;The parasite:-has;t6 be imported from Europe, arid to "ensure a regular supply from time to time until , f-% is established, further funds are required. The chairman (Mr. Colin MeIntosh) said that it was very fortunate r that the white butterfly: had not yet .made its appearance in. North Canterbury. Once it became established it ; was impossible,to get rid of it and the fcest that could be hoped for, was to try •to- keep it in check. Tbo butterfly was ( ya ' serious menace: to -all cruciferous ' Crops. ■. ',■•.- . :. ...::' '. • Sailing 'Ships for Auckland. r' j '..^W^en the sailing ship Grace Harwar c ,called. at Auckland early last year she aroused.a lot of interest, and now three other sailing ships are on route to Auckland. The Finnish vessels Passat and Wmterhude are due at Auckland about the end of January or early in February frpni Seychelles Island with a cargo of-guano; Both Vessels were built in Germany, the Winterhude in .1898 and the Passat in 1911. The German fourniastedbarque Magdalene Vinnen is due at Auckland about the end of tbo month from Spain with a cargo of cork. Unless she docks, at Auckland for cleaning and painting, tho Magdalen© Vinnen will remain, only a short time in port, as she is flying light, and will proceed to, Brisbane and Sydney to load wool *°'Europe. - The Magdalene Vinnen; of d 476 tons, gross, is a steel vessel and ' was built by the famous firm of Krupp. in 1921. She has a four-cylinder engine, and made the fast time of 101 days to tliß'?t- Wheat raC- ?r<>ln'Australia A Heavy Shift. ; •Four huge transformers, each weighing about 21 tons, and formerly in use at the Penroso sub-station, will be .shipped from, Auckland by the Port next week to Wellington for installation at tie-. Melling sub-station at Lower Hutt (states the ■'■' Now -Zealand Herald"). The. transformers have to becam'ed, oa a 30-ton,trailer, drawn by a steam:roller, and the trip from Penrose to the wharf takes about-4f hours. Accordyiglyj the transportation is.carried out early in the morning when the roads are comparatively free .of traffic. The transformers were the first to bg installed at Penrose,"7 ■ and were ÜBed to "step down" power from Horahora'from 50.000 to 6600 volts. Ragwort Drive. The spread of ragwort in the Auek- ■ land province is causing alarm among • the farming community, and with the aid of the Unemployment Board a , drive has been organised to chock the spread of the weed, which has caused the death of many valuable milking cows and other stock (states ; tho "Star").. On one farm alone in , tho Otorohanga district 25 cows of a herd of 100 have died of ragwort ; poisoning, and tho remainder have all been more or less affected. There is i no known cure for tho malady that re- , suits from eating the weed, and it often happens that stock fall sick and gradually waste away,- months after ■ eating ragwort. . Until a year or two . ago there was little; ragwort in the province,outside of rough lands in the ' King Country, but the seeds of the plant have apparently been carried north by tho wind, and the weed is re- , ported from nearly every, county south of Auckland, and from coast to coast. In recent months there have been heavy ■ losses of stock, and the Unemployment . Board was asked to assist the county authorities by providing labour under the various Government schemes. This has been done, and as the plant is now in bloom it is being cut down, stacked . and burned, to prevent the spread of ; tho seeds. Extra men havo been sent , from Auckland, including A 2 men ■ classed "only fit for light duties." The most successful eradicator of the ; weeds is said to bo sodium chlorate, but the supply has proved unequal to tho demand, and so men have boon employed cutting the weed down preparatory to burning.