NEWS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume CXVI, Issue 83, 5 October 1933, Page 10

NEWS OF THE DAY

Pipi-wharauroa. It is timely to fceall the Maori way of describing the season of rebirth: "Ka, tangi to pipi-wharauroa, ko to karero 6 Makuru.":. In "Now Zealand Kailways ikagazine" this is •• translated by "Tohunga" as fellow's:—"The shining cuckoo cries, the messenger of spring." In Wellington,'sometime about now, the shining cuckoo should be heard, 'spring's herald bird. , Boys In the Kitchen. ■ Weekly cooking lessons for boys attending the agricultural classes at the Otahuhu Technical High School have been inaugurated. '',} The' idea is to give the a. practical course of plain cooking which will be ipf value in later years," stated one ..-pi: the masters. The-sight of the lioys at work in the kitchen has,caused some amusement among the-girl pupils. , Maori Huis. > ! Two largo huis,- or Maori meetings, will be held early next year, and the Natives are already discussing arrangements, , writes the "Poverty Bay Herald's" Tikitilci correspondent. On January 15 the large, now -carved house (ft Tokoniaru Bay will bo opened. This house is built on the same lines as that of Te Poho-o-RawhJ. Tho other hui will bo held at the Bay of Islands on February 6, when another carved whato will bo opened. This is being erected to commemorate the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi. All tribes are invited to attend, A steamer or two will be chartered to convey the East Coasl tribes to the Bay of Islands. Old Age in the Hutt Valley. A reference to old ago in tho Hutt Valley was made by his Excellency the Governor-General (Lord Blcdisloc)' when opening the Hutt Flower Show . last month. Hii Excellency said with reference to Mf: 1L Poolo", aged 83, one of the oldest exhibitors'at, the show, that "whatever eighty-five might mean in* the Old Land, it is not an unduly old age in. New Zealand, and least <if all in the Hutt Valley." Verification of his Excellency's remarks about old ago in the Hutt Valley is provided by reference'to the files of the "Evening Post" between September 2 and October 2, for thirteen deaths are reeordod during that -period of people over seventy years of age living. between Petone arid Upper Hutt. Tho average age was 784 years, and six of the thirteon were over 80 years of ngc. 'Eight of the thirteen were men. The oldest woman waa aged 89 years, and tho oldest man 87. Sunday Washing. "Tho wife' often plays games all the weekdays, and then, when the husband is home on Sundays, she gets him to help with tho- washing and hang the clothes on the, line. The habit has become so common, oven in what is known as choice localities, that house rents have depreciated because of a ]oss of 'tone,' " said a houscowncr who has a goai deal of property in many parts of tno city (records the Auckland "Star"*). He -was explaining that to overcome the habit he nowhas a clause inserted in every lease- forbidding Sunday washing. He had been surprised that so far not one person, had objected to the restriction, because most- of all it showed want of management on behalf of the- housewife. Only those who had property knew how washing on Sunday offended tho public eye, and how many tenants refused to take a house near where it was practised. ' Guardian of the Pacinc. "So far as I can see, unless thcro is a burjst np in tho Pacific in tho next two or three years, it will have to be settled by some other nation than the United States," said the Bey. E. L. Williams, of New York, referring to conditions in the Pacific during an address to members of the Timam Eotary Club, states the "Herald." "Since 1 came to Timaru I have not been' able to sleep for fear that the Japs will be coming here next week £o wipe v.h out," Mr. William* remarked amidst laughter, but ho admitted that the problem of tho Japanese was a very serious one. Ten, or even five, years .ago any trouble in the Pacific would hay.c been taken to heart very quickly by America because, at that time, she was doing her best to project the interests of her financiers who had large investments in China and the East, but there has been a great change since then, and the greater part of the investments had been written off. If tho Democratic Party was going to be in power for a number of years that psychology would be changed still more. "America is drawing in her horns considerably, and is retreating from tho Pacific as fast as she can," said Mr. Williams. America was keeping a navy in the Pacific, but that was more with the idea of making Japan think twico before fighting than of fighting Japan. The navy was concentrated at the naval base at Honolulu. Referring to the Philippine Islands, which are a dependency of tho United States, Mr. Williams said that under a recent Act they were to be given their independence in twelve years' time, but thcro was a party in America which would give them freedom tomorrow, owing partly to the fact that it realised that America had made a bad bargain and partly to a desire to bo free of any responsibility in the Pacific, \ _

Wellington Aero Club. During September the total flying time of the-Wellington Aero Club's machines . was HShrs oOmin, flying having been possible on twenty-two days. Twelve cross-eounti-y flights wcro made. Some months ago an invitation was received from the Nelson Aero Club for the Wellington Club to organise and run a flying display at Nelson in connection with tho opening of the new aerodrome at Stoke. The invitation has been accepted, and the display will be held on October 28. All; the available Wellington Club machines will visit Stoke for 'the occasion, and ifc is anticipated that there will also be two machines from tho West Coast and one from Blenheim. Town Hall Concert Chamber.' Though a few years ago some alterations were .made to the stage at the Town Hall Concert Chamber, the work done was not sufficiently extensive to give nearly all the facilities desired, nor indeed was that' claimed at the time, and there have been discussions between council officers and those who use- the Concert Chamber as to further improvements. The alterations so far made consist in the erection of a false proscenium a few feet forward and an extension of the stage, but tho difficulty of lack of wings remains. It has been suggested that this should be to some extent remedied by taking out the plaster side walls of tho original stage, so making, available space at present used for dressing-rooms. The value of the proposal is recognised, but it is doubtful if anything can be done,this year,-as there are at present no funds for such work. A considerable improvement in comfort has been made by the provision of cushioning on the removable chairs in tho .auditorium. Tho cushions, ■ eac^i covering a rank of six or eight chairs, arc wool-stuffed.and arc covered with brown hessian. Whether the ground-floor chairs of the main hall are to be-cushioned will be decided later. Work in New Zealand Timbers. Speaking -at the- opening of tho annual exhibition of the New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts last evening, his Excellency Lord Bledisloe congratulated Mr. Nelson Isaac on his enterprise in contemplating an annual exhibition, or periodical exhibition, of handicrafts in Wellington. "We have had recently," said His Excellency, "quite a fine exhibition of old furniture and engravings, and it was a great delight, expressed on the part of many lovers of old curios and furniture, to have the opportunity-presented of f seeing good works of art of that character. Wei!, as I: have a firm belief that there is great scope for really beautiful work being executed in some of youv magnificent timbers which this country possesses, I hope that, if £ox no other reason, specimens of good handicraft of that character will froni time to time -be available for exhibition in this country." Blackberry Blight. Tho effect of a blight upon patches of blackberry is being shown in a fairly extensive area in the Waipuku district. White, spores settle upon the leaves and stalks of the plant, the leave's curl, wither and die, and the effect is apparently to' kill the growth,, "says tho "Tiiranaki Herald." Specimons of nffec.ted vines were shown toI'Mr. : W. Harris, inspector of. noxious weeds, Stratford, and he identified the blight as raspberry cano wit, a disease that occurs regularly in various areas, killing', a?,cert&in amount of growth. .It had ■.bccn'.founq, Mr. Harris said, that while ,tlio .growth was certainly killed, the -transplantation- of affected .stock to unaffected areas had no effect, and even in patches that wero attacked the growth was just as strong the next year, the root-stock being -unaffected. Only young plants would ho permanently eliminated. ' Big Egg Shipment. The Commonwealth and Dominion Line steamer Port Hunter, which is at. present at Wellington, loaded a record shipment of 40,500 dozen eggs for London -while she was at Lyttolton. This total far exceeds the previous record shipment of 35,000 dozen eggs taken by the Mataroa early last month from Canterbury. The export of eggs from the provimjo this yoar is expected to bo in tho neighbourhood of' 200,000 dozen, and of those 95,000 dozen have already beeii shipped. Several further shipments will bo made before tho season closes at tho end of Novomber. Last^year 49,000 dozen eggs were exported from Canterbury. Tho reasonfor the great increase in export has been tho low cost of wheat in Cantorbury, which hat put poultry farmers in a very sound position. Tho Domini ion figures for eggs shipped overseas this year -will bo about 500,000 dozen. The Victory's Log. A photograph 'oi' the log of 11.M.5. Victory on tho day the Battle of Trafalgar was fougl/t has been presented to the Nelson City Council by Mrs. Grace Pox, -who obtained the copy from the British Museum for tho s purpose. The log was made by the sailing-master of the Victory, Thomas Atkinson. In a letter asking tho Mayor to accept the gift, Mrs. Fox states that an interesting story attaches to the fog. Thos. Atkinson kept in his possession the original (one presumes, of course, he put a copy in the log-book), and it got handed down from father to son for some generations. "When it was thought there were no- more descendants it was auctioned a few years ago'at Sotheby's, and was bought by ; an Englishman forover £1000 . and presented to the British Museum. It reached the big figure owing to tho fact that an American was also endeavouring to purchase it. Solo Flight to Hermitage. The distinction of being the first man to pilot a private aeroplane to the Hermitage has fallen to Mr. Thomas Corrigal, a young farmer of Hakataramea Valley, says the "Timaru Herald." Flying solo, Mr. Corrigal took off from theKurow landing ground on Monday in a Gipsy Moth belonging to the Oamaru Aero Club, and made a perfect landing at the Hermitage aerodrome 65 .minutes later, after & spfcndid. trip. From Curow Mr. Corrigal, followed the Waitaki River up to Lake Fukaki and from there followed the bed of the Tasman Biyer to the -landing ground, five miles short of the' Hermitage. Tho aeroplane was flown, at an altitude of 2000 ft,' and conditions were perfect. ".Th'etiip was first rate and the landing ground perfect. .No one need be frightened of snaking the trip with the landing ground there is here,"^said Mr. s Corrigal on his arrival at the Hermit"age! Mr. Corrigal has done only eleven hours solo flying since} he obtained his ticket. *.. ■'■■:■ A . ■■ ■ ■■ • ' New Plymouth's Dredge. After having been laid up at hor moorings at the port of Now Plymouth for nearly five months the dredge Paritutu recommenced work in the harbour on Tuesday, reports the "Taranaki Herald." Interviewed as to tho future of the Paritutu after her task is finished, Mr. C. E. Bellringcr, 'chairman of the Ne,w Plymouth Harbour Board, said that the vessel's certificate would expire in January, by which time the present undertaking would bo -finished, if the weather was favourable in the intervening period. The dredgo would then, bo laid up until about this time next yoar, when n trip to AVellington for overhaul would be made. The recent extensive overhaul had brought the Paritutu to such a pitch of efficiency', said Mr. Bellringer, that she would be able to meet nil likely demands for her services for some time to comei ■' _^