NEWS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume CXXIII, Issue 56, 8 March 1937, Page 8

NEWS OF THE DAY

Artists' Opportunity.

The desire of many New Zealand artists to establish themselves abroad, so that tiiey were lost to their own country, was criticised by Mr. S. J. Lamorna Birch, R.A., when passing through Christchurch. Mr. Birch praised the' endeavours of young artists to obtain training and experience in Europe, but he considered that many failed .to realise how much excellent material there was for artists in the Dominion. The quality of the work he had seen in New Zealand was very high, but he thought that there was an • opportunity for more figure work. The life of the people, of New Zealand could be as distinctive a subject for its artists as the landscape of the Dominion. Link With H.M.S. Orpheus. One of those who were present at the launching of H.M.S. Orpheus, which was lost on the-Manukau Bar in 1863, was Sir Frederic Lang, whose death occurred at Hillsborough on Friday (states the "New Zealand Herald"). Sir Frederic's father, Mr. Oliver. Lang, of Blackheath, was a naval architect, and supervised the building of the vessel on the River Medway, a tributary of the Thames. His son, who was a small boy at the time, little suspected that for the last 32 years of a long life his home would be not many miles from the spot where the Orpheus met her fate. Sir Frederic was not in New Zealand when the disaster occurred, but arrived nine years later. Blood Transfusion Service. Since the institution of a blood transfusion service by the Auckland St. John Ambulance Association at the beginning of October, 111 donors have been typed and classified, and 66 transfusions given (states the "New Zealand Herald"). This service was organised at the request of the medical superintendent of the Auckland Hospital (Dr. W. Craven), and is capable of furnishing a donor of any type within 15 minutes of a call. Calls are made direct to the association headquarters in Rutland Street, where, if necessary, transport is provided. "The association is proud of this service," said the secretary-manager, Mr. S. E. Langstone, on Friday. A Big Explosion. Accompanied by a roar heard for many miles, more than 30,000 tons of granite was blown from a cliff face in the Oparara quarry at Karamea on Wednesday by the firing of two tons of explosives, one of the biggest blasting charges ever set off in the South Island. ' The object was to provide stone for the training walls being built at the mouth of the Karamea River as part of a £75,000 river protection and harbour improvement scheme at present being done by the Public Works Department. It is thought that enough stone has been made available for the next eighteen months. The firing of the shot was a culmination of two months and a half of patient work, during which a tunnel was driven into a cliff face for 25 feet, with two crosscut tunnels. "A Little Quicker." Three times in 35 years Captain R. G. England, veteran of three Antarctic Expeditions, has visited New Zealand. He has watched with keen interest the progress of the Dominion during that period, and his brief comments are therefore of value and interest. "It sometimes strikes me that New Zealand is further ahead than should be expected for its age and population," commented Captain England, who last visited the Dominion on a health trip fifteen years ago," says the "Auckland Star." "You are putting into practical effect immediately what other countries are coming to. The only difference is that you have gone a little quicker than the others. >' Everything appears to be going smoothly at the moment. We can only watch and hope that all goes well. There may be mistakes, but you can only learn through mistakes." Aeroplane at a Bowser. The unusual spectacle of an aeroplane parked on the main road and taking in petrol from the village bowser attracted practically everyone at Tokoroa, a country township on the Putaruru-Taupo road, early last week, says the "Wanganui Herald." It was a Moth aeroplane, belonging to the Western Federated Flying Club and piloted by Mr. W. H. Lightband, New Plymouth, who had with him as passenger Mr. J. Cheshire, Waitara. Returning from a flying visit to Rotorua they encountered foggy weather and decided to make a landing at Tokoroa to refuel and get their bearings. A landing was made in a small paddock on Mr. H. L. Pearson's property near the Tokoroa dairy factory, the aeroplane just avoiding a fence. Helpers arrived and the aeroplane was towed behind a lorry to the bowser and refuelled. Then it was lowed lo a larger paddock where a good take-off was made for Te Kuiti and New Plymouth.

Lord Bledisloe's Garden. In a letter which he sent to the president of the Auckland Horticultural Society (Mr. T. E. Hickson), who read it at the opening of the society's dahlia show in the Auckland Town Hall on Thursday, Lord' Bledisloe remarked that he had been very successful in growing New Zealand plants in his garden, and that he hoped to have a great many of them. He also said he had gained much pleasure while in New Zealand from his visits to the society's shows and wished it good luck for the future. Retiring Age for Policemen. A suggestion that officers of the Police Force should be retired at 60 years of age instead of 65 was warmly supported when it was made to the. annual conference of the New Zealand Federation of Justices of the Peace Associations at Christchurch on Friday (states the "Press"). The proposal was made by Mr. A. Williams, who said that policemen were penalised five, years by the rule about the age for starting. Civil servants could start work at the age of 16, but a policeman had to be 21. Policemen did all sorts of duties which the general public knew nothing about, and worked all sorts of hours, and they were entitled, just as other people were, to spend the latter years of their life in peace and quietness. The suggestion, which was embodied in a remit, was unanimously approved, and will be brought before the Government. Government Houses at Miramar. The first actual work on the site, of the Government housing scheme in the Miramar block is now being done by Messrs. Higgins and Arcus, • who - are outlining foundations for the first of the thirty-eight houses which they have contracted to build. These houses will be on the eastern side of Crawford Green, on either side of the Quadrant, and in Ira Street. The Fletcher Construction Company also has a contract for the building of Government houses at Miramar, and these fifty-two homes will be built on land to the .west of Crawford Green. The sections range from 40ft to 60ft frontage, with depths of up to 120 ft and more. All the houses will be of the cottage type, and those of the first contract will be finished in a brick veneer to the roof line, with tiled roofs. The joinery for the Higgins and Arcus contract is being supplied from the factory of Mr. J. W. Andrews, Lower Hutt. All the land acquired by the Government for its housing areas about Wellington is flat. To Prevent Election Farces. Apparently somewhere in the South Island a candidate has withdrawn from a local body election at the last moment, so making the election a farce, for it had "to-be .held, under present legislation, though in'fact only the required number of candidates remained. There are two remits for the annual Municipal .Association conference on this point, the second of which proposes that any candidate who retires from an election after noon on the day fixed for the nominations should forfeit his deposit. To that remit there is this note:—"A, candidate who puts a municipality to the expense of printing and other expenditure in connection with an election should pay therefor, if he withdraws after the nomination day. If he is subject to no such penalty there would be no deterrent to a candidate leaving his withdrawal until the last moment merely for the purpose of embarrassing his opponent and heedless of the work and . trouble entailed on the Returning Officer, his assistants, and all concerned.''