NEWS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume CXXV, Issue 83, 8 April 1938, Page 10

NEWS OF THE DAY

Broom as Fire Extinguisher.

During the meeting of the Board of Governors of tlie Hutt Valley High School last evening, a loud report was heard, followed by a noise of falling glass On investigation it was found that the globe of the hall light, which had been left-on, had burst and the flex become ignited. A flame was spreading up to the roof, but prompt action with a broom soon extinguished it.

Centennial Medal.

A Centennial medal is to be issued by the New Zealand Numismatic Society in 1940. The medal will be on somewhat similar lines to the Waitangi-Bledisloe medal issued by the society in 1935, "but there will be no- limit to the number struck, and the medal will be available for purchase throughout the Dominion. _ It is hoped to secure symbolic and historic designs and to make the medal a lasting and attractive recognition of the occasion. Designs will be called for, and the following sub-committee has been elected to deal with the matter:—Sir James Elliott, Professor J. Rankine Brown, Dr. W. R. B. Oliver, and Messrs. J. Heenan, Johannes C. Andersen, H. G. Mayer, and Allan Sutherland.

Welcome Eain.

The rain which fell persistently and at times heavily last night was very welcome, being, in fact, badly needed. For some six weeks the weather had been abnormally dry, the rainfall in March being only 95 points all told, whereas the March average is 320 points. Conditions, however, were not as serious as they might have been, February having been an abnormally wet month, with a fall of 632 points compared with a normal of 275 points. The ground therefore, although until last night there had been no really good rain for about six weeks, was not unduly parched. Last night's rain will be of great benefit to pastures and is just what the farmer and horticulturist were wanting.

TTTirty Thousaiid Dwelling: "Units.

The housing survey disclosed, stated the City Engineer, Mr. K. E. Luke, in his report to the Ctiy Council last night, that there are 21,050 private dwellings in the city of Wellington, each housing its own family -, unit. There are 3222 apartment-houses containing 8711 apartment units, and 713 boarding- and lodging-houses, a total of 24,985 buildings providing 30,474 dwelling units. Residential buildings not included in the survey are 51 hospitals, homes, etc., 84 hotels, hostels, and institutions, 56 caretakers' or other dwelling houses situated in the grounds of hospitals, institutions, schools, and reserves, and 72 dwelling quarters in banks, business premises, fire stations, etc.

Value of Conferences.

Those who doubt the utility of con-, ferences should study the tabulated results of the business done in recent years, said the Mayor (Mr. A. J. McCurdy) in his report to the Upper Hutt Borough Council on the recent municipal conference at New Plymouth. The remit figures for the conferences from 1933 onward were as follows:—Given effect to: 1933, 8 remits; 1934, 4; 1935, 10; 1936, 8; 1937 and 1938, a number included in new Bills. Total, 30. Approved- and to be given effect to: 1933, 7; 1934, 14; 1935, 10; 1936, 24; 1937, 37. Total, 92. Under consideration: 1933, 11; 1934, 6; 1935, 12; 1936, 32; 1937, 31.. Total, 92. Not approved: 1933, 33;' 1934, 13; 1935, 25; 1936, 17; 1937, 31. Total 119. A grand total of 333 remits was reported upon. Of the 119 remits not approved of by the Department or Cabinet, 46 were relinquished by the 1938 conference and no further action will be taken with them. The remaining 73 remits were referred to the executive of the association for further action and discussion with the appropriate Departments.

Dummy Detonators.^

Education boards are being supplied with charts containing dummy detonators and every school, public or private, is recommended to see that these charts are regularly used (states the "Education Gazette"). Schoolchildren continue to be seriously injured by real detonators and it is therefore imperative that every school child should know a detonator by sight, and equally necessary that every child should be warned to leave such dangerous objects entirely alone. Whenever a teacher knows that work involving the use of explosives is in progress anywhere near his school, a special warning should be given; but the work or its locality should not be mentioned. Every attempt is made to ensure that detonators are sold only to responsible people who will use them in a legal way, but some who use them for legal purposes are not sufficiently careful to see that all unused stocks are kept under lock and key. Such neglect causes them to fall into the possession not only of children, but also of people who intend to use them for illegal purposes and who naturally are even more careless in their disposition of unused stocks.

Poles Along the Stopbank.

The staff of the Hutt Valley Electric Power Board has almost completed the erection of poles along the stopbank for carrying additional power from the Melling sub-station to the new reclamation at the mouth of the Hutt River and adjoining industrial sites. However, there is still two months' work ahead in details of this work. The armoured cable, -which will carry 11,0.00 volts, is being placed underground between King's Crescent and the main traffic bridge. This cable is so strongly made that it will not need the usual protective covering. The engineer and general manager of the power board (Mr. E. F. Hollands) states that the erection of the poles has been attended with considerable difficulties because of the nature of tho country around the more inaccessible parts of the stopbank.

Trees Along Highway.

Trees, each bearing the name of an early settler, will flank the proposed Centennial highway to Akaroa if present plans are carried out (states the "Press"). Reporting to the executive of the Canterbury Progress League, the secretary (Mr. P. R. Climie) said that this was one of several proposals .for the new highway. The .paving of the whole road and elimination of many deviations had received enthusiastic support from local bodies, and it was proposed by the Akaroa people to ask the Minister of Public Works (the Hon. R. Semple), the Minister of Employment (the Hon. H. T. Armstrong), and the Minister of Railways (the Hon. D. G. Sullivan) to visit Akaroa and discuss the proposal. Mr. Climie was reporting on a conference of local body representatives held in ChristChurch.

Deer-stalking at Hanmer

With the coming of cooler weather deer are beginning to feed on the lower levels at Hanmer, and there has been "some excellent shooting in the last month (states the "Press"). One particularly good head was brought in by Mr. R. J. Galilee. The head, .which is considered to be the largest shot in the district for some years, is a 17----pointer, and has a span of 32 inches.

Totaras for War Canoes.

Three large totara trees in the Taupo district have been acquired by Princess Te Puea Herangi, of Ngaruawahia, and it is intended to use them to construct four war canoes for use in the Centennial celebrations. Bringing the trees to the railway will present difficulties, and a party of Maoris from the Ngaruawahia pa will leave for Taupo this week to arrange transport, i

Saved From Sinking.

The Showboat cabaret at the seawall in Mechanics' Bay, Auckland, was saved from foundering on Wednesday for a third time when it was found that water had entered the ship overnight, covering the dance floor on the lower deck to the extent of a foot (states the "New Zealand Herald"). Two pumps, each discharging 2000 gallons of water an hour, were manned, and the cabaret was cleared late at night. The cause was traced to the attacks of marine borer, which had entered -the end of seams above the copper sheathing of the ship's bottom. Temporary patches were put in place, and a full examination will be made of the bottom when the cabaret is resting on the sea-floor at low water at the next spring tide.

Fading Memories.

"It is the'experience of medical men and psychiatrists that after 45 years of age the memory of most people begins to fade, and the first things to go from the memory are events of recent origin," said a medical witness in the Auckland Supreme Court on Wednesday, when asked to explain a minor oversight on his part (reports the "New Zealand Herald"). "That does not, appear to correspond with most people's ordinary experience," was the comment of Mr. Justice Fair.

Dogfish Good to Eat.

Many people in New Zealand eat dogfish without knowing it, according to Mr. David Graham, formerly of the Marine Fisheries Investigation Station at Portobello, who gave an address- to the Canterbury branch of the Royal Society of, New Zealand (states the "Press"). Dogfish sold well in Christchurch and Auckland, he said, and the demand often exceeded the supply. There was no reason why it should not be eaten, for it was a clean-living fish, with crabs as a large part of its diet, and the flesh was good. "I can support that," said Mr.* Edgar Stead. "Dogfish are very good to eat. I have eaten them often."

Homer Tunnel.

Although good progress is being made with the bottom heading which is being driven* along the line of the Homer tunnel, and this progress is likely to be increased before long, it is as yet impossible, owing to the uncertainty of the working seasons, to estimate when either the heading or the main tunnel will be completed to the Milford Sound side of the Homer saddle (states a correspondent). The District Public Works Engineer (Mr. P. Keller) stated on Wednesday thatfuture progress would depend on the weather experienced in that region, but he was inclined to agree with a statement recently made that the tunnel would be finished somewhere about 19^2.

Motor Laws in Norway.

"How is tlie law in New Zealand regarding leaving the key in a motorcar?" Captain Mathisen, master of the Norwegian tanker Noravind, asked the presiding Magistrate at the Lyttelton Magistrate's Court on Wednesday (states the "Press"). Captain Mathisen was acting as interpreter for four members of his crew, who were charged with converting a motor-car to their own use, and obtained leave to ask the question. He was informed that there was no law on the subject "In my country," he informed the Court, "if I leave the key in my car I would be fined about £10 in your money, or else they would put me in." "You seem to have some very sensible laws in Norway," commented the Magistrate (Mr. F. F. Reid).

Gift to New Plymouth,

Eight steel engravings depicting scenes in the town of Plymouth, Devonshire, in the middle of the nineteenth century, have been offered to the town of New Plymouth by Mr. C. J. O'Keefe, of Mount Eden, Auckland (states a New Plymouth correspondent). The Mayor of New Plymouth, Mr. E. R. C. Gilmour, has gratefully accepted them. Writing to the Mayor making the offer, Mr. O'Keefe said that, as New Plymouth had taken its name from'the English town, he believed the pictures would be of particular interest to the district. He suggested that they might be hung iri the Council Chambers or some other suitable place.

Main Highways.

With the construction of 310 miles of main highways in rural areas during the past twelve months, the total length completed in the last three years is 770 miles. The Minister of Transport (the Hon. R. Semple) said last night that during the' construction year just beginning it was intended to continue and accelerate the road paving so as to provide better and safer transport facilities in districts which were now handicapped by dusty highways. The improvement in this direction had been extensive, and today over 2400 miles of the main highways could be travelled without suffering the dust nuisance." Motor traffic has increased so much during the last three years that the extension of dustless paving assumes a degree of urgency," said Mr. Semple. "Highway paving is not a luxury, but in the interests of safety and economy is a necessity. Where more than 200 or 250 vehicles use a road daily it is "sconomical to lay down a paved surface."