NEWS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume CXXVI, Issue 3, 4 July 1938, Page 8

NEWS OF THE DAY

Free Rides on State.

Apart from the invited guests, who had the privilege of making the first | run on the electrified Johnsonville I line on Saturday, the public were allowed free trips. The second train, I which made only one stop, at KhanI dallah, did the run in 16 minutes dead, three minutes less than the scheduled time. Trains were run until 6 p.m., j and the privilege was fully availed of, particularly by children, some I people, not realising, that they were on the last train, finding themselves at the wrong terminal and having to be repatriated. To test the signalling system thoroughly, trains were run i yesterday also, the public again being ! given free rides, and all enjoyed the' | smooth-running, speedy method of travel. Trains were running perfectly to time-table today, and the service [proved fully adequate for the morning peak loads. New Post Office. Plans have now been completed for i a new central post office at New Plymouth, and it is expected that tenders for the work will be called soon. At the present time an old cottage, one of the few remaining relics of early New Plymouth, is standing on the site of the proposed new building. A suggestion has been made that portions of the cottage, which is stated to be 97 years old, should be placed in the Taranaki museum. Echo of Railway Disaster. Among the many miniature silver cups that were neatly arranged for presentation to successful oarsmen at the annual smoke concert and prizegiving ceremony of the Star Boating Club on Saturday was one bearing the name of L. W. Stroud, won through victory in the Fitzgerald Memorial fours. The award, however, was a posthumous one, as the winner of the trophy was one of the victims of the Ratana railway disaster. After Mr. Stroud's name was called, the club president (Mr. A. D. Bayfeild) paid a tribute to his memory and all present stood in silence for a moment as a mark of respect. "Fleeced Eight and Left." "The public is fleeced right and left and in many ways. Mistakes of this nature always seem to be against the public," said Mr. Harrison, S.M., at Newtown Court, Sydney, when dealing with several weights and measures prosecutions. In one case a baker was fined £9 9s and had to pay costs for a batch of 192 loaves being deficient in weight by 189oz. A fuel dealer was fined £2 and had to pay costs for selling firewood in sacks of 431b instead of 561b the trade weight, at Is 3d per sack. Train Strikes Cream Can. Passengers on the south-bound New Plymouth express on Thursday of last week were unpleasantly disturbed by the sound of rending metal as the train passed the siding at Smart Road. It was subsequently discovered that the noise had been caused by the overhanging parts of the engine striking an empty cream can. The can had apparently been blown from the platform during the night and was lying near the rails as the train passed through. The only damage done to the train was the removal of a piece of wood from the step of the first carriage. Skiing in the South. Several good falls of snow have recently been experienced on the skiing grounds at Garston in Southland and the Southland Ski Club, which has doubled its membership during the past year, is looking forward to a very successful season. Hopes are entertained that one of the best skiing grounds in New Zealand will be opened up when the road from Milford Sound has been formed. On the Milford side of the Homer Tunnel the snow comes well down the mountain sides to the road, making skiing available with little distance to travel to the grounds. The Age Glacier in the vicinity comes down almost to sea level and the Alpine Club has recommended to the Public Works Department that a track be cut up the valley to give easier^ access to the glacier. I

Slips on New Roads. During the past few weeks a number of slips have occurred on thG Western Hutt and Haywards-Pahauta-nui roads. At no time has either of the roads been completely blocked, although motorists have suffered some inconvenience by one-way traffic having to be enforced. Slips are expected on new roads during the first rainy winter, but during the summer the steep banks should consolidate. Hybrid Swan. An object of curiosity at the monthly meeting of the Palmerston North branch of the "Wellington Acclimatisation Society, last week, was what was termed a hybrid swan, a rarity in this district, states the Manawatu "Standard." The swan was shot on Wednesday at Lake Huinia, near Himatangi, by a member of a party of sportsmen. The swan was a black and white specimen of about the normal size, measuring 55in from head to tail. It was the first of its kind shot in the district, said the chairman (Mr. E. G. Mathews), and there had been some speculation as to its breeding. It was the general opinion that it was not a cross between a black and a white swan. Benefit of Maori Huis. "The uninitiated are apt to think of the Maori hui as a mere time of feasting and thoughtless merriment," states the Rev. J. G. Laughton, of Taupo, in a report to the Missions Committee of the Presbyterian Church, "but without any doubt the Maori- hui is being used in these days by wise leaders as a means of propagating ideas most valuable for the health and future development of the race." Mr. Laughton was reporting after having attended the official opening at Wairoa of the Takitimu memorial meeting-house to the late Sir James Carroll. "These large gatherings," he said, "are serving their purpose in improving contacts between different sections of the race who were historically at enmity and in welding the whole people into one family." Publicity for Dominion. A photographic album illustrating scenic attractions of New Zealand has been prepared by the Automobile Association (Auckland) for dispatch to the Automobile Association (London). Containing 30 pages, the album measures 18in by 13in, and includes 99 photographs, states the "New Zealand Herald." The album is bound in brown leather and bears on the frontispiece the title "The Gem of the PacificColourful New Zealand." Each page has been titled with hand lettering by the association's sign-posting staff. A page has also been devoted to the association's activities in Fiji. It is hoped that the album will serve as a valuable medium of publicity for the Dominion. Canvas "Houses." Housing is an acute proposition in practically every centre in the Dominion, but the experience in Te Awamutu, one of the most progressive of the country towns, is perhaps the most striking of any,- states a correspondent. For many months, about 26 families have been living in temporary canvas and timber structures on the Automobile camping ground. One of these residents was in Wellington recently, and showed a picture of her "fiveroomed residence." It certainly looks "temporary," but she says it is extraordinarily comfortable though preferable in the summer. This place has been in occupation for. over six months. Meantime the Government Housing Department has put in hand a considerable number of houses and the power board a total of ten, so that before long it is expected that the worst of the demand for accommodation will be met. "More Like a Dug-out." Matters in which Mr. W. B. Fitchett, a member of the board, considers the Wellington College Board of Governors should give attention to are improvements to the prefects' and masters' rooms at Wellington College. At the recent meeting of the board Mr. Fitchett formally brought the position to the notice of the board by letter, in which he stated that he had raised the question at various board meetings, but had not been successful in getting anything done. In his letter Mr. Fitchett described the prefects' rooms as being more like a dug-out and out of keeping for a school such as Wellington College. He suggested that some plain furniture and two or three appropriate framed photographs on the walls would make the place more like what a prefects' room should be. The masters' room was very over-crowded and required some more furniture. The room for the masters at Firth House also needed improving. The chairman of the board (Mr. Len McKenzie) undertook to go into the questions raised in the letter.