NEWS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume CXXVI, Issue 102, 27 October 1938, Page 8

NEWS OF THE DAY

Free Ambulance.

On the recommendation of the wharves and accounts committee, the Harbour Board last night agreed to a grant of £300 to the Wellington District Free Ambulance for the year 1938-39. Shark Attacks Whale. A fight between a whale and a shark was witnessed on the Te Kaha side of Waihau Bay, near Cape Runaway, by several Opotiki residents. When the whale was first seen it was making in the direction of Opotiki, but as the battle progressed it changed direction and made off towards Te Kaha. The whale was very close inshore and came up to blow on several occasions, while the shark was seen to leap right out of the water. . More Strawberries on Sale. Increased supplies of strawberries came forward at the Auckland city markets on Tuesday, and prices were lower in consequence, states the "New Zealand Herald." Even the slight rainfall. ■of • the last few days has had a beneficial effect on the growth and quality of the fruit, most of which is from the northern side of the harbour. The popular Captain Cook variety predominated in the supply offering, the tendency seemingly being for this kind to. replace the once more popular Marguerite. Waipori Runs Trials. Cabled advice has been received by the Union Steam Ship Company that their new cargo steamer Waipori, which was launched from the yards of Messrs. Hawthorn, Leslie and Co., at Newcastle-on-Tyne on July 28, carried out successful trials on Friday last, and sailed on Tuesday for Rotterdam to load for New Zealand. The Waipori is a vessel with a deadweight cargo capacity of 6000 tons, built for the intercolonial trade, and her service speed will be 12 knots. Commodore's Thanks. A letter addressed to him as chairman of the Wellington ' Harbour Board from Commodore Glennie, H.M.S. Achilles, was read by Mr. C. M. Turrell at last night's meeting of the board. "On the conclusion of my final visit to Wellington before H.M.S. Achilles returns to England to recommiosion," stated the letter, "I wish to thank you and the board for your kind consideration to us and the readiness with which we have been accorded the facilities of the port. We shall always have pleasant memories of our visits to your very fine harbour." Miraculous Escape. A miraculous escape was experienced by three adults and a child when the car in which they were travelling was destroyed by fire on Monday afternoon, 17 miles north of Taupo, on the main highway to Auckland, says a Taupo correspondent. The car contained Mr. H. Kuchen, driver, Mrs. Thompson and her daughter, all of Island Bay, Wellington, and Miss Goodrick, of Palmerston North. It was proceeding from Auckland to Wellington when it skidded and overturned and immediately burst into flames. Mr Kuchen had some difficulty in opening the door, but eventually succeeded and quickly got the other passengers out, but not before- they had all received minor burns and scratches. Mrs. Thompson's daughter, a child of 12, also suffered a fractured right shoulder. New Wharf Store. A new store for the Wellington Harbour Board ■■) is under construction at Aotea Quay. The concrete work is well in hand, but a start has not yet been made with the steel work. At last night's meeting of the board, the chairman (Mr. C. M. Turrell) reportled that the tender of Messrs. William 'Cable and Co., Ltd., for the fabricaition and erection of the structural steel required for the store for the sum of £15,212 19s 9d had been ac[cepted. He added that 30 per cent, of the steel to be used would be from Great Britain and the balance from Australia. If the whole of the steel were obtained from Great Britain, it would have meant an increase of £2500 in the contract price. On this advice he had authorised the, acceptance of the tender. Ships and Cargoes. In reviewing the trade and shipping statistics for the port of Wellington for last month, the chairman (Mr. C. M. Turrell) stated at last night's meeting of the Harbour Board that decreases were shown in the tonnages of trading vessels arriving and cargo1 handled, when compared with the month of September, 1937. The net tonnage of trading vessels .arriving was 286,357 tons, a decrease of 45,368 net tons. The cargo handled was 185,858 tons as compared with 211,274 tons, a decrease of 25,416 tons. The principal decreases were in imports from British and foreign ports, 4052 tons; general cargo exports, 10,787 tons; imports of oils in bulk, 12,246 tons; and butter, cheese, and frozen meat shipments, 3916 tons. An increase of 2642 tons was shown in general cargo imports from coastal and Australian ports. German Cargo Service. The Hamburg-America Line's cargo steamer Naumburg, which is completing discharge at Dunedin, is to leave this week for Australia to start her loading and will return to the Dominion early next month to inaugurate the new direct service between New Zealand and Germany. This regular service is to be conducted conjointly by the Hamburg-America Line and the Norddeutscher Lloyd and will offer the first regular connection between the two countries since before the war. The Naumburg will be back at Auckland from Australia on December 9, and will load at Napier and Wellington as well. She will leave here about December 19 for Dunkirk, Antwerp, and Bremen. She will be followed by the Goslar, which will come from Australia to load here, and the Gera, which is en route to New Zealand from New Orleans. The ships in the new service will take cargo for ports in the Continent other than those mentioned and will call at New York if sufficient inducement is offered. This call will mean only about two days' deviation.