NEWS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume CXXVIII, Issue 29, 3 August 1939, Page 8

NEWS OF THE DAY

The Queen's Birthday. Tomorrow, August 4, is the birthday of the Queen, which will be celebrated locally by the flying of flags and the firing of the customary salute from Point Jerningham. The Lady Elizabeth Angela Marguerita, daughter of the 14th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne, was born on August 4, 1900. On April 26, 1923, she married the second son of the then reigning King George V and became the Duchess of York. On December 11, 1936, King Edward VIII having abdicated, the Duke of York became King and the Duchess became Queen. The Coronation took place in the following summer. Strenuous Time For Shepherds. Sheep farmers from South Wairarapa state that the falls of snow recently and the frosts are the heaviest since 1918. They and their shepherds are having a strenuous time hunting up ewes which have got into the. gullies. The animals are in many cases unable to release themselves. The weight of the snow on their backs makes a strain on them which is serious in view of the early lambing. The Old School Tie. The wearing of the old school tie by those with no right to do so will be officially frowned upon if success attends the efforts being made by the Combined Secondary Schools Old Boys' Association, representing 27,000 former college boys, to have the registration of school blazers, badges, and colours made compulsory. At present only badges can be registered, the Royal College of Heralds in London being the authority. The Secondary Schools Old Boys' Association intends to seek legislation giving it the right to control the registration of school insignia and colours in New Zealand. The question is a wide one, as it may effect sports bodies also. Lambs Protected. Motorists passing a property on the main highway between Takapau and Waipukurau have remarked with amusement on the appearance of a flock of lambs, which have all been fitted with neat black covers to protect them from the rigorous weather, states the "Daily Mail." The farmer's solicitude for the comfort of his flock is, however, not entirely due to humanitarian motives, but more to the fact that the sheep are stud animals and therefore are particularly valuable. Youths and Rifles. A resolution recommending the prohibition of the sale of .22 rifles and placing them on the same level as revolvers was carried by the Manawatu provincial executive of the Farmers' Union yesterday, states "The Post's" Palmerston North representative. Members instanced the loss that was incurred through .22 rifles in the hands of youths who used their rifles indiscriminately. Mr. G. G. Mitchell said the most glaring case recently was that of a man who was shot on the Paekakariki Hill. Exhibition Aquarium. The fisheries exhibit at the Exhibition is part of the Marine Department's display, and its particular interest will be the aquarium, which will be established below floor level and will accommodate tanks of living fish, including fresh water, native, and acclimatised fish. A point of interest in the aquarium will be a working hatchery box. provided with running water and trout and salmon ova. The floor display will illustrate by models, charts, and specimens the resources and occurrence of sea fisheries, methods of research and utilisation, and the whole will afford a complete picture of the many activities associated with the fisheries section of the Marine Department. A New Comet. A new comet, visible in the Southern Hemisphere, has been reported as having been seen in Melbourne. This comet is quite distinct from the one named Pons-Winnecke which was visible lately, and also . from the one through the orbit of which the earth passes this week, thereby giving rise to the possibility of a meteor shower. The new comet is not quite visible to the naked eye and is to the south-east of the planet Mars. It apparently has no tail and is moving rapidly in a southerly direction. Whether it will get brighter and become a naked-eye object remains to be seen. A search made last night for the comet by astronomers at the Carter Observatory was fruitless, partly no doubt owing to the brightness of the moon. Precious Relics. There was an echo of the sensational find of Maori curios of some twentyfive years ago when three of the articles were acquired by the Alexander Museum last week. The articles were bone pigeon spears, and one is delicately carved, writes the Wanganui correspondent of "The Post." Twentyfive years ago Messrs. O'Meara and Campbell were fossicking among the trees near an old Maori burial place at Whatatutu—about thirty miles from Gisborne. A stream had trickled among the trees and washed away the earth, and there, carefully hidden, was a bundle wrapped in a piece of flax cloth. There were between 40 and 50 exquisitely-made pigeon spears, some carved, and all of human bone, with the exception of a few barbs from the stingray, which had apparently been used for the same purpose. This find caused a considerable stir at the time, as only one very imperfect specimen of a pigeon spear was known. The two finders gave away a number, which were ultimately snapped up by collectors. Mr. M. Poole, formerly of Gisborne, who is now in Wanganui, acquired three of them many years ago, and now they are safe for all time in a fire-proof building, |

Gold in Gravel Drainings? The Clutha County Council is considering adding gold mining, in a small way, to its many other activities, states the "Otago Daily Times." The possibility that there is gold being allowed to run away at the council's dragline gravel excavator near the Balclutha railway station has exercised the minds of more than one councillor for a long time, but on Tuesday one enthusiast mentioned the matter at the monthly council meeting. The gravel is dredged from the river bed and dumped into a huge hopper, where it is drained. It is among these "tailings" that it is believed there is carried a certain quantity of fine gold, and Councillor W. S. Thomson made the suggestion that some test should be made to see whether any of this dust might be collected. "We might get enough to pay the men's wages," he said, adding optimistically, "perhaps one might even be able to lower the rates." (Laughter.) The chairman (Councillor A. T. Harris) said he had discussed the matter with an expert on a previous occasion, and he offered to look into the possibilities further with this man "at no cost to the council." The offer was approved, although the voices of some of the members seemed to indicate _a certain amount of scepticism. Incidentally, it may be mentioned that at present the drainings from the hopper are being utilised to a certain extent, as the coarser sand is sold The water, however, is allowed to drain back into the river. New Auckland Cathedral. The cost of the first part of the new Anglican cathedral for Auckland is estimated at £101,000. in the latest issue of the "Church Gazette," which also states that of this sum £30,000 will be raised by public appeal, states the "New Zealand Herald." An estimated amount of £63.000 is available for this part of the building from the bequest of the late Miss M. T. Horton, and, in addition, £8400 is expected to be obtained from rents and interest. The total cost of the cathedral will be approximately £200,000. Conditions of the competition for designs for the cathedral from New Zealand architects were issued at the end of last year. The closing date in London is November 15, and the sole assessor is the famous British architect, Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, designer of the Liverpool Cathedral. "Common prudence has indicated postponement of the appeal until the design of the cathedral has been accepted and made public," says the "Church Gazette." "The necessary work for launching the appeal has been carefully prepared. Opinions I have differed as to whether an appeal, concentrated in a short time, should be adopted, or whether a longer or more sustained effort would be more likely to succeed. Moreover, it has been felt that churchpeople in the diocese generally have not evinced any real desire to proceed with the appeal, but these opinions have now in a large' measure been modified, and a desire and keenness are in evidence." A Literal Interpretation. I Last week's snowstorm was responsible for a somewhat literal interpretation of the time-honoured greeting, "Drop in and see me any time," which was probably as much a surprise to the man who extended the invitation as to the "dropper," states the "Otago Daily Times." While fishing at Wanaka a Dunedin merchant struck up an acquaintance with a fellow-angler, and over the traditional fishermen's refreshment invited his newly-found -friend to "Drop in and see me any old time." That was the first chapter. The second came on Wednesday morning last when the angler, who is an enthusiastic amateur photographer, climbed on to the roof of the merchant's premises to secure a picture of Dunedin under snow. He tripped over the frame of a skylight and crashed through the glass on to the floor of the typist's room below, where he lay unconscious until a restorative applied in the right quantity and in the proper place brought him round. The first person he saw was the merchant, and his sense of humour overcame his dis- | comfort. Gazing up at his temporary host with a glazed eye,'he muttered, "I promised to drop in and see you, and I have kept my promise, but I [did not anticipate doing it through your skylight."