NEWS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume CXXVIII, Issue 93, 17 October 1939, Page 8

NEWS OF THE DAY

Nearly all Swimmers. There are four schools in the Wanganui district which hold the distinction of not having on their lists a. single pupil who cannot swim,' writes "The Post's" representative. These schools are the Collegiate, the Wanganui Girls' College, St. George's Preparatory, and the New Zealand Friends' School. At three of these schools there are some very small children. In a total of 18 schools in or adjacent to the city there are 3276 swimmers and only 579 nonswimmers. From Christmas Island. After three years' service with the Christmas Island Phosphate Company, on Christmas Island, Mr. M. S. G. Newton, a civil engineer, has returned to New Zealand with his wife and small son, on five months' furlough. Mr. Newton, who belongs to Christchurch, arrived at Auckland on the Dutch vessel, Maetsuycker. He explained that Christmas Island was of sixty-four square miles and had a population of 1200. mostly Chinese coolies. The. Straits Settlement Government maintained Sikh police on the island, on which the phosphates handled were the same as those from Nauru and Ocean Islands. On the completion of his furlough, Mr. Norton will return to Christmas Island. Overtaking Motorists. "The habit of overtaking and pass-" ing without an adequate margin of safety is still noticed on many streets and roads. The risks involved by such behaviour cannot be too strongly emphasised," states the latest road safety message of the Automobile Association (Canterbury). "Certain drivers, apparently, are still not aware that it is an offence against the traffic regulations to overtake and pass another vehicle on a curve or near the crest of a hill where an.adequate view of traffic coming in the opposite direction cannot be obtained. Obviously, offences of this nature, especially where roads are busy, create dangerous situations, and the freedom of offenders from accidents is not infrequently due to the prompt action on the part of other drivers." Service In Saving Life. An estimate of the hours of duty performed by members of the surf lifesaving clubs of the Dominion, based on reliable record, appears in the seventh annual report of the New Zealand Surf Life-saving Association. It gives an indication of the extent of the purely voluntary and gratuitous services rendered by the clubs. There are 53 clubs, the average number of members being conservatively estimated at 20..Assuming that each member does three hours' patrol duty per week, the patrols operating throughout the recognised five swimming months of the year, then members of the clubs give no fewer than 68,600! hours' per year to patrol duty. This is equivalent to having eight men on duty twenty-four hours of the day every day of the year. <*■ Petrol and the Exhibition. Speaking at the annual meeting of the Automobile Association (Wellington) last evening, not as president of the association, he said, but as a director of the Exhibitior Company, Sir Alexander Roberts, remarked that the company appreciated all the efforts that were being made by the association to facilitate the transport of visitors to and from the Exhibition site. One thing the company prayed for was that motorists would be good and obedient as far as petrol was concerned, so that sufficient stocks might be built up to release the restrictions in the Exhibition period. The position, was very serious, because the company had anticipated . a very large number of visitors from outside Wellington. It was hoped that the authorities would lift, or very substantially ease, the restrictions, so that the flow of visitors would be unhindered. Motorised Surf Patrols. "With the ever-increasing flow of motor traffic to remote beaches and rivers,' the time is fast approaching when the association will have to seriously consider the question of the securing of motor surf patrol cars or wagons to convey men and equipment to these places," states the annual report of the New Zealand Surf Lifesaving Association. "Such an innovation would cost money but where human livep are in the balance, then this obstacle should be .overcome. Here lies an opportunity for local bodies to do their share in the protection of the lives of those who frequent the beaches under their control. It is not suggested that patrols should be paid for their. services, but it is claimed that they should be provided with up-to-date methods of transportation to enable the work of protection to proceed on efficient lin?s." Midget Life-saving Team"To Wanganui must surely go the honour of having the youngest surf life-saving- team in the world," says the annual report of the New Zealand Life-saving Association, "for under the able guidance of Mr. H. R. Luff of that city and a prominent member of the Castlecliff Surf Life-saving Club, this young team practises and is well conversant with all the details of drill, etc., as performed by their much older members. The ages of the team vary from five years to eleven years. To see this team with its midget reel, in action, is well worth a visit to the famous Castlecliff beach. .We congratulate Mr. Luff for his keen interest in the work of the association and the midget team we trust will continue to operate an u eventually be drafted into the senior team of the club." Major Road Construction. Appreciation of the work that has been done on three major problems in the Wellington district—the reconstruction of the Ngahaurang., Gorge, the Plimmerton-Paekakariki deviation, and the reconstruction of the Hutt Roadwas expressed by the president of the Automobile Association (Wellington), Sir Alexander Roberts, at the annual meeting of the association last evening. He said that perhaps members might not agree that all the expenditure was justified, but they must agree that excellent jobs had been done. From a personal point of view, however, he could not pass any congratulatory remarks about the Western Hutt Road, as the uncompleted portion of the road was just outside his front door. The rest of the road, from the Melling Station to the. Siiverstream Bridge, was excellent, as also was the Haywards Road —matters were tied up by the one mile between Melling Station and the Normandale crossing. Sir Alexander also gave thanks for the co-operation and assistance at all times from the Engineer's Department of the Public Works Department.

Cricket Gear for Trentham. The management committee of the Wellington Cricket Association last night authorised the expenditure of £10 on practice equipment for the men in Trentham Camp; A circular is to be sent to clubs suggesting that any surplus equipment they may have could" be given as well. Letters are to be sent to Wellington cricketers joining the forces, expressing the association's good wishes. Not What It Used To Be. " 'Long beer' today does not mean what 'long beer' used- to be," said Mr. J. H. Luxford, S.M., in the Magistrate's Court yesterday. "It's a sort of reminiscent name." The understanding chuckle, faintly tinged with regret, that came from police, counsel, and public, indicated their concurrence in the truth of the Magistr?te's remark. "La Marseillaise." The reception given at a wrestling contest to the national song of our Allies, the famous "Marseillaise," recalls a story told recently by a member of Parliament concerning the visit some years ago of a Japanese training ship to Wellington. The young Japanese sailors were entertained at Parliament Buildings by the then Ministers and, as a compliment, the band played the national song of the "Land of the Lotus" and then the National Anthem. The member said that, while the Englishmen present had not the foggiest idea of the formex-, the Japanese sang the British national, song with great gusto. Large Whale Sighted. A large whale was sighted in .the Manukau Harbour shortly before noon on Sunday, states the "New Zealand Ilerald." It came within SOyds of the wharf at Whatipu and rose to "the surface five times. After spouting several times it turned and made for the outer harbour. There were about 15 people on the wharf when the whale was seen, and they estimated its length at between 30ft and 50ft. The assistant director of the • Auckland War Memorial Museum, Mr, A. W. B. Powell, said that the whale could have been one of several species. The commonest round the New Zealand coast was the humpbacked whale, which measured up to 30ft in length.1 Taranaki Problem. Farm labour is a burning question just now in dairying Taranaki and several county councils have agreed to allow their men to help farmers where necessary. A difficulty which cropped up in some parts was that farmers would pay only for the hours actually worked, while county men might have to use considerable time in getting to the place of employment and so lose considerably. One council, however, thought too much was being made of the difficulty and two councillors, who are affected by the shortage, expressed the opinion that the farmers would get over the trouble just as they had in the past. Although one district was bare of young men and farmers' wives had to help in the milking, a councillor was confident they would manage, though he thought the Public Works Department should help by releasing some of its employees. , Motorists' "Black-out." What he described as a very undesirable "black-out" spot would be encountered by motorists taking the direct coastal route from the new Hutt Road ramp to the Exhibition, said the chairman of the executive of the Automobile Association (Wellington), Mr. E. A. Batt, at the annual meeting Of the association last evening. Mr. Batt commended' the excellence of the lighting arrangements for the route, but said it was disappointing that finances did not permit of the lighting of a mile stretch between Point Jerningham and the Patent Slip. All he could do was to appeal to motorists to take particular care when travelling on that section qf the road. Pedestrian Crossings. The need for better supervision of pedestrian crossings was stressed at the anunal meeting of the Automobile Association (Wellington) last evening by the president (Sir Alexander ■Roberts), who referred to the question as vexed. He said he felt that even yet the pedestrian crossing problem had by no means been solved. Although he was an ardent and regular car driver, every day, at lunch time, he took up the position of a pedestrian-. He would like to stand on his pedestrian rights when he was a pedestrian, and he thought that a good many of the crossings should have better supervision during the busy! periods—the lunch hours, from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m., and from 4.30 to 5.30 p.m. A little more supervision, Sir Alexander thought, would be very beneficial both to drivers and pedestrians. He thought that one of the worst crossings was that outside the Midland Hotel, where he had seen very many close escapes from serious accident. He understood that regulations were in process of being, framed for dealing with the problem, and he sincerely hoped they would be what was required and that they would be put into operation as early as possible. Exit from City. The application of the war was used to add weight to the argument for providing ah extra exit from Wellington by constructing the link between Wadestown and Ngaio, when the subject was raised at the annual meeting of the Automobile Association (Wellington) last evening by Mr. H. L. Cummings, of the Ngaio Progressive Association. He mentioned particularly the safety of citizens in the event of a sudden evacuation, as the use of the "bottle-neck" at Kaiwarra would not be necessary if the road were constructed. There were, however, special circumstances which still further strengthened the case, said Mr. Cummings. Provided the work was undertaken now. the owners of the property through which the longest stretch of road would pass were prepared to dedicate the land' necessary for the road free of cost to the city. Further, the Izard Estate had a large interest in the adjoining lands, and as the City Council had an interest in the funds of the estate —for educational and charitablp purposes—the development of those lands by the construction of a road would directly 'benefit i the council. The chairman of the' executive (Mr. E. A. Batt) said the topic was a very live one. and matters were well advanced towards getting the work completed.