NEWS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume CXXIX, Issue 22, 26 January 1940, Page 6

NEWS OF THE DAY

Married at 98

A former farmer of the Rakauroa district, Mr. Isaiah McSaveney, returned to Gisborne on Wednesday after having spent the past two years travelling about various States in Australia, states a Gisborne correspondent of the "New Zealand Herald." Mr. McSaveney claims that he will celebrate his 100 th birthday in New Zealand on March 20. He married at the age of 98 and has since been living in Australia. He intends to return to the Commonwealth early in April. The Unmusical Martyr. Addressing the music teachers' conference yesterday, Dr. A. Fieldhouse, of Christchurch, strongly condemned the subjection of the really unmusical child, who, in the absence of reliable scientific evidence of lack of musical ability, was doomed to hours of harrowing drudgery, very often merely to satisfy a parent's conceit. He said that such practices often resulted :« serious psychological disturbances which were distinctly, harmful to the child's mental health. Woman's BraveryAlthough she herself could not swim, an elderly woman, Mrs. D. Coombs, of New Plymouth, -went to the rescue of a child which had fallen into the lake at Pukekura Park, states a New Plymouth correspondent of the "New Zealand Herald." She held the child up until aid arrived. When rescued Mrs. Coombs semi-con-scious, the child, Eunice Mills, three-year-old daughter of Mrs. A. Mills, of New Plymouth, was feeding ducks when she overbalanced and fell into deep water. Mrs. Coombs plunged in, and, although she herself sank twice, she was successful in keeping the child on the surface. Cycling Tour Concluded. ° For the ninth summer in succession, the Hon. W. E. Barnard, Speaker of the House of Representatives, has made a long cycling tour, states the "New Zealand Herald." Accompanied by an old friend, Mr. S. J. Bennett, of Palmerston North, he returned to Auckland on Wednesday after a 13 days' trip which took the travellers over 310 miles of North Auckland roads —a holiday programme that few younger men would emulate. "In spite of the uncertain and, at times, uncomfortable weather, we had a remarkable opportunity of seeing the north," Mr. Barnard stated. "It has left me with the impression that a vast amount of country is still in the rough and that this part of the province has been barely touched. I hope we shall be able to see more of the northern districts by means of a second tour to areas which we were not able to visit on this occasion." Sheep Migration. The movement of sheep from Gisborne and the East Coast to the Waikato has reached its height, and many thousands are being sent both by road and sea, states a Gisborne correspondent. Inquiries are being" made regarding • the prospect of forwarding several thousand sheep to the South Island. The South Island market for Poverty Bay breeding ewes was a large one up to about ten years ago, and in one season more than 100,000 were shipped there, mainly to Lyttelton. Although the trade has dwindled to a fraction of its former size, hardly a year has passed without at least one boatload being sent south, although none went last season." The mobs, most of which are exceptionally large, are travelling by three routes, the new coastal highway, the Motu Road, and the Waioeka Gorge highway. The weather has been very wet during the last two weeks, and there is.no shortage of feed or water, such as is usually experienced at this time [of the year. ,