Untitled

Evening Star, Issue 20993, 6 January 1932, Page 6

Our Queenstown correspondent wires; The weather has been changeable, but is now line and apparently settled. Surprisingly effective work has been done at Napier in repairing wooden houses that were badly damaged by the earthquake. _ Some were knocked off their foundations and reduced to what looked like complete wrecks. According to an Aucklander, who lately spent some months in Hawke’s Bay, no case has been too bad for the contractors to restox-e. They have shown much ingenuity in lifting houses back on to their foundations, trueing up walls and floors, and replacing roofs by the use of jacks and hand winches. When painted and papered and furnished with new chimneys, such dwellings show not the slightest signs of damage. Even more remarkable work has been done in repairing the reinforced concrete portion of the Greenmeadows Seminary. Only the lowest story of this failed. The txvo upper floors, which were almost unharmed, have been jacked up 4ft into correct alignment, and the lower portion has been rebuilt, making the whole as good as new. In a letter to Mr and Mrs S. Tredennick, Lyttelton, Sister Marie Suzanne, one of the nursing sisters at tlx© Makogai Island leper station in the Fiji Group, states that Mr J. Lord, -one of the patients from Quail Island, died on December 16. Mr Lord, who was an Australian, did not die from his old affliction, but from cancer. He is the third patient to die at Makogai Island, out of eight patients from Quail Island, and one from the North Island. The New Zealand patients arrived at Makogai in 1925. One of the New Zealand lepers was discharged from the island and returned to the dominion as cured. He has since died. The old man, Jim, who was blind for many years and unable to walk, is now able to get about. One of the Chinese patients who was in a bad way at Quail Island is also reported to have greatly improved. He has taken up gardening with such enthusiasm that Sister Suzanne says ho prefers it to receiving treatment. One of the few remaining full-rigged ships still afloat will visit Auckland about the end of January. This is the Finnish vessel Grace Harwar, which is bringing a cargo of phosphates from the Seychelles. Considerable interest should be taken in the visitor, for it was on board this ship that the films wlxich were later made into the thrilling sea picture, ‘Windjammer,’ were taken. Two Australian journalists— Messrs A. J. Villiers and Ronald Walker —shipped on the Grace Harwar, bound for England round the Horn, taking a moving picture camera with them. During the voyage Walker fell from a yard-arm and was killed, and it was his death that inspired the drama that was later written and acted in England. An industry of great importance both to North Auckland and to New Zealand is rapidly being developed at Keri Keri, in the Bay of Islands, where a local company has secured a largo block of land for the cultivation of passion fruit. _ It is proposed to export both the juice and the fruit, and samples sent abroad have met with remarkable response. Hitherto, passion fruit has been grown in New Zealand for local consumption only, and always more than half the crops have gone to waste. The New Zealand mai'ket has not been able to absorb the quantity of fruit produced. The possibilities of cruslxing the fruit and exporting the juice have been investigated, and with the aid of the Department of Industries, samples were sent abroad last year. The inquiries for the juice exceeded all expectations, and already an order has been received from one American firm alone for 120,000 gallons of passion fruit juice yearly. That quantity alone is four times that at present grown in the whole of New Zealand, A San Francisco firm has ordered 1,000 gallons of juice a month, and the two largest fruit preserving firms in the United States are inquiring for samples.

Thi New Zealand Refrigerating Company's works at Burnside opened on Tuesday, a little earlier than last year, but stock is coming forward freely. Owing ot the warm season the quality is a little better than that of previous years. The cooler weather of last week steadied things up a little, but it is anticipated that the works will be kept going at capacity right through the season, which ends about the middle of July. On New Year’s Eve the pupils and ; number of past pupils wore entertained bv Mrs and Miss Glendining at the Whare Flat School. The room was very tastefully decorated. A large Christmas tree, which was nicety ornamented, and on which hung the gifts, occupied one end of the building. The prizes were then handed out, all of which were useful and ornamental; not even the tiny tots were overlooked, the smiles on their faces as they returned to their seats with the presents given them showed their appreciation. The schoolchildren then formed a circle round their hostesses, when a girl pupil stepped forward and thanked them for the lino time they had given them. The children then sang an item in a very pleasing manner. A liberal supper followed to all present. The chairman of the School Committee proposed a hearty vote of thanks to Mrs and Miss Glendining for the generous manner in which they had treated the district, and this was received with cheers. A dance followed, good music being provided by a lady visitor from Dunedin.

Train traffic, which was heavy over the week-end, has eased off very considerably during the past few days. The outgoing trains north and south to-day had plenty of spare room. The through express from Invercargill was a light train, to which a number of empty cars were attached at Duuediu for return to Christchurch,

The postal authorities advise that the Sierra, due at Auckland_ on Friday from Los Angeles, has thirty-six bags of American mail for Dunedin. It will reach the local office on Monday morning.

Though the beach at St. Clair is in good condition for bathing at present, it has lost more sand than for many years. Thousands of tons must have been taken out by tlxe sea during the past four or five months. Along the foot of the concrete wall of the esplanade many heaps of rocks that have lost their covering of sand are showing, and the bottom step of tho stairs in the contro of tho wall is several feet above tho present level of the sand. Still, there is yet a line surface on which children can romp and play, and probably Nature will in the course of time return all tho sand, as she has done time and again in the past. 1 An organ recital will be given by tho city organist (Dr V. E. Galway) in the Town Hall on Sunday evening at 8.15. This recital should prove of particular interest, not only to those who regularly attend these recitals, but also to those visitors to Dunedin who may not liave had a previous opportunity of hearing the magnificent instrument in tho Town Hall. The organ items include Baynon’s ‘ Triumph Song,’ Beethoven’s ‘ Overture to Egmont,’ and Mendelssohn’s Incidental Music to ‘ A Midsummer Night’s Dream.’ By special request, Dr Galway will also play his own arrangement for the organ of the old Scottish lament, ‘ The Flowers of the Forest.’ Vocal items will be rendered by Miss Bertha Rawlinson and Miss Dora Drake. There will be no charge for admission. The experience of one of the largest hotels in the city over tho Christmas and New Year holidays was that its bar trade was below that of the previous festive season, but that the sales in its bottle store slxowed a decided increase. People generally evidently still honoured the custom of having something in the house at Christmas and New Year with which to treat friends. An automatic false alax - m caused the City Fire Brigade to turn out to the Hillside Workshops at 11.13 this morning. In the membership campaign contest between the Returned Soldiers’ Associations of Dunedin and Christchurch during the past year each body has led ip turn. At December 31 tlxe position was; Christchurch 1,781, Dunedin 1,748. As far as the local association is concerned, the membership is expected to reach about 2,000 before the end of the financial year at March 31. At the Police Court this morning Edward Charles M'Langhlin, who had been previously remanded, was charged with being deemed to bo a rogue and a vagabond within the meaning of the Police Offences Act, in that he was found by night without lawful excuse on the premises of J. Romison and Co., High street, and with attempting to break and enter tho shop of J. Romison with intent to commit a crime. De-tective-sergeant Nuttall applied for a remand till Friday next, when he would be prepared to go on. In all probability the first charge would be withdrawn. Tlxe Magistrate (Mr H. W. Bundle, S.M.), granted the remand till Friday next.

Save your eyes. Be wise, and consult W. V. Sturmer (optician, 2 Octagon), thus conserving good vision for old age.— [Advt.] The Waitati Sports Association will hold a dance in the Waitati Hall on Saturday night. A free bus- leaves Reddell’s corner at 7 o'clock. Music will be supplied by the Paramount Band. Tho North-east Harbour Boating Club will hold a dance in the Macandrew Bay Hall on Saturday next. Music will be supplied by the Mexicano Band. Free bus leaves Queen’s Gardens at 8 o’clock.