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Evening Star, Issue 25070, 11 January 1944, Page 2

The moa bones found recently at Pataua, near Wliangarei Heads, have been identified by the director of the Auckland Museum, Dr Gilbert Archey, as those of the dinornis giganteus, the largest of the species. Writing to the curator of the Wliangarei Museum, Miss K. Pickmere, Dr Archey states that Pstana was a noted place for moa bones, and that as early as 1876 discoveries had been made in that locality. Dr Archev hopes soon to visit Whangarei, and with Miss Pickmere will conduct a search, with the view of, if possible, securing the whole or the greater part of the skeleton.

A few days after the Lac area had 'been cleared of J apanese wreckage, two Chinese appeared with some officers and began pacing out the ground a few yards from an American engineer's tent. After a lot of discussion they began to dig. The Americans clustered round and watched them bring out a small and uninteresting box. The Chinese showed signs of excitement which was explained when the lid was prised open, aild they pulled out £4,000 in neatly rolled notes. The Chinese were merchants at Lae before the Japanese arrived, and when the time to escape to Australia came they decided it was safer to bury their funds than carry them. For more than eighteen months the Japanese had burrowed and Allied bom'bers had blown craters in the area, without disturbing the cache. Government revenue in two Australian States benefits from Stateconducted lotteries. Queensland has its Golden Casket Art Union, and profits during 1942-43 were £369,000. Ticket sales realised £1,514,000, and prize money distributed totalled £967,000. The Government received £75,000 in tax and stamp duty. Since 1920 nearly £6,000,000 has been spent on hospitals and motherhood and child welfare services, and other sunis from special lotteries have gone to patriotic funds. New South Wales has lotteries, too. In 1942-43 there were 95, a record, and State funds received £694,000. Some of the largest sharks yet seen in the Croixelles—l4 miles to the north of Caluke —are reported by holiday-makers (states the Marlborough 'Express'). This is confirmed by a Blenheim party which has just returned from the locality and which saw one shark, which they estimated to be between 10 and 12 feet in length, swimming very close to the shore. As might be supposed, bathers there are not over-venturesome, and several campers who went for a swim before they were aware of ( the presence of the unwelcome prowlers'were chased from the water by one of them. This particular shark was stated to be " as thick through as a cow," and determined efforts were made to catch it. A stout line was fixed to an oil-drum, and left floating in the bay, and a largo shark was actually hooked. Excitement reached a high pitch as the fish made frantic efforts to escape, and attempts were made to shoot_ it, but finally it swam at full speed into the drum and the blow tore the hook from its mouth. What the position is in regard to other seaside resorts is not known, but one explanation of the "epidemic" of sharks at the Croixelles is that the long period of hot weather is enticing them into the warmer water close to the beach.

A visitor to the most recently developed parts of the Waikato thinks from what he saw of old Maori plantations that the Maoris must have gone in for intensive cultivation. He says there is evidence that they were not devoid of knowledge of manuring,' and believed in deeply working the soil. He is convinced, too, that tbe-Maoris must have been born farmers. Inland Waikato, he says, must have been at one stage densely populated, especially near the many waterways and lakes, where there were evidences of the closest settlement. Huge heaps of shells of the fresh-water pi|)i had been carried there by the Maoris, and had not been deposited by Nature. Thov play a dangerous game of bridge' in the Pacific, according to one Auckland soldier. In a letter to_ his fa mil v in ißemucra he says: "Bridge helps* to pass the time away. We've played so much among ourselves that it's nothing for the bidding to go up to four or five, with slams quite often. Before I came in on the game they had one or two pretty tough customers. On one occasion a chap who hails from Australia turned up for a game armed .with a rifle and fixed bayonet! On another, aboard ship, a sheath knife or two appeared on the ' table.' All in fun, of course! " The writer added that finessing was called " shooting." " [ suppose it sounds funny to hear one boasting about how he ' shot ' so and so 'through'," lie said. "We usually manage to got through half a dozen' rubbers at one sitting."

Almost 1,000 teacups, valued at about £7O, wero removed or broken on the Hill and Derby enclosures at Ellerslie racecourse during the Christmas and New Year meetings. In addition well Over 200 soft drink bottles were removed. The cups wero new and of New, Zealand manufacture. About 500 were taken on Boxing Day and another 300 on New Year's Day, according to a statement by the caterers.

Returning to New Plymouth by rail from her honeymoon recently, a young bride lost her valuable, diamond engagement ring on the train. The loss was not discovered until the couple reached their home a few miles from New Plymouth, and it was with some pessimism that they rang the station about 10 p.m. By chance a railway official working late answered the call, and, making a search of the carriage, which had been already cleaned, discovered the ring in a crack in a seat. The carriage was part of a train which was to have left next morning, and the chance of discovering the ring that day was regarded as negligible. It was a happy bride who recovered her ring at the station next day. Ladybirds in quantity are at the present time very noticeable in Napier and other parts of Hawke's Bay. " There seemed to be tens of thousands of them," said a Hastings visitor when mentioning that at Westshore one day last week he and his family had to leave the beach because of thousands of ladybirds of many different colours which clung to their hair and clothes. The first of this year's eclipses, a total ellipse of the sun, is due to take place during the early hours of January 26, but no phase of it will be visible in New Zealand. The path of totality extends across the Eastern Pacific. South America, the Atlantic, and North-west Africa.