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Evening Star, Issue 26028, 17 February 1947, Page 6

The big blow at Wellington on Saturday placed the salvaged Idler Wauganella in some peril. Swinging out from the Aotea quay at 4 o'clock in the mornnig when her bow lines parted, the Wanganella stood for five hours in the oravest danger, held only by the lines astern. The ship’s telephone line broke, and although the siren was sounded several times, no help came for several hours. Eventually the tug Toia helped to bring the Wanganella s bow back alongside.

An Auckland taxi driver, noting a look of extreme dejection on the face of his passenger, a youthful member of the American Air. Corps, inquired what was wrong. With a deep sigh, the young man replied that lie had arrived in the city at the week-end to get married,-but his “ buddy had arrived several hours earlier and had claimed the girl for himself! Determined to take some part in the wedding, he had, he added, sadly accepted the role of best man.

“ Were they ; nylons?” asked Cr Knox Gilmer, referring to correspondence before the Wellington City Council about claims for damages to stockings caused by falls on city tootpaths. There was no information-as to the type of stockings, said the mayor, Mr Appleton, but the council did' recompense sufferers in those cases in which their inspectors were satisfied there was a genuine claim. They could not provide coupons, of course.

A jury in the Supreme Court in Wellington, after a retirement- of over three hours, awarded John lc Compte, ship’s carpenter, £2,399 special damages and £2,250 general damages against the Shaw Savill and Albion Company Ltd, for injuries received last year while working in the hold of the company’s steamer Karamea. A carcass pf beef fell on his back, fracturing three of his ribs and causing severe back injuries. The defendant admitted liability for some general damages and agreed to pay the plaintiff the special damages he claimed. It was a majority verdict.

To be nearly drowned while a considerable crowd of spectators were looking on and laughing at his attempts to save himself was the unenviable experience of a young bov at the boat harbour on Saturday afternoon, when the Otago Yacht and Motor Boat Club held a gala day. With a companion, the lad was sailing a small craft, which capsized near the landing punt, and attempts to right her merely resulted in the boat rolling completely over again. Most ot the onlookers appeared to regard these attempts as part of the afternoon’s programme, and made no attempt to rescue the two boys, anil it was only when one of them called for help that it was realised that the other lad had disappeared beneath the surface. With the aid of a dinghy he was found and quickly pulled out of the water. He was almost unconscious, and artificial respiration had to be applied. The ninety-third anniversary services of the East Taieri Presbyterian Church were held yesterday. This church was the first charge established on tho Taieri after Dunedin had been settled. Yesterday’s services were conducted by tho Rev. W. A. Stevely, of First Church, in the morning and by the Rev. If. D. Warm in the evening. Services were also held at Allanton (an outpost of the parish) in the afternoon. An anniversary social will bo held in Kinmont Hall on Wednesday evening.

At the recent civic welcome to the .visiting American athletes it was stated that one of the members of the team, Don Campbell, was of Scottish ancestry and that he was anxious to take home from Dunedin a piece of Campbell tartan, and the Mayor (Mr D. C. Cameron) assured him that an endeavour would be made to obtain a sample for him before he left the city. This morniug the Mayor received through the post a Highland bonnet of Campbell tartan, made by a lady at Outram, with a request that it he forwarded to Mr Campbell. Following the gift to the Otago Museum of a large and valuable collection of postage stamps by Mr F. McLean, of Wingatui, there has been organised in the museum a series of exhibitions of stamps issued in the Pacific region. At the present time a series of sheets, lent by Mr J. H. Oliver, is being displayed. Among the most interesting of the stamps on view are some early Queensland and several from the first Fijian issue in 1870. There are stamps from the Sandwich Islands, notv Hawaii, dating back to 1853, when the islands were still under native rule, but enjoying as a civilised and christianised country all the amenities of government on, the western standard. A New South Wales issue of 1850 is represented, and among New Zealand stamps are a number issued at the time of the Scott polar expedition in 1911.

The visiting French warship, the sloop Julien de la Grandiere, which is. at present on a tour of the main Dominion ports, and was originally due here to-day. has been delayed in Wellington by the gale experienced during the week-end in the Cook Strait area. She is now expected to bertl\. here at 2 p.m. to-morrow. After a few daj-s at Dunedin she is to sail for New Caledonia and Indo-Cliina, paying a. visit to the sounds on the way. In rearrangement of local functions the French Club’s social, originally _ set down for the R.S.A. rooms to-night, has been transferred to the Caledonian Club on Wednesday night.

Many people who are partial to oysters and have waited patiently for the Foveaux Strait season to open were disappointed this morning to find that none of the good catch reported over the week-end had arrived in the city shops. Conditions in the Strait were suitable for operations during tho weekend, and the fleet of 16 trawlers had been successful, so that it was expected that consignments would be sent north from Invercargill by the express last night. This was not done, however, hut some should arrive to-night and appear in the shops to-morrow. An Association message from Auckland reports that Mr Charles J. O’Connor, president of Reiclihold Chemicals, Michigan,, arrived by PanAmerican Clipper. His firm, which, deals extensively in synthetic resins, has factories m. several parts of America, and in England, France, and Australia. He will spend about eight days in the Dominion before going to Sydney. Mr O’Connor said that among other things he wished to investigate the possibility of' getting kauri gum which his firm might be able, to process.

Dentistry is a craft which is usually left to those who are qualified to practice it, but a barman in a Christchurch hotel recently stopped pulling the beer pump for long enough to pull a tooth which was causing trouble. The patient had just suffered a spill from his bicycle and a tooth had been loosened in the fall. What he lacked in skill the barman made up for iu initiative, and, seating the sufferer in the chair, he produced a pair of forceps with which, after a preliminary scuffle, he finally extracted the offending tooth. Contrary to usual practice, the patient took the anaesthetic after the operation. A serious fire occurred at the. New Zealand Co-operative Dairy Company’s box factory timber yard at, Frankton Junction yesterday afternoon. A large quantity of seasoned pinus insignis and kahikatea box timber, estimated at 150,000 super, feet, was destroyed. The value of the damage is estimated at over £15,000. Fanned by a strong wind, the fire bpread rapidly, and several bays of timber, covering nearly an- acre of ground, were on fire. Twenty-five firemen, who were assisted by many voluntary workers, worked for several hours in dealing with the fire. ' *

A jury in the Wellington Supremo Court on Friday night, after a hearing extending over three days and a-half returned a verdict for the respondent and co-respondent in a case in which Kenneth Lindsay Lees, a merchant, of Lower Hutt, petitioned for a divorce from his wife, Joyce Le Quesney Lees, alleging adultery with Archibald Anthony Anderson, foreman of Dominion Dyers Ltd, Petone, cited as co-respondent. The petitioner claimed £2,000 damages from the corespondent. The respondent and corespondent both denied the charges of adultery Mr Justice ' Fair dismissed the petition with 46 guineas costs to the respondent and witnesses’ expenses. His Honour said that as the co-respon-dent’s conduct had not been satisfactory in persisting in his association with the respondent, he would have to bear his own costs.

Regular tours of New Zealand by companies from the Tivoli Circuit as the result of arrangements made with Mr R J. Kerridge were forecast by Mr I. N. Martin, managing director of the Tivoli Circuit, when ho _ arrived at Auckland by the Tasman flying boat on Saturday. Overseas artists would be attracted by the possibility of a 40weeks’ engagement in Australia and New Zealand, and transport by plane was proving a great advantage. Among those expected to appear in the circuitwere the English comediennes, Elsie and Doris Waters, and Bud Flanagan, a member of the team of Flanagan and Allan.