DOMINION ITEMS

Greymouth Evening Star, 18 February 1942, Page 4

DOMINION ITEMS

CYCLIST KILLED. AUCKLAND, February 18. Fatal injuries were sustained in a collision with a baker’s cart at Devonport, at 7.40 o’clock this morning, by William Sans, 48, a painter employed by the Navy. Sans was cycling down the steep hill in Huia Street, and the horse and cart were proceeding along Queen’s Parade. The cyclist died almost immediately. VEGETABLE MARKETING WELLINGTON, Feb. 18. The personnel of the Vegetable Marketing Committee, set up as a result of the recent inquiry by the Price Tribunal, was announced by Mr. Barclay as follows: Messrs Barclay, chairman; P. Roberts, M.P., deputy-chair-man; A. H. Cockayne (Director-Gen-eral of Agriculture), R. P. Fraser (acting-director of the Internal Marketing Department), and L. Munro (Associate Member of the Price Tribunal). The committee held a preliminary meeting yesterday, and regular sittings will commence next month. PETROL ALLOWANCES. CHRISTCHURCH, February 17. The Executive of the South Island Motor Union decided to-night, in view of the recent Ministerial statement that petrol supplies for the Dominion are subject to allocation by the British Government, to ask the Minister of Supply that petrol allowed for private purposes in New Zealand be at least equal to the ration for similar purposes in Britain, which permits the use of vehicles to the extent of 150 miles a month. It was resolved that the authorities be asked to make a pro rata reduction in license fees proportionate to the number of months motorists have been off the road this year. “This is something due to the thousands of registered owners who have not been using cars for some time,” said the President, Mr W. R. Carey.

FIRE AT FREEZING WORKS. CHRISTCHURCH, February 18. Fire which broke out early yesterday morning at me Belfast freezing works of Thomas Borthwick and Sons (Australasia), Ltd., almost completely destroyed the buildings housing the pie wool department and the salt store. The damage done was in detached buildings and will not in any way affect killing operations, which are now in full swing. After it was first noticed, the fire was kept in check by the works fire brigade, which used an auxiliary fire service pump, until the Central Fire Brigade arrived at 2.40 o’clock. An hour later the blaze was almdst completely subdued. The pie wool building, of corrugated iron with a wooden framework, appeared to catch fire through heat generated in the wool, and the blaze soon spread to the salt store. The wool-drying department also caugnt fire, but little damage was done. WARNING TO MOTORISTS

AUCKLAND, Feb. 18. “This should be a warning to motorists, especially in these days of restrictions when petrol is often carried in tins in. motor-cars,” said the Coroner (Mr. Luxford), in giving his verdict on the deaths of Ona Travencore Kerr, 29, married, and Raymond Wallace Clark, 30, taxi-driver, who were’fatally burnt when the car in which they were sitting caught fire after an explosion on the night oi January 24. “Very few tins are properly secure,” the Coroner added. “There may be some small seepage or leakage of fumes, which may become ignited when a pipe or cigarette is lighted.” The Coroner found that the cause of the fire was a lighted match or cigarette coming in contact with leaking petrol from a tin inside the car.