Local and General

Greymouth Evening Star, 29 December 1944, Page 4

Local and General

Recognition of the fact that smoking among women is general is theA p rwision for a “smoko” in the new award of the Auckia u Rubber Workers’ Union made by the Ar bitration Court. Under this award all lemate workers are to be allowed a smoko oi ten minutes in the morning and afternoon.

A further 18 points of rain fell at. Graymouth during the 24 hours ended at nne o’clock this morning, bringing the total iam fall for the year to !22.25 inches, which is onlv six points short oi the 1942 total, bui 3 73 inches will have to fall in the next two d'ivs for the record of 125.98 inches established in 1910 to be equalled. Few will regret if the record is not broken.

The express from Canterbury to the West Coal to-day is carrying many more passengers than its counterpart from Greymouth to Christchurch. The express from Christchurch has 11 cars and 298 passengers comparedwith the 10 cars and 186 passengers on the outward express from . Gi’eymouth. The latter was unusually small this morning.

Though the West Coast timber nulls resume on January 10 after the Christmas and New Year holidays, it will be several days aftei that before timber is on the move again on the transport systems, because most of the mills were able to clear all their stocks of timber before the mills closed. Some mills hav not even 500 super feet of timber on their skids. It was stated by a sawmiller to-day that the supply of timber trucks. for the mills in the few weeks immediately prior to Christmas this year was better than for a number of years.

“It might be gathered from a statement published in Auckland and republished in part in Wellington, that the De Haviland Aircraft Factory at Rongotai, having completed- the contract tor ige manuiacW of training planes for the R.N.Z.A.r., enterea into 1/1939, is virtually closing down said the secretary of the Company (Mr. F. A. Davis) to-day. “That is far from the: fact. We are by no means at the end. there is much more important work in hand and ahead.” The change in the R.N.Z.A.r. training plan had resulted in the discontinuance of the manufacture of aircraft, he said, but the Company would continue to overhaul aircraft and engines, and had been entrusted with a further large war contract, the nature of which could not be disclosed at present. The Company was converting some of its shops to handle the new contract and also to be ready for peace-time developments now being dsicussed between the parent Company in Britain and the general manager of •he New Zealand Company, who recently lew home for that purpose.—P.A.