Local and General

Greymouth Evening Star, 19 July 1945, Page 4

Local and General

This morning Greymouth experienced its fifth successive frost, and the severest tor the week, the temperature at 9 a.m. beinv 34 d -- "rees. This is two degrees colder than the previous two mornings and one degree colder than -Monday and Sunday. The 19 West Coast soldiers among the party of New Zealand repatriated prisoners ol war who recently arrived in New Zealand will !«•- turn to the‘West Coast to-morrow by a special rail-car leaving Christchurch at 10 a.m. The railcar should arrive at Greymouth about 3 p.m. An increase in the phosphatic fertiliser ration for general top-dressing from 28 pei cent, to 42 per cent, of the former leciuiiements is announced by the Auckland rjniiiser Merchant Distributors’ Association, lhe original cut was to 40 per cent., and then to 28 per cent., so the new ration represents an increase of 50 per cent. —P.A. The adoption of the word Maori in place of the word Native in official matters has been advocated by Labour members in the House of Representatives recently. The first fruit was seen yesterday, when a select committee was set up. the “Native Affairs Committee being replaced by the “Maori Affairs’ Committee.” About 900 New Zealand former prisoners n-r war arrived at Wellington to-day from the United Kingdom. They were welcomed in the harbour.by an offic ; al party. Most of them had been released in the final stages of the conquest of Germany. Many had beep confined in both Italian and German . prison camps as far back as 1940. The draft included 95 Wellington men. 17 from Wairavapa, 83 Taranaki, 37 Hawke’s Bay, 24 Gisborne, 325 Auckland Province and 305 South Islanders. The Auckland men are leaving by the 3 o’clock train and other North Islanders by road transport. South Islanders- are travelling by the Arahura and the Wahine this evening.—P.A.

Authority to institute legal action under the Strikes and Lockouts Emergency Regulations against members of the Dunedin Fire Brigades’ Union concerned in the’ recerit dispute was granted the chairman and secretary at Tuesday’s-meeting of the Board.' The only dissentient was Mr. W. C. McDonnell, who is also the union’s secretary, who gave notice of motion to rescind the resolution.— P-A.

After a discussion on the incidence of hospital rating a conference of Wellington contributory local bodies convened by the ’Mayor of Wellington (Mr. Appleton) decided yesterday that a deputation from the conference wait, bn the Prime Minister and the Minister of Health to urge the Government to stabilise the amount paid from rates toward hospital costs on the average contribution a head of population in 1939. Representatives from the executives of the Municipal Association and the Counties Association are to be invited to join the deputation.—P.A.

Six women from the Greymouth district will be interviewed at the District Manpower OJice this, afternoon and those suitable will be selected for direction to the Grey Hospital as domestics. There are at least five vacancies for domestic workers at the hospital at present and a further six will be interviewed shortly with a view to filling these positions. There are also vacancies on the staff of a maternity hospital at Hokitika, and an effort to fill these vacancies from the female pool will be made in the near future. The direction’ of women to work at the Hokitika Mental Hospital will be resumed in about >a month.

Investments in National War Savings in Westland last week amounted to £1,164/5/7, or £lOl/5/7 over the weekly quota of £1,063. Runanga showed the best return for the week with lodgments of £321/7/6. Details from the 10 office in the district are as follows:—Runanga, £321/7/6. surplus £221/7/6; Brunnerton, £62 4/10 (£l2/4/10); Hokitika, £193 ( £8); Blackball, £57/0/9 (£7/0/9). Totals: £633/13/1 (£248/13/1). At the following offices deficiencies were shown: Greymouth, £424/0/9 (deficiency £95/19/3); Ross, £5/1/(£.19/19/-); Kumara, £ll/3/9 (£l3 16/3); Waiuta, £l6/10/- (£B/10/-); Reefton, £65 (£8): Otira. £B/17/(£l/3/-). Totals: £530/12/6 (deficiency £147/7/6). Quotas were obtained by all offices except Waiuta.

Southland’s oldc-;t resident, Mr. Thomas Barrett, ol Waikaka, was 105 years of age last Saturday. He is still remarkably active and enjoys good health. He lives alone in a cottage about half a mile from Waikaka and he -visits the township about three times a week, making the journey there and back on foot. He is still able to read quite well and takes an interest in the affairs of the world. Mr. Barrett was born at Newtown, Tasmania, on July 14, 1840. For ten years from 1857 he was connected with a coaching business in Australia and for a period drove coaches between Ballarat and Bendigo. He came to New Zealand in 1868, landing at Port Chalmers, and found employment with a coaching firm as a driver. '

Because a proportion of the shipment was affected by weevil, 400 bagu of kumaras from Fiji have been condemned by the Department of Agriculture. At present they are on the wharf awaiting shipment back to the islands. An initial shipment of 102 bags, consigned to the Internal Marketing Division, was sent, back recently because of the presence of weevil, which it was thought might do severe damage in attacks on kumaras, particularly in the North Island. ’ Contending that only a small percentage of the produce was affected, the consignors returned the kumaras to Auckland, together with 300 adaitional bags. Officers of the Department of Agriculture and of the ol Industrial and Scientific Research thoroughly examined the whole shipment and had no hesitation in rejecting it all.—P.A.

A limited amount of money is being made available for distribution to education boards for increased grants school committees, according to advice received by the Taranaki Education Board front the Education Department. The grants, which include the recent increase of 3id an hour, are to be fixed each year according to the preceding year’s figures and floor space. The fetter said that an analysis of the expenditure and requirements of a large education board indicated that an overall gratit equal to 9d a square foot of classroom floor space, together with a grant of 5/- a pupil on the primary roll, including forms one and two, as well as a further grant of 10/- a pupil on the post-primary roil, should be adequate for the essential commitments of school committees. Under the new system future variations in attendance and floor space would automatically be met. —P.A.

Residents on the town side of Sawyer’s Creek are reminded that to-morrow is their Shop Day. Donations of any kind will be thankfully received. —Advt.

Any chocolate is a good chocolate when sweets are in as short supply as they have been in ' the past few months, but 'it must be conceded that there Is extraordinary quality in a product that can retain its freshness and flavour after 20 years, with no more protection from time’s ravages than a celophane wrapping around the box, comments the “Otago Daily Times.” A large box of chocolates of a well-known brand, secured as a trophy at the New Zealand and South Seas Exhibition in Dunedin in 1925, was opened • for the first time the other day, mainly because a patient in hospital had a craving for sweets and none could be purchased through the ordinary channels. AVhen the chocolates were unwrapped they were found to be in first-class condition, showing no sign of age or discolouring, and the flavour was unimpaired.

Though whitebait were observed in the Grey River about a month ago, since the recent freshes in the river they have not re-anpeared. but small shoals have been seen in smaller rivers .and creeks throughout the province. Preparations have been commenced in South Westland, and when the season opens in a fortnight from ’■esterday it is expected that over 30 workers from district mills and farms etc., will leave to commence whitebaiting in .southern rivers. It is reported that considerable quantities of whitebait netting are available in Westport, but the position in Greymouth is the opposite, being slightly worse than last year. Some drapers have limited supplies and others have none, expecting their quota about the end of next month. One leading draper said this afternoon that his total supply of netting, which was only 72 inches ■'.vide as compared with up to 80 inches last year, would not meet the demand, and probably only six out of ten customers could be satisfied. At Hokitika, fishermen are faced with the prospect of a ban on fishing along the waterfront, where the sewers and drains empty into the river. This position would arise if the Health authorities, as has been reported from Hokitika to be imminent. take the same action as at Greymouth two years ago, prohibiting net-fishing for whitebait west of the traffic bridge.

Big reductions on Furs at Truman s Sale. Your opportunity to obtain a Quality Full Length Coat. Topper or Bolero of superb specially selected pelts, at Side prices. Truman’s.—Advt.