DOMINION ITEMS

Greymouth Evening Star, 23 October 1945, Page 2

DOMINION ITEMS

OLD MILL DESTROYED. WELLINGTON, October 21. Percy Brothers’ flourmill, a 100-year-old landmark on the Western Hutt Road, Petone, was destroyed by fire on Saturday evening. The Petone Fire Brigade was called out, but was unable to save the building. “It was pure vandalism,” said the Mayor of Petone (Mr. H-. Green), last evening. “The ranger was there, at 6 p.m., and found everything in order, and that was not long before the fire. The ranger says that there were two previous attempts to fire Percy’s mill.” i BOULDER ON LINE WELLINGTON, October 22. An attempt made on a recent afternoon to derail a train on the Welling-ton-Johnsonville-line is believed to have been the work of children. Boulders and other obstructions were placed on the line near a tunnel. The train hit them, but it was not travelling fast enough to be derailed. There was a steep drop over a bank not far from where the obstruction was placed; When the driver got out to clear the boulders he heai;d boys laughing in the gorse above the line, but did .not see them. No damage was done to the train or the track.

FAMILY ALLOWANCE WELLINGTON, Oct. 22. In an. open letter to the Prime Min-, ister (Mr. Fraser), the president of the Dominion Settlement and Population Association (Mr. A. Leigh Hunt) makes the suggestion that the family allowance should not apply to the first child but should be on a graduated scale for succeeding children up to the sixth. Mr. Hunt says that when a couple marry it can be taken that they are prepared to bring up one child, and, as population needs call for larger families, the allowance should start at 10/- a week for the second, and be increased by 2/6 a child to £1 for the sixth and subsequent children. Mr. Hunt points out that even an average family of three children would not populate New Zealand, and emphasises the need for encouraging larger families. CHILD’S NIGHT ORDEAL DUNEDIN, October 23. After spending last night jammed among the rocks below the mole at the spit side of Otago harbour heads, with waves breaking over him, David McGregor, aged 3i years, son of Mr and Mrs. D. McGregor of Blacks Road, North-east Valley, was found this morning. He was suffering from exposure and shock, but appeared to recover quickly after being dried and warmed.

The family were camped for the week-end at the .spit. David was playing, but apparently wandered away, and was missed late in the afternoon, the preliminary searches failing to recover him. The police were notified, and search parties organised. Police constables, parents and other people living or camping in the locality were mobilised into parties which scoured the area all night without result. About eight o’clock this morning, the driver of a crane at the mole found the child jammed among the rocks under the mole. The boy must have walked about half a mile along the mole and then fallen among the rocks. When found he was soaking wet as the result of waves breaking over him, and blue with cold. He appeared to .recover rapidly and seemed little the worse.