NEWS OF THE DAY

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20477, 11 February 1941, Page 4

NEWS OF THE DAY

First Full-Day Parade The first full-day parade of the Wairoa National Military Reserve was held on Sunday at the Lambton Square ground, under the command of Mr. J. H. McCrea. All told. 107 men were on parade.—Special.

Red Triangle Day At the monthly meeting of the board of directors of the Gisborne Y.M.C.A., held last night, considerable pleasure was expressed at the result of the Red Triangle Day held last month. The final figure for the day was £ll2 7s 3d, the third best total on record. The board conveyed its thanks to Miss E. Hegarty and her band of helpers, who did such fine work. During the evening a welcome was extended to Mr. W. S. Taylor, who took his seat on the board for the first time.

Men in Essential Services A circular from the Electricity Controller dealing with enrolments in the Home Guard as affecting workers in essential services, was read at the monthly meeting of the Wairoa Elec-tric-Power Board yesterday. The secretary of the board, Mr. B. G. Signall, explained that such men as technicians should always be available for duties in essential services in the event of an emergency. The board decided to advise the executive of the Wairoa Home Guard that men in essential services should be available in any emergency.—Special.

Old Resident’s Birthday

Celebrating his seventy-seventh birthday in Gisborne last week was Mr. Thomas Andrew, who has been in the district for over 60 years. Mr. Andrew was born at Coromandel in 1864 and saw the first rush to the goldfields there. He has some vivid memories of Gisborne in the early days, one particular incident being a bullock dray stuck for three weeks .in the main road near Humphrey’s corner and then needing 22 bullocks to pull it out. Four generations were present at the party, including his nine children, 33 grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren, all of whom have been born in Gisborne.

Canteen Prices Criticised

Further complaints about canteen prices at the New Zealand base camp in Egypt were made by Auckland soldiers who have been invalided home. Compared with the Australian canteens, which were conducted by an Australian organisation, it was stated, the prices charged for some goods were almost double for New Zealanders. One soldier said they had to pay the equivalent of about 2s for a meal which cost only Is or Is 3d in New Zealand. Tobacco was also expensive,, aqd soldiers complained that they were not able to get the tobacco they were accustomed to smoking. Registration For War Work

The organisation of auxiliary war work was discussed at a meeting of the district committee of the Women’s War Service Auxiliary, held yesterday in Gisborne, and it was agreed that the first step should be the compilation of a register of those willing to undertake such duties. The secretary, Miss C. Kay, reported that a supply of registration cards had come to hand, and the representative of the Lady Galway Guild placed the guild rooms at the disposal of the committee for the purpose of enrolling workers. The rooms will be opened for this purpose from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Tuesdays, and from 2 to 4 p.m. on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. Those registering are to be invited to state the organisation with which they are affiliated, if any, and the type of work they are prepared to undertake if called upon.

Wellington Whisky Drought “If a hotel-keeper required a quarter-cask of whisky, or even a case of bottled whisky of standard brands, he could not get it from us,” said the storekeeper of a big Wellington wholesale firm recently. Such a position has never been-encountered before in the firm's existence of well over half a century. Nor would it have occurred on this occasion were it not for the fact that two vessels with heavy consignments of spirits were sunk in quick succession by enemy action. One is said to have had 25,000 cases of whisky on board, as well as a good deal of bulk spirit. The shortage has been acute since immediately before Christmas, and early in January stores were so low that only old hotel customers could get what was left in three-bottle lots. Now even that stock is exhausted, and no new supplies are expected until next month. Practically the same conditions apply to other lines of spirits, it was stated.

Win For Single Men In a cricket match played between single and married members of Senior A Grade club teams during the weekend the single men won outright by nine wickets. The first innings of the married men yielded 95 runs, 50 ot these being scored by E. Bridge and 15 by E. McKenzie. J. Barbour took five wickets for 15 runs, and E. Gardner caught out four of the batsmen. Single men made 93 in their first innings, J. Blanc 24 not out being topscorer; E. James took six wickets for 46 runs-and A. McLean four for 24. The benedicts suffered a bad collapse in their second innings, none getting double figures, and the innings closing for 37; M. O’Brien and E. H. Dow each took five wickets very cheaply, and Gardner added two more catches. Requiring 49 runs to win, the single men had no trouble, Thomson contributing 23 not out, and the match finishing with single men having lost only one wicket. A single v. married match for B Grade senior players, also played during the week-end, was drawn. ,