NEWS OF THE DAY

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20631, 12 August 1941, Page 4

NEWS OF THE DAY

Post Office Burnt Down The Putorino Post Office and store, half-way between Wairoa and Napier, was destroyed by fire on Saturday night. The building, which was comparatively new, was a landmark on the road, being immediately opposite the Waikari Hotel and well known to travellers. —Special. Carvings For East Coast A number of Maori carvings for new meeting-houses at Te Kaha and Tolaga Bay are being executed in Rotorua by Mr. J. Taiapa and others. They were inspected on Sunday by Sir Apirana Ngata, M.P. for Eastern Maori, who is /is.ting Rotorua. Frost and Rain A frost of 1.1 degrees was recorded chis morning at the Gisborne meteoro logical station, Darton Field. For th’e 24 hours ended at 9 a.m. to-day 0.33 in. of rain was recorded at the meteorological station, this making the total for the month 2.57 in. The average rainfall for August taken over 60 years is 4.25 in. He Offered Cash! During an auction sale in Wairoa, bidding for a piano was going merrily. The offers went to “forty-seven-and-a-half,” and a man raised it by “two-and-a-half.” When the time came to collect the money the final bidder said, “Oh, I’ll pay cash',” and handed over 50 shillings. To the amazement of everybody, he thought that “two-and-a-half” meant just a trifling 2s 6d! —Special. Presentation To Soldiers Leading Aircraftman O’Malley and Privates Smyth, Finucane, Ogden, Boyd, Moroney and Sandeman were presented with useful gilts at an entertainment in Wairoa on Saturdaynight. The Mayor, Mr. H. L. Harker, and the chairman of the entertainment committee, Mr. J. Corkill, wished che men the best ot luck, and the parcels were handed over by the Mayoress,' Mrs. Harker—Special. Home Guard Discharges Routine orders for the Gisborne Borough Battalion, Home Guard, notify the granting of discharges to a number of guardsmen on their joining other organisations. Four men from the battalion have lately entered mobilisation camps, five have passed into the Territorials, and one has joined the navy. Nine others have transferred to the National Military Reserve, and a handful to the emergency precautions services. Bail Service Wanted The lack of a rail service to Hawke’s Bay to enable soldiers to visit their homes during the week-end leave has been the subject of concern on the part of some men in Trentham camp whose homes are in Hastings, Napier and other parts of northern Hawke’s Bay. One of these soldiers communicated recently with the Government asking whether a service could be inaugurated, but received no reply to his letter. Japanese Leaving New Zealand There are very few Japanese in New Zealand and they are practically all temporary residents as representatives of Japanese firms doing business in this country. The freezing of assets, of course, has affected their businesses, and it is no longer worth their while to remain here, and they are returning to Japan. Their departure has no other significance, states Mr. N. Nakafuji, who is in charge of the Japanese Consulate in Wellington, and the consulate office is not being closed.