NEWS OF THE DAY

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20636, 16 August 1941, Page 4

NEWS OF THE DAY

Troops For Trenlham A small supplementary draft of men to join the reinforcement now training at Trentham will leave Gisborne on Monday afternoon. The men will stayin Wairoa overnight, and will continue their journey by Tuesday morning’s railcar to Napier. The draft will comprise G. Clark, G. M. Crawford, A. R. Parsons, B. B. Quinn, J. D. D. Mackay, and V. P. Sweeney.

Slip Blocks Road A large slip on the main RotoruaWhakatane highway near Rotoiti held up all traffic on Thursday, inducing the service bus from Gisborne, which was delayed for over two hours. Hopes of transferring the passengers across the face of tne slip to a dus on the Rotorua side were frustrated by the numerous fails of earth which continued, and it was necessary to wait until a new road had been cleared by a bulldozer.

Slarr-Bowkelt Society At .the annual meeting of shareholders in the Wairoa Starr-Bowkett Building Society, the retiring directors, Messrs. H. Christensen, J. N. Lindsay and J. M. Osier, were reelected, and the retiring auditors, Messrs. J. J. Millar and A. H. H. Unwin, were re-elected. A ballot was held for an appropriation of £750 and was drawn by cluster 106, shares 526 to 530. A substitute draw was cluster 79, shares 391 to 395. One application for withdrawal was approved. —Special.

Vandalism in Wairoa A mild wave of vandalism has broken out in Wairoa. A concrete footpath in Kabul street, in course of preparation, received the imprints of women’s heels, while a man, who met the women, went one better and jumped up and down on the wet surface. Then, when a prominent business man went into the Wairoa PublicLibrary to consult the files, he found the paper he wanted practically torn from its holder. The other day a lime tree in Campbell street, in one of the Borough Council’s rows planted for beautifying purposes, was found cut near the base by an axe or slasher. —Special. Soldiers’ Farewells An effort is being made by the municipal and patriotic authorities to guard against a recurrence of Wednesday’s incident, when a party of troops who had been on leave in Gisborne returnde to camp without the customary compliments on behalf of district residents. It has been emphasised more than once that civilian authorities are not advised directly by the training-camp authorities of the dates on which men return to camp alter leave, and that this makes it difficult to keep abreast of troop movements. Transport companies share the difficulties of municipal and patriotic authorities to some extent, for the number of troops travelling at any time on expiry of leave is uncertain. The Mayor, Mr. N. H. Bull, is endeavouring to arrange for advice from army headquarters which will obviate the trouble. Keen Amateur Spirit

Among the contestants in the High School boxing tournament, held last evening, the amateur spirit was amply evident. The bouts were fought with tremendous vim, and some first-class performances were given both in the school championship section and in the challenge section. Last year the school tournament had to be abandoned for tack of entries, but last night’s programme of 29 bouts, long as it was, represented only a selection from the talent offering. As is usual in a fixture of this nature, a variety of styles was exhibited, but the work of Mr. Jack Heeney in coaching the boys was seen in the consistent predominance if the straight left punch. The attitude of the school authorities towards the sport of boxing was expressed by the rector, Mr. Jas. Hutton, who remarked that he could wish to see many more boys taking an active part.

Guardmcn’s Changed Status Evidence of the changed status of Home Guardsmen resulting from the reorganisation of New Zealand defence plans is provided by the fact that officers and non-commissioned officers now concentrated at schools of instruction for intensive training are on Territoial rates of pay. During the past three months a large number of guardsmen have attended courses at the army schools of instruction, a majority of them taking portions of their annual business holidays, while others sacrificed their pay as well as their time in order to become as expert as possible in the Home Guard posts. These men were not paid for attendance at the schools, though they received rations, accommodation, and transport free. Payment of Territorial rates for attendance at the courses will enable many men to undergo special instruction who, for financial reasons, were unable to nominate in the past.

School Holidays Terms to'be observed in primary schools in Gisborne for 1942 were fixed by the Hawke’s Bay Education Board at its meeting yesterday as follows: —First term, February 2 to May 8: second term, May 25 to August 21: third term. September 7 to December 18. Medal Presented An impressive ceremony took place at the Drill Hall. Dunedin, when, on the approval of the Governor-Gen-eral, Sir Cyril Newall, the Meritorious Service Medal was presented to Regimental Sergeant-Major W. H. McLenaghan, of the New Zealand Permanent Staff. The area staff officer, Lieutenant-Colonel J. G. Jeffery, M.C., V.D., A.D.C., made the award to Sergeant-Major McLenaghan, Heavy Ruatoria Rainfall A total of 18.35 in. of rain was recorded at Pakihiroa station, on the foothills of Mt. Hikurangi, Ruatoria. in July. Rain fell on 10 days last month, compared with 11.86 in. recorded on 15 days during July last year. The heaviest 24-hour fall was on July 25, when 4.33 in. was recorded. The total rainfall for the eight months of this year is now 64.87 m., 5.56 in. more than for the same period last year. Clinic Desirable Information is to be sought by the Hawke’s Bay Education Board into 'the advisability of establishing in Napier a clinic to provide special training for children with defections in their speech. The clinic was advocated at yesterday’s meeting of the board by the Napier Headmasters’ Association, which stated that it had circularised schools recently as to the number of children suffering from stammering and other speech defects and as it was therefore in a position to know whether a clinic was practicable or not, it agreed that it was desirable. First Aid Classes The war has made a tremendous difference to the number and size of classes held by the St. John Ambulance Association in Gisborne, and the secretary, Mr. J. J. Macdonald, stated to-day that the assocition had issued during the past 18 months more certificates than in a period of many years previously. A class of 60 in Gisborne was waiting for the practical side of its examination in first aid', while a home nursing class was being conducted in Patutahi and a first aid class in Waerenga-a-hika, with a class starting in Manutuke shortly. Arrangements were being made to commence a class in first aid next Wednesday, and an air raid precautions class on Tuesday, and enrolments for these were being sought. Removal of Railway Plant Workmen at Waikoura Camp, on the Gisborne-Waikokopu section of the East Coast Main Trunk line, have been busy recently reconditioning and packing tunnelling machinery for dispatch to other parts of New Zealand. The completion of the main tunnelling works on the line, and the urgent need for plant on new undertakings elsewhere, have resulted in a speedup of this work, and a number of items have been checked over and dispatched to date through the port of Gisborne. Hydro-electric projects near Timaru and Cambridge, respectively, will receive gear from Gisborne and Waikokopu, and probably a good deal of material used in the construction of the Tuai lower-develop-ment scheme also will be sent out of the district shortly. Gifts of Clothing There was a generous response to an appeal for warm clothing for the inmates of the Heni Materoa Children’s Home, according to the report the matron presented to members of the Cook County Women’s Guild at their monthly meeting recently. Thanks were expressed to the donors for the clothes. A donation of £5 5s from the Gisborne Savage Club was gratefully received. Accounts amounting to £43 were passed for payment. Those present at the meeting were Mesdames H. G. Wellborne, chairman, A. F. Hall, J. W. Fergie. E. R, Scott, H. A. Angell, H. Holmes, I. J. Quigley, W. Neal, J. E. Newton, H. W. Buckley, and T. Munro. Apologies for absence were received from Mesdames W. M. Jenkins, H. Gilmer, J. Williams and A. Sealey. Mesdames W. A. Neal and FI. A. Angell were appointed a visiting committee l'or the month.

Troop’s Appreciation of Parcels Two appreciative letters from men serving in the Fourth Field Ambulance in the Middle East, who have received parcels from the Te Hapara Patriotic Sewing Circle, have been received by the secretary of the circle, Mrs. E. M. C. Attewell. One of the writers mentions that the recipients of the parcels were as thrilled as small boys at a Christmas-tree, and asks the secretary to convey his special thanks to Judith Jones and the "Scarlet Pimpernel.” The other writer states that the parcels were very acceptable after the men bad arrived back from Greece, and the contens, especially the fruit cake, arrived in perfect condition. He also said that the placing of the tube of toothpaste in a tobacco tin was a good idea, for if not protected in some way these tubes and other things, such as honey cartons, usually burst before they are received, and liberally bespattered the remaining articles. Frog- From Australia

A stowaway in a cargo of hardwood recently landed at Timaru, an Australian tree frog, nearly the size of a newly-hatched chicken, is now sojourning at the Canterbury Museum. Inspecting the hardwood Mr. R. B. Moorhouse, of the State Advances Department, found the frog fast asleep in a crevice in one of the pieces of timber. Like all the frogs of the temperate zones, it sleeps during the colder months, and even now, in a big glass jar in Dr. R. A. Falla’s office, where a comfortable open fire burns, it is still too drowsy to take any notice of food. Dr. Falla is doubtful whether the frog could survive the cold of the South Island winter. If it did establish itself, he says, it would probably prove useful as an enemy of injurious insects. The frog is being kept alive, for observation of its diet and habits.