NEWS Of The DAY

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXVI, Issue 22948, 17 May 1949, Page 4

NEWS Of The DAY

Coal Shortage at Greymouth There is a serious shortage of coal at Greymouth at present. Merchants describe the position as being “pretty grim” and believe that supplies will become even shorter because of a cold snap that has set in. Chestnut Tree 103 Years Old

It has recently been discovered that - the chestnut tree at Brooklands, New Plymouth, was planted in 184 S, A familiar sight to most residents of the city and an object of Interest to visitors from all over the world, the tree was previously thought to have been planted in 1855. Export of Whale Oil A total of 114,698 gallons of whale oil, valued at £29,670, was exported from New Zealand last year. The total amount of tallow exported was 20,063 tons, of a value of £2,154,201. More than . 34,000 cwt. of pumice sand and stone, of ■'* a total value of £10,189, were also exported. Domestic Help on Farms Because of the shortage of domestic help on farms a remit urging an extra tax exemption for farmers’ wives who do extra cooking and caring for farm workers was passed at a recent meeting of the Timaru-St. Andrew’s branch of Federated Farmers. Taupo Fishing Season

The fishing season at Taupo, which closed on Saturday was, in the opinion of experienced anglers, the best for years. Sport in the western bays has been consistenly good both in quantity and quality of fish, but the river fishing owing to the late running of the fish, has been difficult. The esatern side has not maintained its reputation, though many good fish have been taken there. Sale of N.Z. Butter

A claim by Mr. W. Vallance, of Rotomanu, that New Zealand butter, shipped to Britain, had then been sold by Bri- _ tain to the United States at a big profit ' in dollars, was denied by the chairman of the New Zealand Dairy Board, Mr. W. E. Hale, speaking at a conference in Greymouth. “I have recently returned from Britain and found that although small odd sales might be made, it is not the general practice,” said Mr. Hale. He added that the production of margarine had been doubled in Britain and that the fat shortage had been almost overcome. War Veterans’ Villas

The outcome of a meeting held at Okoroire by the building committee of >- the New Zealand. Patriotic Fund Board, in conjunction with a local committee, was a decision to start preliminary work immediately on the establishment of war veterans’ villas at Okoroire. An outline of the scheme was given by the deputy-chairman of the board, Sir William Perry. A modem village settlement where former servicemen could lead their own lives was proposed, he fi said. Rock Drawings

The pictorial survey, started three years ago, of limestone rock drawings discovered in various districts of tne South Island has been completed by Mr, Theo Schcon for the Department of In--ternal Allairs. The survey comprises about 140 separate facsimile reproduc- „ tions in oils. One of the original draw- ' ings* is 80 feet long and another 30 feeW high. Replica sets of copies are to bP sent to the Dominion Museum in \Vellington and to the Auckland and Otago. Museums. The master set will be sent to the Canterbury Museum,