DOMINION NEWS

Grey River Argus, 14 December 1943, Page 3

DOMINION NEWS

YOUTH DROWNED IN RIVER. WELLINGTON, Dec. 12. Ronald Hudson Scoon ,aged 17, of Exchange Street, Upper Hutt, was drowned this afternoon while swimming in the Hutt River. It is understood that Scoon, who was not a' good swimmer, got into difficulties and was drowned before assistance could reach him. The body was recovered by a serviceman and artificial respiration was tried unsuccess--1 fully. £l5O STOLEN FROM SAFE. AUCKLAND, Dec. 12. Thieves who broke into the drapery premises of Flacksons, in Karahgahape Road last night, blew open the same and decamped with £loo in casn. The manner in which the safe was opened indicated that the intruders were skilled safebreakers. Entrance was gained through a window on the roof, which was unlocked. PRACTICE BOMB FALLS ON ROAD. AUCKLAND, Dec. 12. A practice bomb fell from an aircraft and blew a hole in the roadway at Herne Bay. No one was injured and no structural damage was. done, even a' small tree about 10 feet from where the bomb landed being unmarked, The bomb, which weighed only a few pounds, blew a hole tour feet deep and about seven feet in diameter in the road, throwing debris high into the air. Some alarm was caused to nearby residents, who were in their gardens. An Air Force official said that a practice bomb contained a light explosive charge designed mainly to release smoke and thus mark the fall of the bomb.

Although the smoke hung about in still air for some time after the bomb exploded, many residents in the street were not aware that they had won. the dubious honour of being the first bombed area in New Zealand. Typical of the attitude toward the incident of many residents was the comment of one woman who thought the explosion was a car backfiring.