Local and General

Hawera Star, Volume LIV, 22 February 1935, Page 6

Local and General

Sparks from a gorse fire, aided by a strorl? north-east wind, were responsible for the. destruction of several chains of a large boundary boxthorn hedge, on properties on Ahaipaipa Rload, about three miles from Okaiawa. The grass was burned for some distance on both sides of the hedge. A suggestion that the Government might be asked to make a film demonstrating the dangers of fire and methods of prevention was advanced by a delegate to the annual conference of the New Zealand branch of the Institution of Fire Engineers yesterday. Copies of this film, he thought, might he distributed to the theatres as part of the propaganda for j Fire Prevention Week. Several other suggestions were made - for the improvement of the work done by the brigades in teaching methods of preventing fire. Fire Prevention Week will be held this year in the middle of March. A unique poiut of law that escaped the notice of one of the most astute practitioners of the law was detected in the Supreme Court at Palmerston North by the Chief Justice, -Sir Michael .Myers. .When counsel rose to support a petition in divorce, his Honour remarked: “I am afraid you are a bit previous. Papers in this case were not served until December 21, when the legal vacation of 28 days had already begun. During that period time does not (legally speaking) run, and from January 20 to the opening of the session was only 15 days.” A recent visitor to Australia has forwarded to the Evening Post a copy of The Sunday Sun and Guardian, published in On February 10 that newspaper contained the following announcement under the heading ‘ ‘ Happenings of the World Last Week”: —“Wellington: Volcanoes surrounding the city erupt. Mount Ngauruhoe sends column 4000 feet high.” It may interest the Sunday Sun and Guardian and its readers to know that there are no volcanoes “surrounding tlie city,” and that Ngquruhoe is some 200 miles distant from Wellington.

A man who finds conditions in New Zealand vastly changed since his last visit is Rear-Admiral Campbell, R.N. (retired), who has come fo Christchurch in the course of a holiday tour. He was last in New Zealand 30 years ago. “It was difficult to get leave in those days to allow one sufficient time to see the country,” he said this week. On this occasion he had bought a car, he added, and lie intended to see as much as time would permit. From Christchurch lie intended to go to the Franz Josef glacier, thence to Nelson. He had already visited the chief points of interest in the North Island, including Lake Taupo, where ho did some fishing, but with indifferent success, and the Waitomo Caves. “New Zealand is a delightful country,” he said. “I have never seen anything just like it.”

Gisborne is having some trouble with the preparation of its aerodrome. According to Mr Herbert de Costa, a borough councillor for the past 17 years, who is at present in Wellington, the municipality has a 100-acre block between Gisborne and Makaraka, which is the makings of a fine aerodrome. Part of the block still requires to be levelled off, ana the council decided to do the work with the aid of relief labour. So far, however, men have refused to work on the job at relief rates. They argued that as the ground was to be prepared for use by commercial companies they should be paid standard rates. To concede standard wages would mean a very substantial increase in the cost of preparing the ground and would probably lead to an addition to the rates.

A very popular member of the Byrd Expedition was Dr. L. H. Potaka, who joined late, but almost immediately tpok a high place In the esteem of the members. On his arrival he performed an operation that saved the life of one of the members, and thereafter his cheerful presence made itself felt in many other ways. One of the minor tragedies of the expedition w r as the loss of two cases of champagne, buried in snow, and never located. “The doctor was the most persistent tunneller I have ever seen,” said Rear-Ad-miral Byrd, adding that many of his men risked their lives over those two cases. “He was also the only member of the expedition who knew where everything was kept. When anything was lost, the first appeal was to the doctor. You can quote me as saying he did a great job down there.”