Local and General

Hawera Star, Volume LIV, 24 April 1935, Page 4

Local and General

Cook’s N.'Z. Business Directory is now being printed by the N.Z. Newspapers Ltd. and the first issue will appear shortly. Mr J. O’Sullivan, the business representative for the service, is at present in Hawera organising the Hawera section ito the directory.

About a week ago a six-pointer stag came down from the hills- on to Mr Tait’s paddock opposite the Tararun dairy factory, says the “Pahiatua Herald.” It approached quite close to the factory, looked over a pile of firewood, and gave a roar. Mr G. Harris’ horse which was standing in the yard dropped dead with fright. The stag was shot further down the valley the same day. In a musterers’ tint on the Mount Algidus sheep station, Lake Coleridge, an interesting enamel mug was recently found by some deerstalkers who were shooting in the lower Mathias blocks. The mug gains its interest through the approaching silver jubilee of the accession of King George, as it is painted with the portraits qf the King and Queen in their coronation robes, and bears, the date of their accession. In spite of its 25 years ,the mug is in a good condition, though the enamel is chipped in a few id aces.

Lightning was in freakish mood over Wanganui last night. At halfpast eight the firebell in Cook’s Gardens commenced ringing incessantly and contrary to all expectations continued to do so. It was not until half the populace within hearing distance was of the opinion that a serious fire had occurred that the bell decided to cease ringing. It appears that the electric wire connected with the bell came into contact with another power line immediately following a flash of lightning, resulting in a short circuit.

Mr John Masefield, who has taken to boomerang throwing as a sport—a result of his recent visit to Australia—is likely to have his efforts in that direction viewed with less bias than did Archbishop Whately. When the aborigines’ strange Aveapon first became known in Britain the difficulty of controlling its flight suggested to the Archbishop the possibilities of a game of rare skill, and he used to go into the square attached to St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin, to practice with; his chaplain. One day two old women looked through the railing to watch the sport. “That’s the Archbishop of Dublin playing in there, Mary,” one was heard to say. “Ye don’t say so!” exclaimed the other, “well, he’s the innocent -cileafure jto he throwing a stick about like that, God bless him!” “He’s the Protestant Archbishop,” explained her companion. “Ocli!” snorted Mary, “the ould fool!” An ancient jest was effectively retold the other evening at a meeting, held in Auckland, when the Birminglijim lind Midland Counties Ex-Residents’ Association came into being. Mr P. Lewis reminded'the old “Brums” present of the leisured manner in which the trains of the Harborne branch line used to travel from Birmingham to its outer suburbs. The Harborne “express” had never been known to be punctual, and regular travellers used to settle down for a comfortable snooze on their homeward journey, knowing that they would be awakened by the guard, or'disl.odged from their newspapers, on arriving. On one historic occasion, however, the train was actually half an hour ahead of ‘time! The event was so sensational that it was at once decided to make a presentation to the guard and driver. A collection was being taken up when one of the residents inquired what day it was. It was the day after that on which the train had started, so the presentation was “off.”

The opinion that Taranaki was “selling” itself as a tourist district without help from the Government was expressed to a reporter at New Plymouth yesterday by a citizen who lias returned from a business trip around the North Island. At the Government tourist office at Wellington, he said, there was an enormous map of New Zealand in a prominent position. On it wore signs showing the various resorts ,and holiday spots of the Dominion, with short descriptive notices attached to each'. Throughout all Taranaki there was no single resort mentioned in spite of the comprehensive nature of the general scheme. This type of thing, trivial in itself, was capable of doing immense harm when repeated a number of times, he said. It was quite true that tourists could conic to New Zealand and never hear of Taranaki. It was equally true "that they had not seen New Zealand, until they had seen the province. It provided as fine a field for the sportsman, the photographer or the tourist as .could be found anywhere in the Dominion.

In the course of a wireless broadcast recently, Mr Robert L. Ripley, the originator of the “Believe It or Not” cartoons, referred to the Waitomo Caves in New Zealand as the most wonderful sight in the world. In -a letter to the “Herald,” Dr. R. H. Boyd, of London, says he was listening to the British Broadcasting Corporation’s special wireless relay from the United States one Saturday afternoon last month. Mr Ripley was introduced over the air, and in his own fashion described the most interesting people and tilings he had seen. China, he said, was the most interesting country and the island of Bali, in the E ; ast Indies, was the most beautiful. Then he was asked what was the most wonderful sight he had •seen on earth. Replying to the question, Mr ; Ripley said the most wonderful sight was not on the earth, but under it—an underground cavern, the glow-worm cave at Waitomo, in the North Island of New Zealand. Dr. Boyd said Mr Ripley proceeded to describe the natural wonders of the cave in rapturous terms. Mr Ripley visited New Zealand in 1932 in the course of a tourist cruise of the Pacific. He made an overland tour of the North Island, durng whch he visited Waitomo.