LOCAL & GENERAL

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XXVI, Issue 149, 9 June 1936, Page 6

LOCAL & GENERAL

Succession of Frosts. A record for successive frosts has been broken for Puxekohe and the surrounding district, nine having occurred without interruption. Lifelong residents of the district cannot recall j similar occurrence, and it is many years since more than three frosts were experienced at Pukekohe in succession. A long-standing record of eight successive frosts at Waiuku also has been broken. Docking of Warships. After undergoing cleaning and painting, H.M.S. Leith was undocked at Auckland yesterday morning. Her place in the dock will be taken by H.M.S. Wellington, who will also have her hull cleaned and painted. Both warships are scheduled to sail on June 17 on a cruise to the South Sea Islands, from whieh they will return to Auckland on October 2. Ironbark Poles. A shipment of 637 ironbark poles from Australia has been received by the Hawke’s Bay Electric Power Board. They aro of good quality and have been transported to the peg sites for the first section of tho Mangatahi extension. As soon as a new lorry has been obtained by the board a start will be made on the erection of this power line Trees That Are a Menace. Tho cutting down, free of cost, of all trees that are a danger to electric power lines in the policy of tho Hawke’s Bay Electric Power Board. Twenty willows along the Tukituki road have been trimmed back and ring barked during the past month. Also, twelve trees along Auckland road, Greenmeadows and 30 poplars at Pukahu have been cut down. The Price of Freedom. For 2/6 some taxpayer has freed his troubled conscience from the burden of knowing that he owed money to the Treasury, although a notice in the latest Gazette indicates that freedom from such worry has proved more expensive for other people. The amount acknowledged as being paid anonymously to various Government departments amounts to £l9 2/6, the largest sum being £lO paid to the Railways Department. Herd of Goats.

A mob of between 100 and 150 goats being driven leisurely along Anzac Parade, Wanganuj, the other morning attracted tho attention of a number of residents. The goats, which were being driven down from an up-river district, were headed in the direction of Aramoho. The animals were of a variety of colours and appeared to be little perturbed by their unusual surroundings. At one stage of the journey they were followed by a number of schoolchildren, to .whom they were an unusual sight. Tax on Hospital Wards. Auckland private hospitals generally are full at the present time, having experienced a busy period during the last three months, according to a statement made by a leading surgeon. There is no particular reason, or cause for alarm, in consequence of the position, it is said, as surgical work is the main province of such institutions. Hospital officials themselves explained that their wards were usually filled with patients admitted for operations. The prevalence of seasonable colds and mild cases of influenza has also kept registered nurses particularly busy for some weeks past. Shifting Population. An interesting insight into the movements of residents wus provided by Mr. W. B. Roe, headmaster of the Parkvale School, in tho course of his monthly report to the committee last evening Commenting on the shifting population of that area, he said that during the last three years 460 pupils had been admitted to the school, which meant on the average roll that onethird of the school was new each year. “Under such conditions it speaks well for the staff that the efficiency is as high as it is, considering the difficulties they have io contend with,” he said.

Unusual Cloud Colouring. A very beautiful colouring of a bank of alto-cirrus clouds was seen in Epsom (Auckland) at 2.33 p.m. on Sunday. The heavier cirro-cumulus clouds which had been covering the sky moved away and the sun was seen shining through a bank ot high-altitude, delicate cirrus, which took on the hues of the inside of a mother-of-pearl shell. From this fact the clouds are known generally as “mother-of-pearl” or iridescent clouds. They aro of very rai urrence being seen principally ii twilight, and apparently they I. . n little observed outside ol N, and Canada. From the motion ot the cloud it was apparent that at an altitude of about 15 miles there was a very strong westerly wind, although on tho surface a gentle breeze was blowing from the east. Safety of Joseph Conrad. Feats for the safety of the fullrigged ship Joseph Conrad were emphatically discounted by an Auckland resident, who is acquainted with the chief officer, Mr. G. Chapman, and also knows the conditions likely to be encountered by the vessel on the way to Tahiti. “There is only one chance in a hundred of the ship having foundered,” he said. “This is the best time in the year for sailing in. the Pacific — the dangerous period is from December to March.” He expressed the. opinion that Mr Allan J. Villiers had taken the Joseph Conrad through Cook Strait in order that »ie might be sighted. The further the vessel stood to the southward, the better chance there would be of laying a course and gaining the advantage of the winds from the south-east. It was possible that the Joseph Conrad might visit Sunday Island if adverse winds caused her to be in the vicinity, as Mr. Chapman had obtained particulars of the landings at the Kermadics while in Auckland.

Passed As Satisfactory. An inspection has been carried out by the Public Works Department of all the line extensions, alterations and new work erected in the Hawke’s Bay Electric Power Board’s district during the past twelve months, both in the country and Hastings area, and the whole area was passed as satisfactory and in accordance with the regulations. Flight to Auckland. A fast flight of two-and-a-half hours from Hastings to Auckland, via Taupo and Hamilton, was made during the week-end by Mr. Mervyn Bateman, of the Hawke's Bay and East Coast Aero Club, in a Gipsy Moth machine. Mr. Bateman took a passenger with him, and they returned next day in 2 hours 3d minutes. A Frosty Month. Following the 17 frosts recorded in May, when the lowest grass-tempera-ture registered at Cornwall Park was 22.4 degrees, there has been a trust in Hastings on every morning of this month. Bright sunshine and an almost complete absence of rain, however, have made the cold temperatures mpre than ordinarily bearable. The lowest grass-temperature recorded this month was 18 degrees on Juno 3. Hastings, Australia, A letter addressed to a Hastings firm at “Hastings, Australia”, was delivered in this morning’s mail, and came as another proof of the carelessness of people jn the matter of geography and of the infallibity of the Post Office officials in nullifying other people’s mistakes. The letter was sent from Copenhagen, Denmark, and reached its destination without any delay as a result of the .writer’s error Electric Water-Heating, New water-heating cables and electric conti ol wires have been erected in rhe north-west area of Hastings during the past month by the Hawke’s Bay Electric Power Board. The following streets have been completed.— Queen street, Avenue road, St. Aubyn street, Whitehead road, Fitzroy avenue, Gray’s road, Market street, King street, Nelson street, Tomoana road and McLean street. Calleryites' Tea. The serving of a tea which was spread out a little precariously on the parapet was one of the means £aken by a party of gallery patrons in the Municipal Theatre last evening to detract from the discomforts of a long and rather cold wait in the queue. The party consisted of a number of girls who had brought with them vacuum flasks, teacups, and tins of cakes, and they quite evidently enjoyed themselves. Visit to Art Gallery, Yesterday afternoon a party of twenty senior pupils of the Hastings High School, consisting of the members of the sixth form, paid a visit to the Hawke’s Bay Art Gallery and Museum at Napier. They were accompanied by the principal, Mr. W. A. G. Penlington, and were conveyed in cars kindly loaned by some of the parents. They spent an interesting hour examining the fine collection of curios and works of art. Effect ot ‘Quake. The recent earthquake shock felt in Hawke’s Bay and other parts of the North Island is believed to have been responsible, according to tho caretaker of the Parkvalo Schoo], for a slight dislocation of the sewerage system in tho vicinity of the school baths. “The sewer has not been running as freely as before the sharp earthquake shock of two or three weeks ago,” he said in his report to the committee last evening. Use of Electricity. A steady increase in the number of consumers of electricity in the Hawke’s Bay Electric Power Board’s district is shown in the monthly report of tho secretary-manager, Mr. H. H. Wylie, adopted by the board this ofternoon. Throughout tho whole district there are at present 6836 consumers, 3788 in Hastings and 3018 in the country. The increase during the past month for Hastings and the country respectively is 13 and 18. The following increases are shown in regard to plant: Milking plants, two; electric ranges, five; hot water systems 15. Band Uniforms. Uniforms in which the Napier Citizens’ Band hopes to parade on the King’s Birthday are at present scattered over the whole of the North Island ip the course of alterations. The white belts with which the uniforms will be equiped are being manufactured in Auckland. the uniform trousers are being made or altered in Wellington, and most of the jackets are being altered in Napier. It was found when the uniforms arrived in Napier that, having been made for an English regiment, the sizes were too small for the majority of the Napier bandsmen, and they have to bp altered in nearly every case. A similar experience was the case with the Wellington and East Coast Mounted lliflcs band uniforms. »hi-:h had to b B returned to England.