DOMINION NEWS

Hokitika Guardian, 12 July 1940, Page 6

DOMINION NEWS

;)UAKE CAUSES FALL OF ROCK

Per Press Association —Copyright)

WELLINGTON, July 11

A, noise resembling a heavy explosion, reported from the Seddon-Ward district of Marlborough, on Tuesday, is explained by the Dominion Observatory, as being connected probably with ap earthquake shock recorded at 8.22 a.m. The shock was comparatively small, and was about 30 miles from •Wellington, which would place it in the area stated. There was a shock at 7.54 a.m., but this was further away, As a long, rumbling sound was heard, the Observatory considers the ’quake caused a fall of rock somewhere about the Awatere Valley. RIVER EROSION CHRISTCHRCH, July 11. No guarantee is to be given by the Waimakariri River Trust against, erosion wdiich may . cause property losses at Kairaki. The trust decided at a meeting yesterday to inform the Kaiapoi Borough Council in response to an.inquiry, that endeavour would be made- to hold a line east from the present mouth of Saltwater creek.

The engineer Mr H. W. Harris) said, it would be impossible for the trust to. commit, itself to any promise, '['he development of the river mouth must always be its main concern, and nothing should be done, in any case, to allay the erosion of the Kairaki beach along a line running east from the present mouth of Saltwater creek.

Mr Harris said that to give a promise might involve the trust in the expenditure of thousands of pounds. The nature of the country made protection a very difficult proposition, and though he did not belittle the values of the properties there, and the houses, it w r as hardly practicable to go to the expenditure that might be necessary for the protection of those properties. CAR- STRIKES TRAM CHRISTCHURCH, July 11. No one was hurt when a motorcar and the 6.8 p.m. tram from New Brighton collided, at the Winhana loop between Bexley and Breeze’s road, at 6.15 p.m. yesterday. The tram service was. not interrupted, MAN SUFFERS SEVERE BURNS : TIMARIT, July ’ 10.' An elderly, man named .Ripping; gale employed 'on the Grampian Station, Mackenzie Country, was admitted to the Tiinaru Hospital this afternoon suffering from extensive body Turns caused by his falling into tlie fire in a hut which he occupied. SECURITY TAX WELLINGTON, July. 11. : The executive of the, Wellington Amalgamated'. Society of Shop, Assistants last night adopted a-'resolu-tion desiring 1 to protest in the strongest possible terms against the proposal iii the Budget, to impose a- tax of one shilling in the: pound on* all wages GROCERS’ DELIVERY CHR ISTC.I1 ORC0RC Jl, Jul.v H. Means of reducing the quantity ol petrol used by grocers in their deliveries have recently been the mam consideration of the advisory committee which is working with the oil fuel controller for Christchurch. Mr J. J. B. Connor, a member of the committee ,said yesterday that the committee had decided that mileages for grocers will now be worked out on, the assumption that each g;0- , cer will make only one delivery a day in each district. Petrol will be allotted to grocers on that assump- ' tion. The aim of the committees was to eliminate the practice of many grocers of running special orders to different places at odd times of the day”.- It was hoped that some order could introduced into deliveries, particularly into, suburban deliveries, where a great deal of unnecessary running with special orders uas usual. A SUGGESTION. Wellington, July 12. In explanation of Marlborough’s mysterious explosion yesterday it is suggested that the noise was caused by r u, fall of rock after an earthquake, hut are earthquake as recorded by the Dominion Observatory was very slight and the noise a very big one and it seems stretching the point to suppose that such a slight quake caused such a big fall. Another explanation now offered from Carter Observatory is that a very large meteor is reported to have been seen to fall in Seddon locality', at the time when people were startled by the noise, and it 'is suggested the noise was caused by the exploding meteor. Meteors have Im/jii frequent of late according to Carter Observatory, although there is a tendency at this t™e of the voar for more to appear than at other times. OIL PROSPECTING. .;/|"v/'/ GISBORNE, July 12. . ' ffiluy.. Petroleum Company report— Morero 3.425 feet, drill in sandy black shale. Mid hirst well, drilling was resumed after setting the surface casing. ■The /present depth is 705 feet in shale.