LOCAL AND GENERAL

King Country Chronicle, Volume XXX, Issue 4833, 14 April 1936, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

By advertisement in this issue, a meeting is called for all ladies willing to assist. in the sale of poppies on Poppy Day, which is fixed for Friday, April 17th. The meeting will be held in the Borough Council Chambers on Wednesday, April 15th, at 3.30 p.m. Ladies who are unable to attend the meeting yet able to assist, are asked to telephone the Mayoress, Mrs. Carroll, 'phone 161, accordingly. The old saying, "A prophet hath no honour in his own country'' might be applied with justification to many of our own scenic wonders which have few, if any, equals in the world. Foremost amongst these may be quoted the Waitomo Caves which are applauded as incomparable by visitors from all parts of the world. Yet how many New Zealanders, living in close proximity, have neglected to visit this beauty spot. Another opportunity to make good the omission—at a remarkably low cost—is announced by the Railways Department in our advertising columns in this issue. Far too many people still hold a mistaken idea of town planning and its aims, said Mr. G. N. T. Goldie, of. the Wellington City Engineer's Department, in the course of an illustrated address delivered at the annual meeting of the Royal Sanitary Institute recently. Town planning, he said, ' was something far more than expensive street widening and the laying out of grass plots here and there. "It is a science to obtain value for money spent; to eliminate waste; to lower both rates and taxes; to improve- the living conditions in the home and the working conditions in the factory; to improve amenities; to lessen traffic congestion; to provide well-distributed recreation grounds; to reduce the number of traffic accidents; and to do almost a thousand and one things for the benefit of the community in general. 'Town planning inclines to the socialistic, for its benefits are more for the community than for the individual, and although some people would damn it for this reason alone, the fact remains that if we help others, in doing so we help ourselves."

As the Government's proposals for the 40-hour week begin to take definite form speculation is becoming more and more keen on the possibilities a two-day week-end will offer. Extension of racing and trotting programmes, trials of one-day cricket, Saturday morning athletics, and long tours in to the country are all suggestions which are beginning to take form in the minds of sporting enthusiasts. It appears (the Christchurch Press says) that there is every likelihood that a large body of the community will enjoy the privilege of freedom from work on Saturdays. The Government's Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Amendment Bill, introduced to the House of Representatives on Thursday, lays down that in ordering the 40-hour week the Arbitration Court must endeavour to fix the daily working hours so that no work is done on Saturdays. Trials of one-day cricket and earlier starting at race meetings are two suggestions which seem likely to be of immediate practical value to the organising bodies. The extension of match systems in Rugby football will no doubt be considered, and an earlier start could perhaps be made to relieve the congestion of grounds. Athletic meetings on Saturdays for junior and primary and secondary schoolboys are also suggested as an innovation to develop athletics generally. There is, too, the possibility of a greater exodus into the country and to the seaside resorts by motorists, cyclists, and trampers to enjoy a longer week-end away from the city.

Fatal injuries were received by a Public Works employee, Mr. Matthew Dinan, aged 37, when he fell from a 70ft. power line tower at Hautapu yesterday. When the fall occurred deceased was engaged in testing the lines. Mr. Dinan, who leaves a wife and two young children, resided in Knighton Road, Hamilton.

One man lost his life and three girls and another man were rescued from drowning only with considerable difficulty in a boating accident in Kio Bay, near Point Halswell, in Wellington Harbour, yesterday afternoon. The victim of the accident was Stanley Vincent Freeman, aged 27, carpenter, residing at 118 Sutherland Road, Lyall Bay. The other four, whose names are not known, were rescued by Mr. Frederick William Norris, of 45 Rata Road, in the yacht Spray.

A visitor to Wellington during the last few days could have been well excused for rubbing his eyes in astonishment and registering a mental vow to "take more water with it next time" for some strange sights have been witnessed and more are to come. This, is due to the fact that it is "moving day" at the old Dominion Museum, only the "day" extends over several weeks. Maori war canoes have been seen in the thoroughfares on their way to the hew building on the Mount Cook site. Following these came the transportation of a bigmoa. He took an airing on a lorry with some rough scaffolding as a support for his old age —the first breath of fresh air for many a long year. No doubt, had the old bird been endowed with the faculty of reflection, of great interest would have been its thoughts when it compared the scene of activity on the shores of Wellington's harbour with the forest-clad slopes over which it roamed ages before the coming of the white man. Stuffed animals, fishes, and birds, Maori carvings, and the thousand and one things which go to make up exhibits in a museum, are gradually being transferred to their new quarters, bu.t the majority of them are packed up before removal and do not stalk through the streets like the moa, naked and unashamed, so to speak.