DUNEDIN NOTES.

Lake Wakatip Mail, Issue 4326, 10 August 1937, Page 5

DUNEDIN NOTES.

From Our Own Correspondent). August 5

Dunedin had a wonderful weekend. The Southlanders arrived in thousands by train and car. Pipe bands were in force, and added greatly to the gaiety of the proceedings.

Fortunately the weather on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, was beautiful. The day of the great Rugby match was perfect —warm and without wind, and no sun to embarrass the players. Carisbrook was packed with a record crowd for the Dominion in such an encounter of 35,000. The game was fought keenly, but in the friendliest of spirits. It was expected in Dunedin that Otago would have a comparatively easy win, so that its supporters had a rude shock. It was definitely Southlands day and victory came to the visitors by 12 points to 7. There is no doubt that on Hie play the better side- won, and this was readily acknowledged. Southland now holds the shield, and it will have to be a very good team that takes it from her. The Dunedin visit was more than a football occasion. It was really a festival in which the people of Otago and Southland met in an atmosphere of friendship and goodwill. H. Simon, the Otago captain, reflected the general view when he said that the Southland fifteen played the better game and expressed the hope that the victors would hold the shield for the remainder of the season. On Sunday a pipe band display was held on the Caledonian Ground, and was attended by 15,000 people. Bands came from as far as Oamaru in the north and Tuatapere in the south. It was an inspiring sight in the- brilliant sunshine and was a fitting climax to an eventful weekend. On Saturday next the return match with Southland will be played. It is of course not a shield game. Many people from Dunedin are going clown for the event and they will no doubt witness: a keen contest. Mr AY. Downie Stewart, being outside the political arena at present, lias tin 1 leisure to f vo:c nimself to litorarv work, and lie is engaged in

Pranks B fj ' 1 for - > many yeans was a conspicuous figure ir the Xew Zealand Pari law-cut V held numerous ministerial of lie as and was a power in both Houses. He had the advantage in his work as a Minister yif being a distinguished lawyer, and had he so wished, he would no doubt have been Xew Zealand’s Chief Justice, for be was eminently qualified to fill the post. Sir Francis belonged to a well-known Otago family. His father was Sir Dillon Bell, who owned a sheep run in Shag Valley, which is still in possession pf the family. Sir Dillon was for 'many years Agent-General for New Zealand in London, a position that is now called the High Commisisioiie.rship. Sir Francis Bell’s sister married the late Mr Scobie Mackenzie', a former member of Parliament, who had a run in the Kyeburn district. Their daughter is Sheila Macdonald, the well-known writer of South African novels.

At this week® meeting of the City Council the recommendation of its Finance Committee was adopted that a. further sum of £IOO,OOO should be raised by loan for the municipal housing scheme. Under the Government's new legislation a poll of the ratepayers will not be necessary to say whether or not this loan shall be authorised. This means that both the Government and the municipal authorities will be carrying on schemes

simultaneously, a course that has been criticised on the ground that it would be more economical to carry them out under one authority. The council's officers have been engaged on a survey of the houses of the city and suburbs', and according to remarks by the mayor, the report with its details of how many houses in Dunedin should be condemned, would be a shock to most people.' Housing schemes by Governments and local authorities in the past have not

been a success, 'and it is to be hoped that the methods in the immediate future, founded let is hope |on the experiences of the I past, will justify the faith of those who have initiated the schemes. One criticism directed against the council’s scheme is that a deposit of £25 is too small to ask from the applicants for the houses, but it is understood that great care is to be exercised in considering the applications to see that individuals who may be expected to be faithful to their responsibilities' are selected. The repayments announced so far are equal to an excessive rent for individuals' earning Less than £6 a week, whicn is the limit for an applicant, as they range from 27s a week to 32is lOd, but of course the householder is buying his own home-. One thing was made clear and that is that the council is opposed to the suggestion of building huge blocks of flats in the city. The ideal is to buy land in the suburbs, and erect separate homes for each family on a piece .of ground that will give ample room and pro- ' vide facilities for a garden. j

A movement is on foot in connec-

tion with the centennial of New Zealand in 1840 to provide a memorial to the pioneer women of Otago. To carry out this purpose a Women’s Council was set up. It has decided that a building for use by women for various activities would be the most suitable memorial that could be erected in Dunedin. The- proponents of the scheme point out that there is a serious lack of accommodation for conferences and other meetings by women from town and country. It is expected that strong support for the memorial wil be forthcoming. The Mayor gave an assurance that the plan will receive full consideration by the City Council and the Otago Centennial Council, of which he is a member. Everyone who knows anything of- the history of the Dominion will agree that the pioneer women were a heroic band, who carried on in the most difficult of circumstances with uncomplaining self-'sacrifice. Arising out of Saturday’s big match at Carisbrook there was a discussion at the meeting of the Dunedin Presbytery on Tuesday on the question of drink and football. The Rev. J. D. Smith, on behalf of the Presbytery’s Public Questions Committee, of which he is convener, said the members of Ms committee were concerned that the occasion was nothing more nor less than a drunken orgy. Thousands of people were under the influence of liquor. He moved that letters be sent to the Otago and Southland Rugby Unions requesting them to-co-operate with the police in refusing admittance to their grounds of persons who were under the influence of liquor, also that a letter be sent to the Railway Department drawing its attention to the amount of liquor being carried and consumed on trains. In response to the statements 'made at the meeting of the Presbytery, the continents of Rugby officials and enthusiasts were that the co. ditions had teen much exaggerated. In a crowd of 35,000 people, keyed up to a high pitch of excitement, it was not surprising that a small number imbibed not wisely but too well. One commentator remarked that the Presbytery had become unnecessarily alarmed, and was too easily shocked and horrified. The district traffic manager of railways said the conduct of the people from Invercargill, taken generally, was exemplary. He added that his department had been congratulated all round on the way the crowd behaved, there being nothing in the way of disorder. A responsible police official summed up the position in this way: “There were no fights, assaults, accidents, or complaints over the week-end, and I defy any town in Australia or Kcvt Zealand to show such a record. The

crowd at CarisbfOek was. orderly more than orderly and had o>‘ :

there in a holiday spirit, prepared to enjoy themselves." The geneod opinion seems to be that the Presbytery in its zeal was too hasty in its condemnation.

The ‘Star’ describes a fine community effort by the residents of Dunback and surrounding farms'. They have raised £3OO in order to send a boy of twelve, Frank Murphy, to England for an urgent operation that cannot be safely carried out in Xew Zealand—the removal of a tumour from the brain, Frank is a Boy Scout, and the Scouts’ , headquarters in London has been advised by cable to keep a kindly eye on him and his mother on their arrival in England. The problem of arranging for a surgeon to carry out one of the most intricate of operatiomls presented difficulty, but after cables had been sent to the United States and Edinburgh without result a London surgeon cabled that he was willing to undertake the work. So on Monday morning Frank and his mother began the long Journey from Dunedin.