Cups Undamaged.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LXV, Issue 31, 5 January 1945, Page 4

Cups Undamaged.

The strongroom of the Manawatu A. and P. Association, situated in one of the produce halls destroyed by the disastrous fire early on Monday morning., was opened yesterday. All the association's cups, trophies, and records were found to be undamaged. The strongroom was built with 6in concrete walls. Good Blade Shearing.

A creditable performance of blade shearing was carried out recently on the property of Mr B. Bray, in the Mt. Stoker district, Middlemarch, when three shearers put through 501 sheep in a day of 8 hours 40 minutes. The tallies were: A. Merrilees 174, M. Jackson 168, J. Driver 159. The sheep were fully-woolled Ilomney-Corriedale crostf ewes.

Airgraph Messages. Over six million airgraph messages have been handled since the services between the dominion and Canada, the United Kingdom, and the Middle East were inaugurated in the early months of 1943. Airgraph messages forwarded from New Zealand total 8,080,000 and 3,240,000 inward messages have been received. Outward Christmas airgraphs handled this season totalled 179,000, compared with 110,000 for the preceding Christmas; inward Christmas airgraphs numbered 262,000, compared with 84,000. Voice "From the Bush". A voice "from the bush" caused a false start in the last race at Stratford on Monday. The starter was lining up the big field when a shout "Go" was heard, apparently from someone in the trees beside the track, says the "Taranaki Herald". Some of the horses on the outside went off through the barrier. One of the riders was slightly hurt. The starter immediately called "no start", and the half-dozen horses that had got away were brought back. A delay of over 10 minutes was caused by the incident. Nelson's Sunshine.

The bright sunshine recorded in Nelson in 1944 totalled 2404.3 hours, which is an average figure but lower than the 2484.9 hours in 1943. On three occasions during the past 10 years the total sunshine lias been well over 2500 hours. The sunniest month last year was January, with 291 hours, a daily average of 9.39 hours. In December the recorder worked 'for 266.4 hours, with a daily average of 8.59 hours. The year's rainfall was 41.30 in, compared with the annual average of 37.96 in. On July 2 a frost of 13deg. was recorded by the Cawthron Institute, the heaviest recorded in Nelson for 14 years. Delayed Express. The New Plymouth-Wellington Express, which was delayed yesterday by a slip on the line two miles south of Mokoia. between Patau arid Hawera, and which would normally arrive at Palmerston North at 3.6 p.m., did not reach here until 5.24 p.m. 'A special train despatched from Aramoho, bringing travellers from Wanganui and south of that station, arrived here at 3.39 p.m. The slip occurred in a cutting running through a gorge of papa formation and the engine of a northbound goods train ran into it about 7.30 a.m. but was not damaged. Four hundred and fifty passengers travelling south were transhipped by bus from Mokoia to Manutahi, three miles dip tant, where they were picked up by a relief express sent from Wanganui. The line was cleared late in the afternoon, allowing-the northbound express to pass through without delay.