NEWS OF THE DAY

Manawatu Times, Volume 68, Issue 58, 10 March 1943, Page 4

NEWS OF THE DAY

Flood Gauge In Oroua. The Kairanga County Council yesterday decided to ask tile Manawatu-Oroun River Board to have a flood gauge installed at some suitable point in the Oroua river. Plenty of Sharks. There arc plenty of young sharks about in Wellington harbour at present. In two of tho several hauls with fishing nets made on Sunday, seven young sharks were found. Winter Clothing. The necessity for an adequate provision of working clothes during the coming winter was stressed at the annual conference of the Drapers’ Federation in Wellington, following an address oy the snb-Controller of Textiles, Mr. R. F. Franklin. Boy Drowned in River. When a boat in which he was playing camo adrift from its moorings John Conroy, Ahititi, aged seven years, was drowned in the Tongaporutu River on Sunday afternoon after he had jumped, ovidently in fright, into fairly deep water. The body of the child, who was unable to swim, was recovered two hours later. Told To Keep Sober. When Ruby Nichol, a young domestic, appeared in the Palmerston North Magistrate’s Court yesterday on a fourth charge of drunkenness within 12 months, Mr. H. P. Lawry S.M., told her that if she came before the Court again for insobriety she would have to spend not less than 12 months “on the island.” She was fined £1 and agreed to take out a prohibition order. Court-martial Decisions. The reason why a court-martial does not announce its decision unless it has found the accused soldier not guilty has been explained by an Army Officer. The position is that a finding of guilty by the Court is not final. It has to bo referred to tho convening officer, who can reverse the decision if he considers it against the weight of evidence. If he agrees with the finding he can amend the sentence by reducing it if ho thinks fit, but he cannot increase it. Hair For War Effort. A woman has given her hair for tho war effort. The Minister of Internal Affairs, Mr. Parry, reports that a parcel was received by post on the covering of Which was written: “Hope this hair 3 of mine will be of some use for the war effort.” The parcel contained some thick, long brown tresses from a woman donor. Mr. Parry said that often personal treasures and keepsakes were received for selling or raffling to raise money for the patriotic funds, but it w r as the first tiino tresses had been given to the funds. Outsize Pumpkin. A pumpkin suspended from a vino high up among the branches of an apple tree in a New Plymouth garden flourished exceedingly well. Moreover, the pumpkin, weighing 501 b., escaped from the hands of marauders, which its fellows that stayed on the ground did not do. The owner, to retrieve the pumpkin had to climb the tree. Now exhibited in a New Plymouth shop, it is creating considerable interest. Hard as a rock, and of a good eating variety, the seed of that pumpkin is already in good demand. Shower of Shellfish. An occurrence recalling the “rain” of frogs which was recently reported from Australia has been experienced at St. Clair, Dunedin, when a localised shower of small shellfish fell in a garden in Forbury Road on a recent morning. The shower lasted about three seconds, during which time several dozen shells pattered down on the roof of an outhouse and were strewn about the garden. The only explanation of such occurrences appears to be that objects falling is this way have been picked up in a heavy wind or whirlwind and are then deposited in tho form of a shower. A Novel Lesson. While alterations were being made to the railway yards at Ashhurst the headmaster of the Ashhurst School (Mr. N. Finlay) took the Standard 6 pupils to the railway station, where Mr. C. M. Syme, who is in charge of the relaying gang, instructed the class in the intrieacies°of building a set of points and crossings. The children were naturally very interested in the proceedings, in the building of a set of points and crossings there is more than meets the eye of the general public, as a good deal of the work when completed is covered over so ns to facilitate shunting operations. “Live” Doll Preferred. A baby girl aged 11 weeks was reported stolen from her bassinette on a front veranda at Randwick, Sydney, recently and the mother and detectives searched from 2 p.m. till 4.30 p.m. bofore the child was found. Detectives found the baby in a cot at a houso a mile away, and at an air-raid shelter nearby they found two sisters, aged six and four years respectively. The baby was unharmed, and the girls admitted they “stole” the child so that they could play a game of “mothers.” When they got tired of playing “mothers” with the baby, they placed it in the younger girl’s cot, as their mother was away from the house. The detectives took no action against the girls, leaving it to their parents to punish them. Intermediate Schools. The fact that intermediate Schools had become a definite part of the Government policy, and that such schools would be established wherever possible, was mentioned by the Director of Education, Dr. C. E. Becby, speaking 1q the Wellington {School Commitees’ uud Edurational Association. Ono of the main benefits of intermediate education was the better equipment made available to children. One school had a magnificent printing press, which turned out the best printing he had seen in day school, and there were also a potter wheel and kiln. The raising of the school age was also a part of the policy—it could not be assumed that a child was tit for the world with the scraps of information he might have picked up by the time he reached Standard 6. Physical education had improved considerably in the last five years, getting away from the rigid, methodical drill of the old days. The new physical education, on which military physical training was based, allowed for more expression and gave more scope for a child’s love of movement and leadership.