NEWS IN BRIEF... Solent Makes Fast Trip

Northern Advocate, 1 December 1949, Page 7

NEWS IN BRIEF...

Solent Makes Fast Trip

After a last trip from Southampton, the third Tasman Airways Solent, H-M.A- Aranui, arrived in AucKlana yesterday afternoon. The aircraft toon oo hours 35 minutes for the journey and its time to Sydney was only five nours slower than that taken by a fast British Overseas Airways Constellation Hying the “Kangaroo” route. For the Tasman crossing, the aircraft took nearly six hours.

Revenue collected by the Customs Department in Auckland in November totalled £1,210,829, an increase of £246,708 over that for the corresponding period last year and £314,231 higher than the October revenue. All sources of revenue showed higher returns compared with October, With a rile of £31,511 from the previous month's figure to £122,187, duty on petrol readied a record level, the previous highest figure being £109,544 last March. For the first 11 months of the year, revenue shows a decrease under all headings with, the exception of petrol duty- The greatest proportionate fall is shown in tyre duty, which is £00,146 lower at £9841. .

Mr D. W. Baliantyne,. of Auckland, has been awarded this year’s Hubert Church memorial prize for his muchdiscused novel "The Cunninghams.” published, in the United -Stales. This announcement was made by Mr Pat Lawlor, president of the New Zealand centre of Pen, which was. endowed with a fund by Mrs Church, widow of the poet, for the provision of an annual prize for New Zealand prose. The judges were Mr John Moffett, editor of the Otago Daily Times, and Mr James Bertram, of Victoria University College, Wellington.

Notwithstanding hail damage to some orchards, Hawke’s Bay apple crop is estimated to produce 885,800 cases in the coming season. This compares more than favourably with last season’s actual overall crop of 727,000 cases marketed through all avenuesThe pear crop will' be a good deal tighter than last season, and stone fruits, which were hit both by frost and hail, are not expected to produce anything like the quantity harvested last season.