LOCAL AND GENERAL

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXX, 26 May 1936, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

At the annual meeting of parishioners of Christ Church last evening Professor T. H. Easterfield presented to the parish a characteristic black and white drawing of the late Archdeacon 'Kempthorne—seated on his bicycle. Co-operation and co-ordination of effort in promoting the interests of their respective towns is planned between the Napier Thirty Thousand Club and the newly-formed Gisborne Thirty Thousand Club, an offer by the Napier club to assist in the development of its sister organisation having been gratefully accepted. Letters have been exchanged between the two clubs agreeing to an interchange of views and the adoption of a programme which will result in benefit both to Hawkes Bay and Poverty Bay. The attention of students is drawn to an advertisement in this issue advising the formation of an outdoor sketching class at the Technical School.

The primary schools in the Nelson Education Board district and the Nelson Colleges reopened for the second j term to-day.

An interesting talk on the subject of “The Top as a Primitive Toy” was given by Mr V. F. Fisher, ethnologist of the Auckland War Memorial Museum, following the annual meeting of the anthropology section in the Museum Library (reports the “Star”). Mr Fisher said the top was a toy of great antiquity, and was mentioned in ancient classical literature. There were three chief varieties to tops, the whip top, the peg top and the top spun by a winding cord around a protruding stick. Various materials were used in the making, chiefly wood and stone, and the former type was often decorated with designs which made an agreeable pattern when the top was spinning. The Maoris made tops which were beautifully shaped and balanced, and the materials used were wood, stone and sometimes pumice; the tops were highly prized, as indeed they were throughout Polynesia and Melanesia, where they were in general use as a toy. Interesting examples from the Museum collection were shown and explained by Mr Fisher, and were of all sizes, weighing from a few ounces to 21b. Also shown was a tahiri, or whip for a top, made out of fhe aerial roots of the pandanus. This was a light, fibrous whip of about 20in in length, and gradually frayed out from the handle portion, six inches in length.

A four day gale was encountered by the Niagara which arrived at Auckland from Sydney at 9 o’clock this morning. This prevented an Australian youth sitting for his accountancy examination, but by a special arrangement on the vessel the youth, who is travelling to Suva, will be given the papers when the Niagara resumes this evening and he will be locked in a cabin during the examination period. For the first time Captain Martin has been called upon to fill the role of examination supervisor.

An interesting impression of a resemblance between Dunedin and Inverness at is was 50 years ago was given to a “Daily Times” reporter by Mr J. A. Ross, of Inverness, who is at present touring New Zealand. In the seventies and eighties of last century, Mr Ross stated, Inverness was the place of residence of a number of the Highland gentry and many retired military and naval officers also lived there. The presence of these people gave the town a distinctive air of culture and refinement. This same atmosphere has been felt by Mr Ross during his visit to New Zealand, and the impression has been particularly strong in Dunedin. He remarked that this compliment was not in any way influenced by the fact that he had been told that Dunedin was predominantly a Scottish community. Mr Ross expressed himself as being highly satisfied with his trip,; and this is proved by the fact that it is his intention to make a more extended visit in about 18 months’ time. On this second visit he hopes to spend considerably more time in the South Island, where the variety of scenery has appealed to him. For the hotel accommodation he had nothing but praise, favourably comparing the cost and the standard of the appointments with those of a similar class of hotel at Home. The quantity of the food offered has surprised him even more than its quality, and he sees the New Zealanders as a race of hearty eaters. As an instance of this, he referred to the supper tables laid out in the hotels so that the guests could help themselves. At Home, he said, one would have to make a special request for supper, and a meal of the type usually set out here might cost anything up to 3s 6d.

What is wanted in many Auckland houses is an ant-eater—not the animal with the nose whose natural food is ants, but a highly modern, twentieth century means of getting rid of ants (states the “Star”). To see one small ant scurrying along does not convey a great deal; but when it comes to having to sui-round all food in water lest in the morning it be a black and> heaving mass, then the housewife demands that something be done. Lubbock wrote a very entertaining book on ants. Apparently they are wonderful little insects, but if Lady Lubbock had had them in her house, she would have never given him the chance to study them. He would have been busy with a pot of boiling water rather than with eyes, pencil and paper. Tnere is nowhere immune from them. They are worse than mice or rats. They eat the paste from the paper covering your jam, and when you open a fresh pot you find it is a graveyard. And, what is more, the man of the house has a nasty job trying to help his wife. He is deputed to find the ant nest. He traces a stream of ants, which crawl admittedly in a marvellous way along the fence, over several trees, across the lawn—and then disappear under the house. By the time the man of the house has crawled on his stomach far up under the house, amid the dirt and the cobwebs, with the- aid of a torch, he has another adjective than “marvellous” for them. To sum up briefly and succinctly as one may—wanter, an anteater.

Dance patrons are reminded of the ball, which is being organised by the Motueka branch of the R.S.A., to be held in the Institute Hall on Thursday evening, in aid of the funds for this organisation. A unique decorative scheme is being carried out and arrangements are well in hand for the function, which promises to be an even greater attraction than last season’s. Music for the occasion will be supplied by Mr Harold Williams’ orchestra of five players; and the committee is sparing no effort in its endeavour to make the evening a most enjoyable one.

The Otago Education Board’s practice of supplying school text books for the children of indigent parents was referred to at a meeting of the board by the chairman (Mr J. Wallace), who said that it was generally thought that books were not available for the children of poor people. The account of £34 to be passed by the board at that meeting was proof that the board supplied a goodly number of books to those who required them. The secretary (Mr G. W. Carrington) said that all necessitous cases recommended by headmasters were approved by the board.

Gisborne should be able to attain an export of 100,000 pigs in the near future, if the farmers develop the industry on the right lines, said Mr K. W. Gorringe, instructor in swine husbandry, in an address at the farmers’ field day held on the Gisborne showgrounds last week. He said he was pleased to see the rapid advance in the pig industry in the district. The exports had risen from about 1500 at the time of his previous visit to 15,000 last season. If farmers followed his advice, there should be no reason why the exports should not be increased to 100,000 pigs.

There has, at various times, been considerable discussion on the question of the correct spelling of the word Wethcrstone, near Lawrence. Wetherstone” is the generally accepted spelling, but there are many connected with the township in the days when it was of greater importance than it is at the present time who hold that the name of the place was “Wetherston.” That this is the correct spelling of the word would seem to be borne out by a survey map, made in 1865, which is in the possession of Mr Harry Hart, a former well-known resident of the district (states the “Otago Daily Times”). On the map ihe word is spelt “Wetherston,” and this is verified by a second survey map of the district, which Mr Hart possesses.

Dargaville householders are in the anomalous position of being in the midst of plenty and yet experiencing a shortage of supply. Milk is plentiful, but not for home consumption, and large demands are being made on the grocers for tinned milk, the sales of which have practically doubled. The shortage is principally due to many former suppliers being prohibited from furnishing milk because their milking sheds do not comply with the Government regulations recently enforced, and the quantity available from licensed farmers is not sufficient to supply consumers, who are either being missed altogether in the daily round or are not getting enough for their needs.

The opinion that New Zealand’s railways were well organised and efficiently conducted, and compared favourably with systems overseas, was expressed in an interview with the Auckland “Star” by Lieutenant-Colo-nel J. Ramsay Tainsh, general manager since 1921 of the Iraq Railways. The uniform gauge of 3ft 6in throughout New Zealand was quite suitable for the requirements of the Dominion. Some of the best engines in the world were found in South Africa, where the gauge was also 3ft Gin, and the metre gauge was successfully used in many parts of' India.' He was particularly impressed with the New Zealand-built K type of engine and the petrol-driv-en coaches being assembled in Wellington. The width of the New Zealand carriages, 9ft 4in, was greater than that of the carriages in England. Commenting on the Transport Licensing Bill, Lieutenant-Colonel Tainsh said that, speaking from his experience of railway control, the abolition of the Railways Board should be a good thing. He added that nearly every country had obtained legislation for avoiding unhealthy and uneconomical competition from motor transport. The annual mission sale and concert in connection with Trinity Presbyterian Church, is to be held to-morrow in the Sunday School Hall, Nile street, opening at 2.30 p.m. The stalls will contain all kinds of produce and provisions, sweets, New Hebridean arrowroot, Oriental goods, second-hand books and gramophone records and a varied assortment of articles. There will be afternoon tea. Admission is free in the afternoon. An excellent concert has been arranged for the evening.