GENERAL ITEMS

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXI, 13 January 1938, Page 6

GENERAL ITEMS

Campers Still at Tahuna Although the Christmas and New Year holidays have passed and the number ot' campers at the Tahuna Beach Motor Camp has fallen from approximately 450 to 120. yesterday on influx of visitors brought the figures up to about 172. Indicating that evening bathing is very popular in Nelson 200 persons paid lor admission to the T.S.A. bathing sheds after 5 o’clock last evening With the continuance of the present tine weather it is expected that the total figures for admission last year will be passed by the end of this week —and there are still three more months to go. Vicar on Horseback While Vicar of St. Paul’s, Murchison, for the last five years the Rev .R. W W. Alexander has ridden horseback sixteen thousand miles in all weathers and temperatures, and paid over six thousand visits. Altogether in his eleven years in the backblocks of New Zealand he has ridden horseback twentyeight thousand miles and paid over eleven thousand visits. He has been glad to have been able to reach and cheer up the lonely and scattered settlers.

Too Many Cooks’ : The intrusion of two visiting firemen j was responsible for upsetting the effi- ! ciency of the Hastings Fire Brigade I during its attendance at a fire in the , town (repots an exchange). When j the alarm was sounded these men seized the nearest available uniforms and helmets and went to the fire. Their intrusion *was not noticed for some I time, and then the superintendent took i the uniform from one man and ordered j him away from the vicinity. He stated 1 afterwards that lie understood both i men hiad some experience of fire-fight-j ing in other parts of New Zealand. i First Corn-! etc Houses I TJie construction of the first all-con- | creSte State houses has been started at | Rangiora and Kaiapoi (states the I ■’Press”). The Government intends to 1 build, twenty houses of this type in ! the two places. At Rangiora, a con(tract for the construction of eleven 1 houses has been let. and at Kaiapoi a ' ! start has been made by another con--1 ! tractor on the construction of three, I j one of five rooms and the other two •! of four rooms each, in Dale street. I I Tenders were invited by the Depart- . j ment for another six at Kaiapoi, but I the tenders were not accepte.d With ! the exception of the floors, which will : i be wooden, the houses will be built 1 | of concrete throughout. oEth the ini | terior and the external walls will be i 1 double, with a three-inch space be- : j tween two three-inch thick walls, ■ j which will be % connected by galvanised | j iron ties. The outsides of the houses ; will be finished in coloured concrete plaster, and the roofs will be of tiles. Each of these all-concrete houses is i estimated to cost about £IOO more than those of similar size built of i wood, but the difference in cost is ex- . | pected to be made up in a few years : I by reason of the reduced risk of fire > j and reduced cost of upkeep. : \ Nature's Compensations 5 A New Plymouth man received a . pleasant surprise when, without any [ spoken word, he was recognised by a , blind girl visiting the town merely by her highly developed sense of touch, after five years, says the “News.” The > circumstance was that on a previous visit he danced with the girl whom he had net seen since then. This week he ’ noticed a blind girl alighting from a j New Plymouth tram car and his chiv- ? alrous instincts prompted him to offer assistance by taking her by the hand. ’ His surprise can be imagined when, in , acknowledging his help the girl asked ’ if he was the person with whom she danced at the Agricultural Hall over five years ago. The recognition was instant.

Potato Crops Blighted

Many of the late crops of potatoes in North Taranaki have suffered from blight during the past few weeks and prospects of anything worth digging are in many instances dismal, says the "News.” The recent warm rains and humid conditions were ideal for the propagation of blight which attacked many crops before the tubers had attained much size Peat Fires Burning In spite of heavy rain during the week-end, peat fires are still burning in swampty areas of the Waikato, in addition to a severe outbreak near Ruawaro. A thick haze of smoke hung over low-lying districts early on Tuesday morning, extending north of Morrinsville towards the Hauraki Plains. Fires on the Hauraki Plains this year have not been as widespread as is usually the caso in summer months. Tui Sings at Midnight The tui is well known as being among the earliest songsters to greet the dawn, but to hear the bird singing at midnight came as a surprise to a resident of Titirangi, Auckland, says the "Herald.” Some months ago a thrush was reported as having sung for several nights in succession in the light of a street lamp on the waterfront, and it is possible that the tui mistook the gleam of passing car lights for that of Senate Meets in Dunedin To-day The New Zealand University Senate opens its annual meeting in Dunedin to-day. The Chancellor, the Hon. J. A. Hamm, Ai.L.C., will preside over the proceedings which are expected to last about a week. The meeting will be distinctive in that it will be the first occasion upon which there has been a lady member present, Dr. Sylvia G. Chapman, of Wellington, being one of the members recently appointed by >he Government Wharf Slied Accommodation The necessity of increased wharf shed accommodation at Port Nelson during the fruit export season was mentioned by Mr H. W. Chisnall at yesterday s meeting of the Nelson Harbour Board. Mr Chisnall said that this year’s fruit export would be cne of the heaviest on record. Shipping space had already been booked for over 900,000 cases from the Nelson district, and he asked the members to visualise the congestion which would occur if an overseas liner was landing a large amount of inward cargo at the height of the fruit export season. He understood that an overseas boat v.ould be in Nelson in March. The chairman ,Mr A. Gould) said the trade at the port was increasing and the board next year would have to consider the provision of additional shed accommodation.

Ragwort An additional allocation of £250 for expenditure on the eradication of ragwort has been received by the Inglewood County Council from the Agricultural Department, making a total of £BSO which will have been received J n the county. Splendia work is being done in clearing farms of ragwort.