GENERAL ITEMS

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXII, 13 December 1938, Page 6

GENERAL ITEMS

Health Stamp Record Week The record week in the Health Stamp Campaign was the eighth period which ended on 30th November, when no fewer than 136.124 stamps were sold, while donations were liberally made, the result being a further increa.se in the credits to the Health Camps of £719 9s 6d. making a total for the campaign to date of £4.435 5s 7d. The number of Health Stamps sold now approaches 900,000. Sun and Baths In welcoming the Nelson Male Voice Choir during the interval at Saturday I night’s concert in Blenheim (reports j "The Express”). Mr E. P. Meachen. j M P., apologised for the smallness of , the audience, which he attributed part- | ly to the fact that many people liked to | spend their week-ends in the sun. “We ! get a lot of sun here,” he slyly remarki ed. In his reply the conductor. Mr F. 1 Miehcll said that the audience was no 1 doubt remarktble for quality rather j than quantity, lie was sorry that their | visit would not do much towards getting the Blenheim people a bath. "We j do have baths in Nelson,” he laughing- | ly concluded. Motueka Brick School • Plans for the proposed remodelling of l the brick portion of he Motueka school ► were submitted to the monthly meeting of the Nelson Education Board. It was decided to send the plan to the ward members and Motueka school commitI tee for comment ard suggestions. Seasonal Greetings At the monthly meeting of the Nelson I Education Board yesterday, the chairman, the Hon. W. H. Mclntyre, M.L.C., 1 wished the board members and the staff ! a Merry Christmas and happy New j Year. He expressed the hope that the I members, their wives, and the staff of B 1 the board would return to their duties ■ in 1939 in the best of health. Messrs J. jj j PI. Harkness (for the board). G. Over- ; ton (senior inspector), and H. J. Thorn- | ton (secretary) replied, and reciprocatI ed the good wishes of the chairman. Seasonal Fruits 1- Prices of seasonal fruit and vegeJ tables, such as strawberries, green • f . peas, and new. potatoes, are likely to be higher this year than last (states "The Dominion”). Nelson, which is usually relied on to send forward good supplies of strawberries,- has had its crops affected by blight, crops of green peas were set back severely by heavy rain during May and June, and there has been a slight rise in the price of po- • tatoes. In Wellington at present strawberries are in very short supply, and retail prices have risen to 2s and 3s lor a pound punnet. Most of the strawberries being sold at present are coming from Auckland, though there is a small j supply coming from Levin. Most of the "* supplies of green pecis are coming e from Manawatu and Wairarapa, as the a Nelson crop is now over. There is a e ! very keen demand for those which are f) coming to hand, and stocks are retailn ing at 3d to 4d a lb. There are only moderate supplies of new potatoes available, and customers are paying Is e for 61b. Cherries, however, are in plenr_ tiful supply, most of the fruit coming t j from Roxburgh, Nelson, Blenheim, e Greytown ani Christchurch. So far h most of the tomatoes sold in Wellington n have been coming from Nelson, but sup[g plies of Hutt tomatoes are now coming • on to the market at lOd to Is Id a lb. *" Nelson tomatoes are selling at 3d to lOd e a lb Soft fruits are expected to be sold e at the markets about the end of the >f week. Gooseberries are now getting a little on the ripe side, and their place 5t will be taken by such fruit as plums

Crowded Liner With a total of 632 passengers on board, which taxed her accommodation almost to the limit and necessitated some of the travellers sleeping in the | gymnasium, the liner Aorangi arrived ! at Auckland from Vancouver on Sun- j day night. On arrival at Suva the j liner had 538 people aboard, and it was only on the final stage of the journey that some of the passengers slept in itie I gymnasium, and others in a private dining saloon. There were 278 passen- j gers for Auckland. Platform Tickets Dearer i* Doubtless as a minor part ol the new 1 policy for trying to reduce the losses j s on the railways, visitors to the major j i railway stations on Sunday were greet- ; l ed with a 25 per cent, increase in the I i price of platform admission tickets. The j I old charge of 3d admisison for those not j t holding train tickets has now been in- ' creased to 4d. I World Cruise Yachts , In preparation for the next stage of j her world cruise, which will begin j shortly, the ketch-rigged auxiliary j yacht Venora moved onto the Auckland j Harbour Board’s slipway yesterday for cleaning and painting The Vanora, owned by Mrs Marion Rice Hart, an American, arrived last month from Noumea. The next stage will be to Ancud. Chile, a course which will involve nearly 6000 miles’ sailing without calling at any part. The South African ketch-rigged yacht Land’s End, which is expected to begin the return voyage to South Africa this week, was sailing on the harbour yesterday. The Land’s End owned by Captain H. Jeffery, will leave for the Bay of Islands and Tonga. New Steamer Waipori The Waipori. the latest cargo vessel , to be added to the fleet of the Union Steam Ship Co., arrived at Auckland ( from Rotterdam yesterday. Launched at Hebburn-on-Tyne on 28th July, the Waipori carried out successful trials on 21st October before sailing for Rot- ! terdam to load a cargo of liquid asphalt j for New Zealand ports. She is an arc- ! form vessel with a gross tonnage of ! 6000, and has a cellular double bottom, I which is subdivided for the carriage of j oil-fuel, water ballast, feed, and fresh | water. Her principal dimensions are:— Length overall. 371 ft 6in; breadth, 55ft: j and depth to upper deck, 28ft 6in. Three j insulated compartments for the car- ! riage of perishable cargoes are provided in the after ’tween decks. The cargo handling appliances comprise twelve special steam winches and thirteen steel derricks, including one of 25 tons lifting capacity on the mainmast. A steam windlass steam warping winch, and steam tiller-type steering gear complete the deck auxiliaries. The captain, officers and engineers are accommodated in deck houses amidships. The main machinery consists of a set of single screw, triple expansion engines obtaining steam from three multitubular boilers. Air Raids Precautions The rooms of the Auckland Returned Soldiers’ Association took on a wartime appearance during the weekend, when members of the Red Cross Society received instruction in anti-gas precautions. Assistance was given by officers of the Defence Department, which lent the respirators. The instructor was Mr G. T. Paterson, who trained in England recently, and holds I the highest instructor’s certificate is- j sued by the Red Cross Society, the St. i John Ambulance Brigade and the Air | Raid Precautions Department of the , Home Office. An examination will be \ held before Christmas, when it is expected that a large number of the members of the society will qualify as instructors. Goodwill Message The following interesting “goodwill letter” was received to-day by a Nelson business man from a London firm: “ Hope springs eternal in the human breast,’ wrote Pope in his ‘Essay on Man.’ It is a well known quotation, and one cannot fail to realise the truism expressed. Throughout this year we have seen so much turmoil, so much chaos, precipitated by international upheavals which threatened to upset the peace of the world. Yet, despite everything. we have managed to avert the most serious catastrophe—a European war. Let us hope, then, that we shall shortly see a return to peaceful conditions in Spain and the Far East, and that all enmities and prejudices will soon be forgotten. We all hope for greater tolerance and trust between nations, and that in the New Year we shall be able to consolidate and safeguard those things which we have so earnestly endeavoured to protect. We . ask you to accept this letter as our handshake across the sea, and as an expression of our sincere appreciation of the many services you have rendered us and our clients We hope that you and yours will have a very happy Christmas and that the New Year will bring you increased prosperity. With kindest personal regards, we remain, etc.”