General News

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 78, 14 September 1943, Page 4

General News

North-Easterly Storm A boisterous north-easterly wind accompanied by only light rain yesterday culminated in stormy conditions during the night. The wind reached nearly gale force at times, and several heavy showers again drenched the district. Up till 9.30 o’clock this morning .26 inches of rain had fallen in 24 hours. The wind continued with some violence and with further soaking showers this morning, when waves swept over Rocks Road between Magazine Point and the Tahunanui service station at high tide

Accident on Blenheim Highway While travelling to Blenheim on Friday afternoon a car driven by Mr J. A. Fowler, of Wantwood, Hillersden, came into head-on collision with an Army vehicle driven by Cpl. Valerie West, Nelson. The mishap occurred on a small bridge near The Narrows, and fortunately neither vehicle was seriously damaged, and none of the occupants was injured.

Little Things That Counted In the monotony of prisoner-of-war camps it was the little things that counted, remarked the Rt. Rev. G. V. Gerard, Bishop of Waiapu, in an address at Waipukurau. He related that at one camp in which he had been interned in Italy, an Australian bugler sounded the "Reveille” and followed this with a few bars of such patriotic tunes as “Rule Britannia,” "There’ll Always be an England,” and other martial airs familiar to the Empire. The internees often wondered what the Italians would say or do if they knew what the bugler was playing, and next morning were keenly interested to listen to the variations which the "Aussie” gave to his daily performance. Uniform Barred "I am wearing a civilian jacket, not because I am shamed of my uniform —I am proud of it —but because I want to fight this campaign without any interference from anyone,” said Gunner L. M. A. Harbord, Democratic Soldier Labour candidate for Invercargill, in his address at the North Invercargill Hall. Before he went on the platform Gunner Harbord removed his military tunic and put on a sports jacket. He explained that he had been approached by an Army officer in Invercargill who complained that he (Gunner Harbord) had made a speech in the street in uniform. This was an offence against the Army regulations, and if he repeated it he would be liable to military arrest. He did not know why a uniform, which was good enough to fight in on the battlefield, was not good enough to fight in on the political field. Music in Wartime Though in time of war soldiers and civilians insistently sought the solace and inspiration of music, the importing of instruments had suffered one of the first and heaviest cuts, said an Auckland music agent. Musical firms, he said, had combed the country for such supplies as were available, and New Zealand resourcefulness had been de monstrated by the appearance of wellconstructed units of local make, such as guitars, and, even more surprising, drums. However, the demand for instruments of self-expression was far from satisfied and sheet music and records were always in keen demand. Affected by Half-Holiday Drawing attention to the fact that election day is a statutory half-holiday, the officer in charge of the Labour Department, Dunedin (Mr W. H. Cadwallader) said recently that employers of labour in fruit shops, restaurants, confectionery shops, hotels, and other places which normally remained open on half-holidays, must give their employees a half-day on Saturday, September 25. Many country districts in the South Island which observe their half-holidays on week-days will also be affected. In a total of six such districts those in Otago include the boroughs of Arrowtown and Queenstown, and'the counties of Waikouaiti, Clutha, Taieri and Waihemo. Missing Knives The displeasure of seeing his own property auctioned and his inability to claim it lawfully were borne silently by a Wellington man. the other day. He is in charge of a large boarding establishment and last week he noticed that his supply of table knives had alarmingly diminished. Concerned at the inconvenience this shortage was causing his patrons, he went to a city auction sale with the hope of purchasing enough cutlery to rectify the trouble. His astonishment was great when his missing knives were put up for sale. He was unable to claim them because of insufficient markings on them. They brought 6s each.

Rubbish Tip Lesson The Mayor of Devonport, Auckland, Mr R. G. May, at a demonstration of a "dig for victory campaign,” said that he had developed into a "compost heap” enthusiast through seeing what had developed on the borough’s rubbish tip. Household rubbish which had been carted to the tip at considerable expense as waste material to be burnt anti destroyed in other ways had, after it had settled for a period, produced most wonderful growth in plant life. If every home where the refuse came from had put the material into a properly made compost heap and then used it in their gardens, what fine vegetables they would have grown. Since he had established a compost heap in his own garden he had got wonderful results. He urged everyone present to get a compost heap going, and then dig for victory. It was fascinating work.

Eclipse Gazers Blinded Many cases of blindness and serious injury to sight have occurred in Sydney through the people looking at the eclipse of the sun on Ist August without proper eye protection. In some cases, doctors say, the injury to the sight will be permanent. Generally, prospects of recovery from "eclipse blindness” are good. The victims are mostly people who watched the eclipse through ordinary dark glasses, which offered virtually no protection to the eyes when looking directly at the sun. T’ ? rays of the sun burned the central part of the retina.

Disappearing Goldfish A white heron which had been seen in various parts of the Temuka district during the last month has now found a prolific source of food supply in the Domain, states the Christchurch "StarSun.” As the bird is strictly protected, the acting curator (Mr N. F. Balls) is in rather a dilemma. The heron was reported a week ago to be cleaning up the goldfish in the pond at the Bramwell Booth Boys’ Home Relays of boys were told off to scare the visitor from the pond, and it was finally persuaded to take up its quarters at an adjacent creek, where the fishing, if not so abundant, was not subject to continual disturbance. "I Don’t Like It” *

"I don’t like the look of this. It’s too drab. r ’an’t it be painted?’ ’asked the Prime Minister (Mr Fraser) during an inspection of State houses in Christchurch when he was viewing a house which had been finished with creosote instead of paint, states the "Star-Sun.” When the Prime Minister was told that the instructions for creosote to be used had come from Wellington, he said that he could not live in a drab place like that. "It looks like a Maori whare instead of a State house. The question ought to be referred back to the Housing Department.” Members of the Rehabilitation Committee ,who were with the Prime Minister, also expressed disappointment with the appearance of the house and said that as trainees from the carpentry school were engaged on its construction, they were afraid that its appearance might be a reflection on the workmanship of the men. The Prime Minister said that there was nothing wrong with the construction of the house. The workmanship was excellent and a credit to the men concerned, but again looking at the outside of the house, he shook his head, saying, "I don’t like it.”