General News

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 79, 11 January 1944, Page 4

General News

Blenheim’s Temperature Blenheim's maximum shade temperature on Saturday was 96 degrees—one degree less than the season's local record. Cocksfoot Seed Wanted An opportunity is offered to children in the Waikato to earn money by gathering cocksfoot seed from roadsides. The grass is very plentiful, and now is the right time to cut off the heads and winnow the seeds from them. Cocksfoot seed is selling at a record high price, and there is an unsatisfied demand both in New Zealand and overseas. National Party Caucus A caucus of Parliamentary members of the National Party is to be held in Wellington on Thursday, 20th January. This will be the first caucus of the party since the return of the Leader of the Opposition, Mr Holland, from his recent visit to Australia.

Long Parliament By voting itself a ninth year of office. the present House of Commons becomes the longest Parliament since 1679. and the second-longest in British history, states the London News Bureau of Fact. The longest was for 18 years from 1661-1679 in the reign of Charles 11. It passed the Habeas Corpus Act. The present Parliament has been maintained so long (1935-1943) that no citizen under the age of 28 has ever voted in a general election. The present Parliament has seen three Kings, three Prime Ministers (Earl Baldwin. Mr Chamberlain and Mr Churchill*, a Royal Jubilee, an abdication, an outbreak of war. and the destruction by Nazi bombs of the historic Commons Chamber. With little opposition, the House of Commons accepted the Bill prolonging Parliament’s life for another year

Shearing by Schoolboys During the last two seasons nearly 7000 sheep have been shorn by boys of the Pukekohe Technical High School in the Auckland Province, and an outline of the national aspect of the work taught to the boys taking the agricultural course at the school was given by the headmaster. Mr W. F. J. Munro. Mr Munro, who is visiting Dunedin, said that the course was eminently practical, the boys being taught ordinary general subjects in addition to practical subjects such as fcfrge work, farm carpentry, and a practical knowledge of shearing, which had been found very useful on account of the

shortage of shearers in the district. The boys of the school had stepped in and had taken their place to such good effect, Mr Munro said, that the sheepowners of the district had not been inconvenienced through the lack of shearers. In the 1.942 season, just under 3000 sheep were shorn on the school grounds in a shearing shed erected by the boys themselves. the season recently completed, 4000 sheep were handled. The work included shearing, picking up. classing, baling, pressing, marking and the dispatch of the wool. Twelve boys were engaged in the operations this season, of whom s : x were firstyear pupils, three second-year, and three senior pupils The work was carried out under the supervision of the agricultural instructor (Mr P. Gallagher). At the end of the season a competition was conducted among the boys, whose work showed excellent finish, in spite of the fact that some of the young shearers stood little higher than the sheep. The school owns its own flock of stud Southdowns Chamois in Lewis Pass Last week a Christchurch sportsman brought home for mounting the head of a chamois shot in the Lewis Pass (states “The Press”). In a direct line, this is about 110 miles from the Mount Cook region, where chamois were liberated first in 1907. It is the furthest north that the chamois has been reported in New Zealand. The original five chamois and seven bucks were liberated in the Hermitage area in 1907 when they were received from Emperor Franz Josef of Austria in appreciation of a collection of New Zealand kakas, k6as, kiwis, katipos, and moa bones assembled by Admiral von Rutter during a visit in 1904. The presentation was made to the Government, which then controlled the Hermitage at Mount Cook. The thar were freed two years later. Chamois spread rapidly in the Sealey. Moorhouse, and Wakefield ranges, ant. as high as the leading spur of Mount Cook. Through passes and ovar high mountains they passed to the West Coast. They have been seen in the South Island (the only place where they had acclimatised outside their natural habitat in the Austrian Alps) to move in herds of up to 100 at an altitude of 4000 feet. Government cullers in 1937 and 1938 shot 5000 chamois and thar within a 10-mile radius of the Hermitage. This campaign followed a period when the animals almost totally destroyed native mountain plants in the area. The growth has now recovered.

Turkey and Beer

Not even in the steaming heat of Vella Lavella was Christmas allowed to pass without some semblance of traditional celebration. One member of an ordnance unit of the New Zealand forces at present operating in that island group has written to his parents in Wellington detailing the manner in which Christmas dinner was served. Much to the surprise of the rank and file of the unit, the officers not only arranged the repast, on white tablecloths on tables placed in a big marquee tent, but after laying the tables, attired in neat white tunics, with green cummerbunds, they waited on the men. And what a dinner it was. Outside the routine foods, which were in good supply, each man received two bottles of beer and an ample helping of roast turkey. Indeed, the latter delicacy was in such good supply that each man must have had nearly a quarter of a turkey. The dinner was marked by the highest spirits on the part of the members of the company concerned. Training Marksmen The revival of interest in rifle shooting on a Dominion-wide basis so that in future New Zealand will have available at a moment’s notice a large contingent of able riflemen for national defence was suggested in a motion carried by about 100 riflemen and club members at the initial open meeting of the Waverley-Waitotara Rifle Club at Waverley. The meeting was the first open event to be held in New Zealand for about four years, and attracted 60 competitors from a wide area outside Taranaki. In addition there were present about 40 former marksmen, club members and shooting enthusiasts. After the matches the opinion was expressed that something should be done to stimulate interest in rifle shooting, not only because of its virtues as a sport, but also because of the importance properly trained riflemen played in the defence of the country. Unanimous support was given a motion sponsored by Mr D. Roots, Patea, in which it was suggested that, as the Home Guard was now being disbanded and impressed rifles were being returned to riflemen, the National Rifle Association of New Zealand be asked to formulate an approved policy that

would ensure a revival of interest in rifle shooting among New Zealanders, 3’oung and old, for national defence.