LOCAL AND GENERAL

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXI, Issue 21859, 23 July 1934, Page 8

LOCAL AND GENERAL

H.M.S. Diomede at Suva An arrival at Suva yesterday was H.M.S. Diomede, which is on a cruise to the South Sea Islands. The warship will remain at Suva until July .'!(), and afterward she will proceed to Vavail and Nukualofa before she returns to Auckland on August 10. Northcote Water Bore The second 2Jin. bore put down at Northcote, to ascertain the possibilities of locating an artesian water supply for the borough, has reached a "depth of 321 ft. The volume of water tapped was of a similar'quantity to that obtained in the first bore at approximately the same depth.

Sheep Worrying at Ruakura Nine sheep on the Ruakura State Farm, valued at £lO, were destroyed as the result of dogs worrying them during the last fortnight, and four dogs found on the property were killed. The farm employees have been instructed to keep a close watch on the 1900 sheep grazing on the property. Every care is being taken'to prevent a repetition of the sheep-worrying incidents which occurred a year ago., when 23 sheep, valued at £BO, were kjlled by dogs. Freedom from Accidents

Auckland was singularly free from accidents at the week-end, only one patient, the victim of a mishap at football, requiring the services of the transport staff of the St. John Ambulance. The machines from the Rutland Street headquarters of the organisation were kept busy yesterday, however, with sickness cases. Runs wcro made to Castor Bay, Milford, Tamaki and Otahuhu, as we'll as to suburbs nearer the city. Task lor Steeplejacks

Steeplejacks have been removing the large crosses and other external decorations from the tall spire of St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church in Palmerston North. Two of the steeplejacks were working on a small platform on the top of the 159 ft. spire removing the three large crosses. The largest of the crosses is Bft. in height and sft. sin. in width. The smaller crosses are the same height, but have a span of only 3ft. tiin. In all, six crosses and twelve pinnacles are to be removed. The large central cross surmounting the spire was damaged by the earthquake in March.

Cow Strikes a Car The menace alike to motor traffic and to stock of cattle grazing on the roads at night was forcefully exemplified at Oh'au, near Levin,, on a recent evening, when a car driven by the Rev. Father Riordan, of Otaki, -who was returning from a meeting at Levin, was involved in a head-on collision with a cow, which suddenly stepped into the centre of the highway from the shadows obscuring the side of the road. The animal received fatal injuries, and the impact broke the cowl of the car's radiator, smashed one of the headlamps and damaged the other. Except for a severe shaking, the occupant of the car escaped injury. Chinese Friendliness

"During the last few years there has been the most evident friendship between the Chinese people and the British," said the Rev. G. H. McNeur, speaking in St. David's Presbyterian Church yesterday morning. Mr. McNeur is the pioneer of the Presbyterian Mission in Canton, where he has been working for the past 33 years. "During all the years we have been in China," he said, "we have Wver lived and worked in such an atmosphere of friendliness as during the past four or five years, and I think that is typical of what is taking place in most parts of China. So we are faced with a widely opened door, and there has never before been such an opportunity in the history of the Church." Sea Leopard Comes Ashore

A sea leopard 12ft. long, and apparently ailing, came ashore at Waikiiku Beach, near Kaiapoi, north of Ghristchurch, recently. It aroused great curiosity as it struggled awkwardly near the fringe of the sandhills, and while it resented close inspection, showing -its displeasure with throaty roars and gaping mouth, it refused to be driven into the water again. Eventually it made for the water of its own volition and disappeared among the breakers. Ihe sea leopard's natural haunts are in the Antarctic waters, and it is only rarely that one is seen in waters as far north as Waikuku. However, experts state that when a sea mammal comes ashore, as in this case, it is proof that it is ill. Judging by the scars on its sides and the decay of its-teeth, the animal in question was a veteran of many a sea adventure. Difficult Motor-cycle Trial

A large slip on the Miranda-Orere Point Road caused the abandonment of part of the Auckland Motor-cycle Club s reliability trial yesterday. The route had been selected to give contestants difficult tests in negotiating fords and clay roads, but the heavy rain over the week-end produced unexpected difficulties. Some clever riding was seen over two'or three miles of the unnietalled roads north of New Brighton, but eventually it was learned that a very large slip, completely blocking the road, would prevent all traffic from passing through to Orere Point. The riders bad to make their way back to New Brighton, but in the meantime a car carrying some of the officials had become hopelessly stuck in the clay. Efforts to push it clear having failed, the contestants finally had to lift the car some yards to a part of the road having some foundation metal, and the trial was then continued.

Lake Wakatipu Road If he can put 150 men to work on the Kingston-Queenstown highway, which in terms of the Government's recent announcement is to be completed, Mr 'J' M Ball, district engineer of the Public Works Department, says lie anticipates that the new road will be opened for traffic within 15 or IS months. Although only 11 miles or the road remain to be formed, there is still considerable work to be done before it is put in proper order, and Mi Ball expects that 150 men at least will be required to push on the work expeditiously. Tlip completion of the road would, like many other works of its kind at the present time, be an unemployment job, and ho thought that the labour would bo for the most part provided by married men. As to the cost of the work on this road, Mr Balb said that the original estimate had been £30,000, but he was not in a position to say whether that figure would be the final outlay required.