LOCAL AND GENERAL

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXI, Issue 21937, 22 October 1934, Page 8

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Hurt In Tall From Lorry As a result of a fall from a cream lorry a fracture of an arm and head injuries were suffered by Mr. A. Storm, aged 41. single, a relief worker, at the Public Works Department camp at Mangatawhiri Valley, near Pokeno, yesterday.! He was admitted to the Auckland Hospital. His condition is not serious. Launch Transported From Onshunga The 30ft. motor-launch Norma was transported from Onehunga to Auckland on Saturday morning on a trailer towed'by a motor-lorry. Hie craft was taken to Queen's Wharf and then lowercd into the water by a Harbour Board crane. The Norma was built about 1910. She has been purchased by Mr. A. Boyle, who will use her for cruising in the Hauraki Gulf. Waterfront Holiday To-day A holiday will be observed on the waterfront to-day and no cargo work will be done on vessels in port. The usual Monday time-table of the local coastal fleet will be suspended and some of the steamers will,be engaged on excursions. The only movement of other shipping to-day will be the arrival of the coastal steamer Waimea from Napier and the departure of the tanker Linmea for Balik Papan. Overhead Wire Falls An overhead power wire on the inward tramway line at the foot of College Hill broke on Saturday evening and caused an interruption to the Heme Bay tram service. No one was injured by the wire when it fell, however, and members of the police force kept .vehicles and passers-by away until a repair gang arrived. The defect was quickly repaired after comparatively little delay had been caused to tramcars. Unusual Thermal Activity An unusual display of activity was witnessed in the Whakarewarewa reserve, Rotorua, yesterday, when the Frog Pool suddenly became intensely active, sending up shots of boiling mud to a height of about 30ft. The pool is noted for the myriads of mud ''frogs" which "leap" over its molten surface. As a rule these small mud specks "jump" only a few feet, and the sudden burst of activity came as a surprise to all who know the locality well. "An Error of Judgment" The recent advertisement calling for applications for a Protestant teacher for a school in the Marlborough Sounds district was referred to briefly at. a meeting of the Wellington Education Board last week. The advertisement, it was stated, had been drawn up and inserted in good faith, although it was a contravention of all that the secular education system stood for. The circumstances of the case had been peculiar, but members of the board were assured that the advertisement as it appeared was an error of judgment and that such a thing would never occur again. Monowai's Fast Passage A fast passage of less than three days from Auckland to Sydney was made by the ,'Union Company's intercolonial steamer Monowai. After being delayed loading owing to wet weather the vessel left Auckland with 300 passengers at nine o'clock on Thursday night and reached Sydney at six o'clock last evening. A considerable number of the passengers are going to Melbourne, where the Monowai is due on Wednesday. She will then return to Sydney and Auckland. leaving Sydney on Friday and reaching Auckland next Monday. The following day she will leave Auckland for Sydney and Melbourne. Death of Professor Stewart A letter posted at Pitcairn Island was received in Christchurch last week from a passenger on the Akaroa, stating that Professor Hugh Stewart, news of whose death on board ship reached New Zealand on September 29, fell ill three days after leaving New Zealand, and was confined-to his cabin up to the time of arrival at Pitcairn. The writer did not, however, speak of Professor Stewart's illness as serious. Pitcairn Island is 10 days' sail from New Zealand. The Akaroa sailed from Auckland on September 14, and Professor Stewart's illness must, therefore, have been of approximately 10 days' duration. Wellington Town Hall The contractor engaged in remodelling the Wellington Town Hall expects to have the work completed by the end of November, a fortnight before the arrival of the Duke of Gloucester. The exterior of the building now shows marked dissimilarity to the heavily ornamented structure upon which the contractors began operations some weeks ago. The tower is gone and the last remnants of the massive portico disappeared last week, when the bases which once supported the columns were demolished. The heavy parapeting has been removed to roof level and has been replaced by a reinforced concrete band. The hall is to bo given a coat of slate grey paint as part of the contract. Chukor in Canterbury Information that two coveys of chukor of about 70 birds had been seen at Hawarden, 54 miles north of Christchurch, was placed before the meeting of the council of the North Canterbury Acclimatisation Society at its last meeting. The report stated that Mr. J. Quigley, of Hawarden, had recently seen the two covcvs at the back of "The Peaks." It was very pleasing to find that the birds had become established in the district, said Mr. C. D. Wheeler, chairman of the He added that the birds had been liberated two years ago. He did not know where the particular birds had been liberated, but the nearest point at which liberation had been carried out was a considerable distance from "The Peaks." Ambergris at Stewart Island The ambergris season is in full swing again at Stewart Island, something like old times when prices were high, remarks the correspondent of the Southland News. The recent rise has given the industry a fillip and several parties have been out scouring the lonely remote beaches on the western shores of the island. One fishing vessel took a trip along the coast calling at every beach where it was possible to land. They went as far as a Beach called "Three Legged Woodhen." Their return was 17 ounces of ambergris of good grade besides some poorer quality which is still almost unsaleable. Another party walked to Little Hellfiro Bay and along the coast to the Devil's Cave and secured seven ounces of good ambergris. The best secured this season was a beautiful piece weighing 24 ounces and picked up by Mr. Arthur Traill at Mason's Bay.