LOCAL AND GENERAL

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22351, 24 February 1936, Page 8

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Railways Busy The Auckland railway station was particularly busy yesterday with a number of excursion trains and a large travelling public on the limited express to Wellington. The express took two extra second-class carriages and tho whole train was filled to its capacity. Court of Review The Court of Review of Mortgagors' Liabilities, which has been sitting in Invercargill, will return to Auckland to open a sitting here on Monday, March 2, under the presidency of Mr. Justico Johnston. The Court will go on to Whangarei to sit there on March 4. Petty Thieving at Baths A series of thefts occurred in the women's dressing shed at tho Parnell Baths on Saturday afternoon when sums of monoy, the largest of which was 10s, were stolon from the handbags of five women bathers. For somo time there had been almost a complete absence of petty thieving at tho baths. Preference to Unionists The Dunedin City Council at its last meeting adopted a proposal of the Finance Committee that preference be given to employees who wero unionists and that this provision should apply to such an organisation as the Unemployed Workers' Movement. An amendment that the latter clause be deleted was lost. Visitors to Oannet Sanctuary The gannet sanctuary at Cape Kidnappers, Hawko's Bay, has this season proved more popular than ever with sightseers, who have travelled from all parts of New Zealand to admire the birds in their natural surroundings. There has been a large party of visitors to the sanctuary each week-end for the past two months. Destructive Pukeko In Otago districts farmers are anxiously awaiting tho decision of the Department of Internal Affairs in respect to the granting of an open season for pukeko—the Maori swamp hen—during the coming game season. Several settlers in Maniototo who were interviewed recently indicated that the birds are breeding freely and unless some means is found for checking them crops will suffer. Battle of Rangiaowhia The 72nd anniversary of the Battle of Rangiaowhia, Doubtless Bay, occurred during the week-end. The battle, which was between the Maoris and von Tempskv's Forest Hangers, was a two-day action, taking place on February 22 and 23, 1864. Afterwards, the return of the Forest Rangers was described by an eye-witness as follows: —" They were loaded with pigs, potatoes, spears, tomahawks, cooking utensils and all kinds of Maori goods." Napier's New Art Gallery Destined, in the words of Bishop Williams of Waiapu—by whom the ceremony was performed—to be one of Napier's most important buildings, the first section of the new Hawke's Bay Art Gallery and Museum was officially opened recently. An announcement that the New Zealand committee of the Carnegie Institute has recommended that a substantial grant be made to help pay for the building was made by the bishop. New Zealanders in Samoa "What residents of the Dominion do not realise is that New Zealanders in Samoa are looked upon as foreigners by a large part of the population," said Mr. H. F. Baird, who has returned to Christchurch after being in charge of the observatory at Apia for six months. "Actually some of the people there—fortunately very few —regard us in the same way as the German Nazis regard the Jews." Olevedon Scenic Reserves Control of three properties known as the Clevedon Scenic Reserves, having areas of 98J, 59J and 68J acres respectively, is vested in the Manukau County Council by notice in the Gazette under the Scenery Preservation Act, 1908, for a period of five years. The council is required to submit to tho Minister in charge of scenery preservation a yearly report and statement of receipts and expenditure in connection with the reserves. Mails From Australia Two Australian mails reached Auckland yesterday and will be delivered today. A small mail of four bags from Melbourne landed by the steamer Karetu at Bluff, arrived from Wellington by train in tho morning and last evening tho Kairanga arrived from Sydney with 113 bags of Australian mail, including an Empire air mail which left London on February 2. The air mail was 21 days in transit from London to Auckland owing to it having been delayed when it was en route to Australia. "A Heavy Pick" An old piece of fixed mooring cost the crew of the largo yacht Waitangi an unexpected amount of toil and a long delay in its start in a race during tho Yacht Squadron's regatta at Kawau on Saturday. With sails ready, the crow started energetically to pull up tho heavy anchor, and everything went well until the slack was in. It then became increasingly difficult to raise tho anchor, and after a concentrated effort the cause was found to bo a heavy chain which the anchor had fouled and was bringing to tho surface. It is understood that tho mooring was placed in Mansion House Bay some years ago for 0110 of the larger yachts. Ambulance Nurses Faint "To see two members of the St. John Ambulance Brigade receiving attention themselves instead of ministering to others was tho novel experience of the crowd that attended tho brigade parade at Carlaw Park on Saturday afternoon. The Auckland divisions had been drawn up for inspection by Colonel J. L. Sleeman. Chief Commissioner for the St. John Ambulance Brigade Overseas, when, overcome by tho hot sun, two women in tho Nursing Division fainted within a few minutes of each other. Sevoral men and women in the ranks immediately rushed forward and carried them into tho shade of tho grandstand, whero they soon recovered. Small Child's Wanderings Tho combined efforts of a constable and a city councillor restored to her homo last evening a little two-year-old girl who had apparently wandered off to "see tho city" and who had been found by the constable near tho corner of Hobson Street and Wellesloy Street West. A city councillor, who was walking down Hobson Street, noticed the policeman with the sleeping child in his arms, awaiting a taxi for transport to the police station. Ho thought he had scon the child's faco during an electioneering tour of tho Freeman's Bay district, and after a few discreet inquiries ho and the constable managed to deliver the little girl, somewhat travel-stained and with one shoe missing, at her home in Nelson Street.