LOCAL AND GENERAL

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22403, 27 April 1936, Page 10

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Bananas lrom Fiji The fruit market will be replenished to-morrow by a cargo of fruit which is being brought from Fiji by the steamer Waipahi. She left Suva on Thursday night with 9670 cases of bananas. Talking Pictures on Liner Talking picture entertainments were provided for the passengers during tho voyage of the Shaw, Savill and Albion liner Tamaroa, which arrived from London on Thursday night. A talking picture outfit was installed on the vessel during her stay in London. The pictures shown on board are all British productions. Dogs Killed by Buses Complaints have been made recently at Devonport that several valuable dogs have been run over and killed' by motor-buses. No blame is attributed to the drivers, who at all times do their best to avoid such accidents. It has been suggested, however, that the mortality might be lessened by fitting light steel guards to tho fronts of the vehicles. St. John Ambulances Busy The St. John Ambulance was kept particularly busy during the week-end, and in addition to a large number of runs about the city and suburbs several calls were received to country districts. Ambulances were summoned to numerous accidents, as well as attending the usual sickness cases. Among the longer runs were -trips to Waiwera, Paerata, Papakura, Papatoetoe, Helensville, two to Glen Eden, and two to Pukekohe. Mariner's Choice of Home Intending to make his home in New Zealand after 44 years at sea, Captain G. E. Warner, formerly commander of the Cunard liner Olympic, arrived at Auckland by the Tamaroa, accompanied by his wife, formerly Miss Edith Moore, of Dunedin. Captain Wgrner retired in 1930, and in the following year visited the Dominion for the first time, although he had served in his earlier days in the wool clipper ships to Australia. John Ballance's Death To-day marks the 43rd anniversary of tho death of the Hon. John Ballance, who was at that time Premier of New Zealand. He had been in ill-health for some months and finally died while undergoing an operation. He was only 54 years of age, and in his premature death the Dominion lost a popular, able and patriotic statesman. He was succeeded by Mr. R. J. Seddon, who was acting-Premier during his thief's illness. Summer Time Ends Clocks in most homes were put back half an hour on Saturday night or yesterday morning, to mark tho end of summer time. Perhaps owing to Anzac Day upsetting the ordinary routine of the week-end, a number of people forgot to make the change and kept various Sunday appointments half an hour early. New Zealand time is now back at its normal Hi hours ahead of Greenwich —a matter of interest mainly to short-wave wireless enthusiasts. Halls lor North Shore Efforts to raise funds for the erection of public halls in their respective districts are being made by the Narrow Neck Improvement Association and a committee formed recently at Vauxhall. The latter body forwarded a cheque for £SO last week to tho Devonport Borough Council, which agreed to confer with it regarding the scheme. The Narrow Neck association has a certain amount of money in hand and intends to hold entertainments during the winter for the purpose of obtaining further funds. Opossums at Wanganui "An open season for opossums was observed again last year and approximately 6500 skins were taken in the district," states the annual report of the Wanganui Acclimatisation Society. "In some quarters agitation has arisen for tho extermination of these animals. It is our opinion that in our district at least, the damage reported to have been caused by them is greatly exaggerated. Properly controlled in suitable localities, they would bo the means of providing a fair source of revenue and employment." Fire on Mount Eden

A fire among the thick carpet of pine needles on the western slopes of Mount Eden proved very difficult to extinguish on Friday. The Mount Eden Borough Council has been cutting down a number of trees in the vicinity, and the dry needles were lying nearly 2ft. thick in places. The Mount Eden Fire Brigade was summoned to the scene at about 5.49 p.m., as burning bunches of needles were being blown by the wind down the mountain and endangering the houses at the base. The needles were then burning over a fairly wide area, and the brigade was engaged for nearly four hours before the outbreak was quelled. Beaters, buckets of water, and first-aid equipment were used to extinguish the lire. No actual damage was done. Dolphins Numerous

Dolphins have been unusually plentiful off Cape Campbell and in the Cook Strait area recently. Seafaring men who have sailed thoso waters for many years are puzzled why they should be seen in such large numbers. "I have been on this coast for a good many years, but 1 have never seen so many before," said an officer of the motor-ship Gale when the vessel called at Wanganui. "Coming up the coast the water was alive .with them, more so off Kaikoura and Cape Campbell. They wero continually disturbing the surface of the water, and looking ahead you would almost think the ship was running into breakers." The officer added that, according to the beliefs of some sailormen, dolphins in such numbers are a prediction of stormy weather. Loud-speakei Service "Will Mrs. Jones, of New Lynn, please come to the microphone? Her small boy is waiting here for her." "An umbrella with a brown handle is reported lost. Will anyone who has found such an umbrella please bring it to the microphone!'" These were typical of a running fire of announcements made through the loud-speaker system for more than half an hour after the Anzac Day ceremony at the War Memorial Museum on Saturday afternoon. The announeer, who was stationed on the museum portico, had offered this kind of service before the proceedings began, and the huge «rowd, numbering a good many thousands, made full use of it, not only to find missing children and lost property, but even to make appointments with fri<?nds at waiting motor-cars. The loud-speakers were very powerful, and the requests were carried all over the nearer part of Parnell, even reaching the neighbourhood of , Grafton Road.