LOCAL AND GENERAL

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22622, 9 January 1937, Page 8

LOCAL AND GENERAL

i Frankton-Whatawhata Road f Tar-sealing work which commences 1 on Monday on the Frankton-Whata--5 whata Road will necessitate a detour ■ from the five cross-roads at Frankton via Koromatiia to Whatawhata. It is 5 expected that the main road will be : reopened for through traffic on Tuesday. Big-Game Fish A good catch of big-game fish was made yesterday off W'hangaroa Harbour by Mr. I'\ Slater, of I'aliiicrston j North, fishing front the launch Lucia. Three fish were taken in all, the first being a striped marlin of .'5051b., and the others a mako shark and a rercmai j. shark. ■ Birdlime Illegal : Regulations have been issued to prohibit the use of birdlime for capturing i birds, and prohibiting any person pos- , sessing or selling birdlime, pays a Press Association message from Wellington. , The penalty for a breach is fixed at £5 for the first offence, £lO for the second, and £'2o for any subsequent offence. Yacht Built on Farm The removal of the new auxiliary , yacht "Wayward from the shed on a farm, where it was built, to the water's edge, created interest at Tutukaka this week. For some years Mr. Walter Watson has occupied his spare time in building the yacht in a shed on his farm. A team of bullocks was employed to haul the yacht to the sea. Derailment at Otahuhu As the result of a buffer on a truck breaking loose, two waggons of sheep and an empty carriage on a goods train were derailed at Otahuhu early yesterday morning. The accident happened at .'S..'io a.m. as the train was coming to a standstill in the station. No sheep were killed, and there was no inconvenience caused to traffic. Albert Park Popular One of the most popular places in Auckland at the present time, when shade is at a promium, is Albert Park. Although the wet weather cleared all the seats for a few days, people are now going there is increasing numbers in the afternoon to sit beneath the trees or on the lawns, and yesterday there were more than 50 of them in different parts of the park. Extra Express To-day On account of heavy holiday traffic the Railway Department has found it necessary to run additional expresses between Auckland and Wellington today. A train will leave Auckland at ;!..'!() p.m. and is expected to arrive at Wellington at about 8.10 a.m. tomorrow. The express from Wellington is expected at 7.48 a.m. to-morrow. The extra trains have been provided by splitting the usual 3 p.m. express into two portions. Duty of Police An Indian with a record of more than 20 convictions for drunkenness appeared on another charge of this nature in the Police Court yesterday and entered his customary pica of not guilty. "Have you ever pleaded guilty to any charge?" he was asked by Subinspector Fox, who referred to his list of convictions. "No. 1 have not," the Indian admitted frankly. "The police get paid for their job. and it is their duty to prove that i was drunk, - ' he added amid laughter. Good Plying Weather In striking contrast to Thursday, conditions for flying yesterday were particularly good. With a moderate, cool south-westerly wind there were few bumps and visibility was excellent. On Thursday the wind was variable and flying was most uncomfortable throughout the day. Continuing from the holidays there have been a number of visitors to the Mangere aerodrome each day and many passenger flights have been made both in open cockpit aeroplanes and in the closed-cabin Puss Moth. Supplies of Fruit Several lines of fruit will be no longer available at the City Markets after the next few days and already supplies of black currants, which are in for only a short season, are becoming smaller. Loganberries also will be finished soon, the recent wet weather having an injurious effect on the fruit. Cherries are practically finished, but raspberries are still in season. Hothouse grapes have made their appearance on the market, and supplies of choice quality apricots have commenced to arrive from the South Island. Bananas are still plentiful and cheap.

Historic Church Bell An historic church bell which was buried for more than 50 years is to be put into service again, as a memorial. Originally the bell was housed in a church at the Maori settlement of Wairoa, Tarawcra, and together with the remains of that old building it was buried in the eruption of 1886, since when it had lain several feet under tho surface of the ground until unearthed last year. The bell is now in (he hands of Bishop Bennett. It is his intention to present the bell for erection on the site where the church stood, as a memorial to the late Kev. K. M. Spencer, who was the first missionary stationed at Wairoa.

Sloop Leith Returns Memiisp of the violent storm on Tuesday the putrol sloop Leith, which left the Devonport Naval Mase on Monday to carry out gunnery and other exercises in the Hauraki Gulf, was not able If) conduct her full programme. Kxercises were confined to three instead of four days and on Tuesday the sloop spent most of the time being buffeted by the waves. The storm was the first experience Captain L. C. I'. Tudway and his officers and crew have had of New Zealand weather at its worst. The cruise was their first real opportunity of becoming properly acquainted with their ship since she was [•('commissioned recently at Wellington by Captain Tudway.

1 Scientific Harmony It is rare to find complete harmony and co-operation between two independent bodies which perform similar functions and cover the same territory. This, however, is the case with the New Zealand section of the Institute of Chemistry (Croat Mritain and Ireland) and the New Zealand Institute of Chemistry. The two bodies will hold a joint conference next week in Auckland, including annual meetings at 7 p.m. and K p.in, respectively on Thursday, and the members of both will meet for morning tea on Tuesday and at a dinner on January 18. The gatherings have been arranged at times which lit in with meetings of the chemistry section of the Australian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science.