LOCAL AND GENERAL

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22627, 15 January 1937, Page 8

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Liner's Brie! Call As with most of the fast liners which rail at Auckland on the regular intercolonial and Pacific mail services the Aorangi, which is due here from Vancouver on Monday, will not lie in port over-night. She is to leave Suva at eleven o'clock this morning and will reach Auckland on .Monday morning. She is to leave in continuation of her voyage to Sydney at ten o'clock on Monday night.

Wellington's Pohutukawa The pohutukawa trees in the vicinity of the hand rotunda and round the children's play area on the way to Kelburn in the Wellington Hotanical Gardens are in full (lower, and their crimson blossom is making a particularly fine show at the present time. The director of parks and reserves. Mr. ■I. G. iMacKen/.ie, stated that he did not think ho had seen more blossom on the trees in any previous year. Verandah Posts Broken Braking hard to avoid a car which pulled out from the roadside, ji light lorry belonging to the Salvation Army yesterday afternoon skidded 011 the wot road and demolished three verandah posts of the British Laundry, Parnoll Road. The lorry came to rest, with its splintered tailboard wedged into a side wall, which was dislodged several feet. The lorry was only slightly damaged and the driver was not hurt.

Flying Ants Flying ants, which constituted themselves something of a pest last season to outdoor workers and pleasure-seek-ers in districts around Auckland, have again made their appearance. The bites of those insects are both painful and lasting in their effect, and when flying in swarms, as is their habit, they arc a decided menace to motorists and cyclists, being liable to be caught in the eve and so cause accident.

Tram Motorman's Couitesy It \v;is only ii small bay of swoots that was involved, hut they were sufficient to reveal the thoughtfulness that is characteristic of the majority of Auckland's tramwaymen. A boy was crossing Queen Street with his parents yesterday afternoon, when he dropped the bag'on the rail in front of a tram. He was well clear of the track when the motorman noticed the bay. He pulled up his car and allowed the boy to run back and pick lip the sweets.

Trout in Central Taranaki All the rivers in Central Taranaki arc well stocked and arc fishing well this season. The upper Maketawa stream is considered particularly popular for rainbow trout, it has been decided to liberate about 1-iO.OOO yearlings in rivers of the lnglewood district in early March for the purpose of replacing some of the loss and damage brought about by the flood last February. Although no outstanding fish have yet been lifted this year, on* angler took a 51b. trout from the Waiongonaiti stream recently.

Holiday Not Wanted To instance the altered attitude of school children' toward school life, the Minister of Education, the Hon, P. Fraser, in Southland the other day quoted an experience of a Minister who asked the children of one school if they would like a holiday, and was answered by a chorus of "No!" "He was dumfounded, of course," Mr. Fraser said, "but that little fact does illustrate the imperceptible revolution that has taken place in the children's outlook toward their schooling. Undoubtedly most of our teachers now understand child psychology, and the results are very apparent."

Shipping Dislocated Heavy rain yesterday morning delayed the working of a number of vessels in the port. With the added inconvenience caused by the freezing workers' dispute, local shipping has been somewhat dislocated. 'I he Japanese ship Brisbane Marii, the Orangemoor and the Port Waikato have all been delayed by the rain. The loading of the Port Alma and Titranaki, both of which sailed for coastal ports last night, and the Tainui, which is to leave for Wellington this evening, has been affected by the workers' dispute, although the Taranaki and Port Alma left without loading all their refrigerated consignments. Milk Council Election

A substantial increase in the number of milk producers and vendors who intend to record their votes in the Auckland Metropolitan Milk Council election, which will be held on February 24, is shown in the electoral rolls compiled recently. There are 347' producers entitled to exercise an aggregate of 526 votes, and 183 vendors with 257 votes. The increase is partly due to the fact that this year the electoral district is not confined to an area within 15 miles of the chief post office. By a recent amending Act all dairymen licensed by the Milk Council and producing upward of 10 gallons of milk a day are entitled to vote. Nominations for the election close on February 10. World's Oldest Coins The most ancient coins in the world are not, as commonly supposed, Greek or Roman, but Chinese. Visitors to the wonderful exhibition of Chinese art that is to bo opened at t.lic War Memorial Museum this afternoon may there see the world's oldest coins made of bronze and resembling scarabs, belonging to the Shang-Yin dynasty of about 1750 B.C. In the same collection, lent by Captain G. Humphreys-Da vies and the Auckland Museum, arc a "Pu" or cloth money issued between 475 and 221 8.C., knife money issued between (570 and 221 8.C., a cowrie shell cut to serve as a token and dating back to the third mirienium, 8.C., and perhaps most surprising of all, an elaborate bank note for 10,000 "cash" issued between 1368 and 1308 A.D.

Shark Caught from Waterfront A shark over 9ft. 6in. in length was caught from the bridge at the corner of tho waterfront road and Ngapipi Road yesterday morning by Mr. Russell McKay, of Parnell. Mr. McKay, who is a regular fisherman from the bridge for kingfish, is ip the habit of setting a shark lino baited with the head of a kingfish in the hope that he might hook a stray shark on the seaward side of the bridge. Shortly after ho had baited tho lino yesterday Mr. McKay saw it running out swiftly. With the aid of a friend, he hauled in the shark fairly quickly. Both his hands were skinned when the lino ran through them several times. Mr. McKay, who catches a large number of kingfish every year, has been successful in landing several other sharks from the waterfront road.