LOCAL AND GENERAL

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22700, 12 April 1937, Page 8

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Air Mail by Awatea The Awatea, which is due here from Sydney early this afternoon, has 103 bags of mail and 54 bags of parcels for Auckland. She is also bringing English air mail which was despatched from London on March 24 and March 27,

Accident on Wharf When a bicycle stuck in the rails on the Onehunga Wharf yesterday afternoon both it and the rider, a Maori boy aged 12, went over the side and into the water. Two Maoris who were fis.hi.ng rescued the boy from a dinghy. This is the third time such an accident has occurred on the wharf within a month.

Auckland Placement Service Five thousand and ninety-eight placements of men in private employment have now i>een made by the Auckland Placement Service since the scheme was instituted. Last week's contribution to the total was 167, of this number 50

being described as casual. 48 as temporary and 6-3 as permanent. Forty-one men were sent last week to public works.

Cycle Racing Mishap While participating in a cycling race on Saturday afternoon, Wilfred Leo McCormick, apprentice boilermaker, aged 17, son of Mr. and Mrs. Leo McCormick, of 17 Dryden Street. Grey Lynn, suffered concussion when his cycle skidded in loose metal at the intersection of Bollard Avenue and the New North Road, Mount Albert. He was taken to the Auckland Hospital in a St. John ambulance. His condition is not serious. Practical Joke at Domain Gates Affixed high up. just below the stone replica of a swan coyly burying its head in a wing, a land agent's "For sale" notice on Saturday apparently gave the intimation that the Domain gates, or perhaps even the Domain behind them, was on the market. As the land agent whose name it bore was quick to disavow any knowledge of the notice, its presence can be ascribed to a prank by some person or persons unknown. Coronation Arrangements

Satisfactory progress in the preliminary details of arrangements for the celebration ot the Coronation of His Majesty King George VI. was reported by the sub-committee set up by the Auckland City Council. Matters affecting the King George V. National Fund were also discussed. The Mayor, Mr. Ernest Davis, presided, and it was resolved to report the results to a conference of local body delegates which is to be held next Wednesday.

Fire Brigade Victimised "There is a fire at Mi!ford," announced a small boy's voice over the telephone to the Takapuna fire station on Saturday morning, after which he hung up the receiver. A few minutes passed, and the same voice gave the same summons, and refused to give more explicit directions. The . second time he laughed, as he replaced the receiver, saying: "I'm a fire bug." The same person is alleged to have given previous false alarms, as Saturday's call proved to be when the brigade was despatched to Milford. "Tagged" Motorists Nonplussed

Motorists who left their cars parked in Queen Street on Friday night longer than the prescribed period received "tags," which stated that within 24 hours thev should furnish their names

and addresses at the city traffic department. On Saturday morning there was a series of inquiries at the Town Hall, and a number of anxious owners of cars learned that the office staff was enjoying the benefits of a 40-hour week. Those who liad been "tagged" had the week-end in which to ponder their remissness, and they will have to present themselves at the office this morning. A New Comet The Dominion Observatory has received advice from Sydney of the discovery of a new comet. It was first noticed on April 6, and as it is at present of the 10th magnitude it is visible only through a telescope. Whether it will become brighter and visible to the naked eye remains to be seen. Its position is given as Right Ascension 16h 13Jm, and Declination 20 degrees, 27m South. This would place the comet near the planet Mars, which is well above the horizon at 9 p.m. in the south-south-eastern sky. The comet appears to be moving in an eastward direction.

Accident Victims' Condition The condition of Mr. Cecil A. Shine, aged 22, of 13 Firth Street, Grey Lynn, who suffered concussion and abrasions when he fell from the platform of the tramcar of which he was conductor on Thursday night, wfts reported by the Auckland Hospital at a late hour last night to be still serious. An improvement was reported in the condition of Deirdre Anne Scott, aged seven, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. H. Scott, of 27 Mont Lo Grande Road. Mount Eden, who was admitted to the hospital on Friday with injuries suffered when she was struck by a motor-car at the intersection of Mount Pleasant Road and Dominion Road.

Heavy Railway Traffic The Auckland Railway Station was the scene of intense activity last night, when an unusually large number of persons went to see the limited express to Wellington away. There was a dense crowd on the platform and outside the station cars were parked right round the approaches and into Beach Road. All 10 carriages on the train were filled and the New Plymouth express, run as a separate train, also carried, r< large number. The excursion train that went to Waitomo yesterday and returned to Auckland at 9.44 last night, carried about 300 passengers, and all other trains in and out of the station yesterday were well patronised. Blood Donors Scarce So few of those who volunteered to give blood transfusions have left their addresses or telephone numbers with the St. John Ambulance headquarters in Rutland Street, that when an urgent call was received from the hospital yesterday afternoon, the ambulance driver who brought a gravely injured man to the hospital had to step into the breach. Although this incident illustrates the ability of ambulance drivers to meet a variety of emergencies, at the same time it is a reminder of the need of further donors, and the association is hopeful that members of the public will give further assistance to the service by leaving their names and addresses at ambulance headquarters,-