LOCAL AND GENERAL

New Zealand Herald, Volume 78, Issue 24070, 15 September 1941, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Tubes Less Valves The latest shipment of English bicycle inner tubes to reach Christchurch has arrived minus valve fittings, the manufacturers explaining that these will have to be inserted on a replacement basis. This means that cyclists buying new tubes will have to surrender the old tube so that the valve fitting may be used again.

Shops Too Busy The unusual position of some shops being closed because business is too brisk exists in Auckland. For the past few weeks a number of city jewellers have not opened on Saturday mornings in order to obtain a greater spread of .sales. They are working on short stocks, and they fear that if they yield to all demands now they will have still less to sell next year. Whether the experiment will be a success has still to be determined, for one jeweller said he thought his previous Saturday morning trade now came to him during the other days of the week. An Historic Date To-day's date, September 15, now has a double significance in British war history. It was on September 15, 1916, that the New Zealand Division first came to grips with the Germans on the Western Front, and that the tank was first used. The superiority both established over the enemy that day was not lost throughout the remainder of the war. On September 15 last year the Royal Air Force added to its already great renown in the Battle of Britain by bringing down a record total of 224 German machines. The figure was first announced as 185.

North Shore Water The spraying of copper sulphate round the edges of Lake Pupuke, the source of North Shore's water supply, has been carried out in the last week to check algal growth in the water. The treatment is rendered necessary, as this is the time of the year when the spores of this organic growth develop, and complaints have been received from residents concerning the quality of the water in the last few days. At Takapuna, steps have been taken to supply drinking water from the Northcote bore, and tanks have been placed at centra] points in the borough for the use of the residents. Water drawn from the lake lately has been so discoloured as to discourage regular baths.

School Holidays Ending Most of the schools and colleges in Auckland will have commenced the final term of the year by to-morrow after holidays ranging from two weeks to three weeks and several days. The Seddon Memorial Technical College will resume to-day, and tiie third term at the Auckland grammar schools, Sacred Heart College, Otahuhu Technical High School and the Teachers' Training College will begin to-morrow. Training College classes will be held mainly in the University College building this term, as the Training College building is being used as an auxiliary hospital. King's College, the Diocesan High School and St. Cuthbert's College reopen on Wednesday. Primary schools resumed last week.

Incident in Greece How Brigadier R. Miles and Brigadier (now Major-General) E. Puttick contested the right to remain behind when insufficient ships were available to take them off during the Greece evacuation was told by the Prime Minister, the lit. Hon. P. Fraser, at the civic reception on Saturday. Owing to the impossibility of going south of the Corinth Canal, two brigades were ordered to the east beaches, he said, hut found ships only for one. lOventually it was decided that Brigadier Puttick, who had been ordered there after Brigadier Miles, should remain. He deployed his troops and waited for the enemy tanks to attack, but for some reason, probably because they overestimated the strength of the New Zealanders, the tanks remained a few hundred yards away, and next night Brigadier Puttick's force was also evacuated.