NEW R.S.A. ROOMS

New Zealand Herald, Volume 81, Issue 24874, 21 April 1944, Page 6

NEW R.S.A. ROOMS

ATTRACTIVE QUARTERS i the official opening < Although tiie new clubrooms of the i Auckland Returned Services Association ia British Chambers are not quite ready for occupation, they are to be ; officially opened by the Mayor, Mr. JA. C. Allum, 011 Anzac Day, next lues- . dav at 2.30 p.m. The president of the association, Mr. A. P. Postlewaite, will preside at the function and Major-Gen-eral P. H. Bell, C.8., D.5.0., command-1 i„E the Northern Military District, will | give an address. Music will be provided , by the Newmarket R.S.A. Band. After | the ceremony, those present will be invited to insect the clubrooms. Substantial alterations have been made to two floors of British Chambers, one being the basement, where the re-, freshment lounge is to be situated, and the other the first floor, where modern administrative offices are being constructed. The entrance to the reiresnmen' lounge is by stairs leading down from the main vestibule. The walls and , pillars of the lounge have been ! panelled to door height and painted I cream above, and the floor has een i laid. A large compartment for the i kitchen has been partitioned off and is i almost ready for the installation of the j various appliances. Furniture tor tie I lounge has been obtained, but will prob- ! ably not be installed before the openj ing ceremony. Badges of the Services When completed, the offices on the ! first floor will be very handsome. All j Ot the partitions h.re now been i.A 'and like the walls throughout tie | whole floor, are panelled to the i of the doors. Above the paiiellin fe , -* I walls are painted cream, but the upper 1 portions of the partitions are of gto, i providing excellent lighting for every I U> dii" the sections of glass are et e h«l designs representing the badges of the various services. Over the main entrance for instance, is a representaI tion of the badge of the Royal New j Zealand Air Force. Other sections contain the infantry badge,. with a field llgun and a tank, and Navy, Merchant jtWarine, Medical Corps and Nursin*, Service badges. Two kiwis over the Lain inquin counter suggest the name 'by which the members of the present \fighting forces are known. Manufacture of Poppies The main entrance opens from a I vestibule into which the visitor steps from the lift. 'lhrougii double swing j doors entrance is made to a large I vestibule, in which the inquiry counter | „ traced on the left. Adjoining this is | a room for private interviews and there I is a telephone box for the use of visitors. Next to the large vestibule is a c-omtmodious waiting room, iroinwhicn direct access is gained to the offices ot the president, secretary, typists and accountant, which are all mter-con-nectedL A speaker system of communication is also provided. From the entrance vestibule, a door opens into the reading and writing room and adjoining this is the boardroom. The poppy manufacture departi ment issplaced at the back of t-iie build--111 New Zealand timber, veneered and in natural colouring, has been used for'the panelling. When the furnishine hi&s been done, the Auckland I ft.S.A. will have offices of which it may j well be proud. | GAOL FOR MOTORIST FOURTH TIME INTOXICATED (0.c.) WELLINGTON, Thursday For being drunk in charge of a car,, Walter Frederick Marris, company nunager, aged 44, was sent to gaol for a month bv Mr. J. L. Stout, S.M., and i his licence was cancelled for three years. 1 A constable saav him driving erratically. ! The constable" followed the car, which • stopped in the-same street, and took the i driver to a police station. Accused i pleaded guilty. It was stated that he | had had three previous similar con- ! victions. ENGINEERING TRADE I EXPERT VISITS DOMINION A well-known machine-tool expert, Mr. Edgar Thompson, who was once in a senior position at Woolwich Arsenal and has more recently been Anstralasian manager of the machine tool de~ partment of Gil be Dodge and Companv, Proprietary, Limited, is in New Zealand for the purpose of visiting Government and other engineering shops. Mr. Thompson! was on loan for a period of this war to the Australian Government, which sought his services with the object of increasing production in the fuse department of one or its munition works. Mr. Thompson said yesterday that he hopes to be of some use in New Zealand in giving advice about- the modern types of machine to oils which could improve production in workshops, and be of benefit in post-war projects. It is also inteaided that he should give lectures to various organisations. He expects to be in New Zealand for about a month. DRIVERS BEFORE COURT 'alleged theft of sacks Two charges involving the theft of i 12,500 sugar sacks of a total value of £2OB 6s Bd, the property of McKendrick Brothers Limited, were preferred against Ernest Cyril Wagstaff, driver, aged 49 (Mr. A. Hall Skeleton), and i William Dixon, driver, aged 29 (Mr. j Henry), when they appeared before { Messrs. J. B. Paterson and G. Goodwin, J.P.'s, yesterday. The accused | Dixon was further charged with the ' theft from the same source of 2400 J sacks valued at £135. All the thefts were alleged to have taken place between January 5 and February 25, 1944. Dixon worked for his firm as a driver at the time he was charged, said Briton James McKendrick, manager of McKendrick Brothers, Wagstaff was in the employ of the company from January 7, 1943, to February 11, 1943. TlAe records at the firm's store in Eden Terrace showed that between January 24, 1944 and March 10, 1944. a total of 26,500 first-grade sugar sacks was miss- | ing. They were valued at over £441. Luin Low, Chinese market gardener, !of Point- England, said that he had j bought some sacks from the accused : Wagstaff, at £6 n bale of 500 sacks. He j had sold 12 bales to Turners and. Growers, Limited, at the same price. ! Workers at Turners and Growers gave; evidence that they had recognised i the brands on the sacks bought and had notified the owners. The accused Dixon pleaded guilty and was committed to the Supreme Court j for sentence. He wa&. allowed bail of j £IOO with a surety of £IOO. | A plea of not guilty was entered by ( Wagstaff, who was committed to the j Supreme Court for trial. Bail of £IOO i with surety of £IOO was allowed, accused being ordered to report to the police-three times a week. COMMISSION IN NAVY (0.€.) HAMILTON, Thursday Advice that his younger son, Ordin-ary-Seaman Lloyd T. Thomson, has gained a commission in the Navy has been received by Mr. G. Thomson, of 65 River Road. Hamilton. Educated at Southwell School, Hamilton, and Christ's College, Christ-church, SabLieutenant Thomson will be 21 years of age next August. He left New Zealand in July of last year with the intention of serving in the Fleet Air Arm, but transferred to the Navy. He spent a short period at sea and received depot training.