GAS MYSTERY

New Zealand Herald, Volume 81, Issue 24878, 27 April 1944, Page 4

GAS MYSTERY

POOR SUPPLY AGAIN THE COMPANY BAFFLED COMMITTEE TO INVESTIGATE < The domestic gas supply in many j city areas was very poor last night, in spite of the fact that there was no big industrial draw-off on the previous day. The hope had been expressed by a rep- , resentative of the Auckland Gas Company last week that the smaller consumption on Sunday and Anzac Day would allow the company to build up its reserves, but the condition of the holders yesterday morning indicated that this hope had not materialised. During the morning the pressure was good, but it showed signs of failing later in the day. Housewives who relied on gas for cooking last evening found difficulty in preparing meals. The manager of the company, Mr. R. Worley, stated last night that the company was baffled by the position. The production of gas could be affected by a number of things, and it was hard to say which of ilieni had been responsible for the failure to build up the reserves.' The engineer had attributed the position to the fact that the required gas-making qualities were not iu the coal which was being used at present. Some of it was reported to be very wet. A meeting of the Auckland Gas Works Production Council was held yesterday and a special committee was set up to investigate the matter. "The company is very disappointed at 'the results achieved over Sunday and Air/.ae Day," said Mr. Worley. "It was hoped that any production lost on account of the strike would have been made up, but the fact remains that the gas is not there." CRASH INTO A POLE j MOTOR-CYCLIST KILLED CORPORAL IN AIR FORCE j As a result of the motor-cycle he i was riding colliding with a power pole i in Mount Eden Road early yesterday afternoon, a member of the Royal New Zealand Air Force was killed. He was Corporal James Kimberley Gascoigne, aged 26, of 673 Mount Eden Road. Deceased was travelling on an Air Force motor-cycle toward Mount Eden when the machine became out of con- | trol on a bend near the Normanby j Road intersection. An inquest will be j opened this afternoon. FACILITIES FOR TROOPS MEN IN NEW CALEDONIA PRAISE FOR THE HOSPITAL (P.A.) WELLINGTON, Wednesday Impressions of a recent visit to New Caledonia, with particular reference to facilities available for the New Zealand forces, and the self-help ability, displayed by New Zealanders, have been given by "Mr. E. E. Brooking, of Wellington. Jn company with the Hon. Vincent Ward, M.L.C., he represented the National Patriotic Fund Board at the recent official opening of the new club at Bourail Beach. "The main hospital is built on a position very similar to Silverstream," said j Mr. Brooking, "but instead of all being j on one level, the hillside has been terj raced and the wards are situated one ! above the other, .so that there is a woni derful outlook, and any breeze has free ' access to each ward. The equipment is ; second to none, and the medical proj fession has spoken in glowing terms of j the whole set-up. The parents and wives | of men wounded or sick in this area will j be relieved to know that they are in a ! most up-to-date hospital, receiving the | best medical attention, and cared for i by an army of courageous nurses, who jdo not spare themselves in a most ; trying climate. All patients speak in glowing terms of the treatment they i receive." Mr. Ward referred to the use troops i make of boxes in they receive | patriotic comforts. The Wellington Prol vince was responsible for 18,000 of the patriotic parcels sent overseas each | quarter. The hope had been held that something could be done with the boxes, and the troops were using them to make chairs and cupboards. No timber was wasted. NEW STOCK ROUTE j auckland-papakura link j Advice that a new road between | Auckland and Papakura which was | commenced last year by the Govern- ! ment as an alternative outlet for milij tary traffic from the Great South Road ! would in future be used as a stock I route was received at a meeting of j the Manukau County Council yesterday 1 from Mr. .J. N. Massey, M.P. for ' Franklin. The stock route will connect with I Redoubt Road. Papatoetoe, and extend I through Mill Road. Takanini, to meet ! the Papakura-Clevedon main road. The | road which was to have been comi pleted by April 7, has not yet been I finished, * but when it is through all | stock will be taken to the abattoirs by ; that route, leaving the Great South j Road clear for other traffic. ACCIDENT IN RUSH ROUGH TRIP TO AMBULANCE Extreme difficulty in bringing an in- | jured man through bush country to an I ambulance was experienced by bush workers near Eawakawa Bay, in the Clevedon district, yesterday morning, j A Maori bushman, Mr. Norman Boaslev, aged 24, of Fleet Street, Newton, I suffered severe lacerations of the right I leg when his axe slipped while he was | felling a tree. I As the accident occurred some disj tance from the nearest road it was I necessary for the men to improvise a I stretcher of sacks and tea-tree poles | and carry the injured man in relays j across difficult country. At one stage he had to be carried through water along the beach and the whole journey j took an hour and a-half. After being | taken by ambulance to the Auckland j Hospital the injured man was treated in the casualty department and was then able to return to his home. FALL FROM A TRAM Through falling from a tram in Great South Road last night, Mrs. Mary Jane Mundell, a widow, aged 81, of Mangapai, North Auckland, who is visiting Auckland, suffered a fracture of the left leg. She was taken to the Auckland Hospital, where her condition was regarded as serious. PEDESTRIAN HURT Knocked down by a motor-car in Manukau Road, Epsom, last night. Mr, Charles McGeaban, aged 70, of the Salvation Army Home, Epsom, suffered a compound fracture of the leg. He was admitted to the Auckland Hospital and his condition last night was serious. MATRON'S BEQUESTS Bequests of a public nature are included in the will of Miss Elizabeth Browne, whoso death occurred on March 18. Miss Browne, who was for 20 years matron of the New Plymouth Hospital, has left £IOO to tin- Auckland Returned Nursing Sisters' Association, and, after a number of private bequests have been satisfied, the residue is to go to tlio Taranaki Hospital Board for the purchase and maintenance of a cot in the children's ward and for equipment and capital improvements in the children's ward of the New Plymouth Hospital. The estate has been valued for probate at under £-3780.