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Otago Daily Times, Issue 20875, 15 November 1929, Page 8

The postal authorities advise that the steamer Waikouaiti, which is due at Bluff on Tuesday from Sydney, is bringing 103 bags of English and Australian mails and 13 parcel receptacles for Dunedin. The mail should reach the General Post Office next Wednesday. The work of improving the Otago Aero Club’s aerodrome at Green Island is proceeding steadily, and Wing-commander F. Grant Dalton, Director of Air Services for the Dominion, will shortly visit Dunedin for the purpose of conferring with the club with regard to. the lay-out of the ground and the appointment of a pilot-instructor and ground engineer. The names of several experienced instructors have already been submitted to the club, but nothing 'definite will be done until Commander Grant Dalton arrives. The exhibition of paintings and various works of art in the Early Settlers’ Hall continues to receive 'satisfying support from the art-loving section of the community. Yesterday several more sales of paintings were recorded, the pictures disposed of being as follows:—“A Touch of Spring” (water colour), by M. J. Gairdner; “ Spring Morning, Custom House Quay, Wellington" (water colour), by Len Watkin; “ Dunedin, from the Town Belt, Littlebourne” (oils), by W. Allen Bollard. An inlaid bos, which was exhibited in the arts and crafts section, and which was made by the Rev. E. Dallaston, was also sold.

A very interesting exhibit at the Dunedin Technical College exhibition of work is a metal testing machine, which is to be seen in the engineering room. The purpose of the machine is to enable the strength of metals to be calculated, in order that the size and thickness of metal parts may be provided to cope satisfactorily with the strain to which the particular part is to be subjected. At an interesting demonstration of the machine yesterday, a short- bar of mild steel, roughly an inch • in- width, with a crosssectional area of 5-16 square inches, was placed between. clamps, and a pulling strain . was then exerted upon it by means of very highly-reduced gears which enabled one of the boys to apply a strain of several tons by turning a handle. When-a strain of seven tons had been applied'the bar was noticed to have contracted, 'and the . surface metal could be seen to scale. At a strain of over seven, tons, and a-half the bar snapped, and the two fragments presented a decidedly elastic appearance, which afforded an excellent illustration of the tenacity of the. njetal. The pulling resistance of .the steel was found to be sligthly over 26 tons.to the square inch. The sixteenth -annua] meeting of the Dunedin Philatelic • Club was held last evening in the Y.M.C.A. rooms, Mr C. T. Callis presiding over a, fair attendance of members. The annual, report and balance sheet arid the report of the exchange branch were adopted, and the following office-bearers were elected:—President, Mr J. M‘Ara; vice-presidents—Messrs B. Howard, J. Pemberton, and Dr Wattcommittee—Messrs W. Stoddart, J. Broadley, A. Dickson; exchange superintendent, Mr J. Pemberton; hon. secretary and treasurer, Mr W. G. Walls. At the conclusion of the general business a discussion on the financial aspect of stampcollecting took place, and specimens from the collections of Sir Dindo Ferguson and Mr A. F. M. Paterson (Timaru) were exhibited and examined with keen interest by the members present.

A children’s., outing, organised by the Presbyterian Social Service Association with the object of-providing, for the.chi ' drenof needy homes in this, city of an opportunity 'of 'having' an excursion ii 1 the'country, will be held on Saturday. Arrangements have been made‘for buses to leave the Mission Hall, at the corner of Arthur and Bussell streets, at &.30 a.m.,; and. it is expected that, over 60 children will be able to make the trip. Commenting upon a case referred to the Returned- Soldiers' -Rehabilitation Commission, in which a pension had been stopped as the result of allegations concerning the recipient’s mode of life, the chairman, (Mr J. S. Barton) said yesterday morning that in such .cases an important principle was . involved (telegraphs our special correspondent in Auckland). He said it was quite possible that a man living away front his wife and with another woman might possibly be a better man and citizen. in many respects than one who was observing the conventions. However, society,, which paid the - money to subsidise these men, had a right to draw the line and assert that any departure from that line should debar the man from receiving the pension. The question. that arose " when boards were given judicial powers in this respect was where the line should be drawn. Wherever ,it was drawn it was certain that.hardship would fall on someone. The chairman added that-the commission would forward particulars' of the case in point. An interesting trip for the -Christmas and Hew Year holidays-is being.planned by the Auckland Tramping Club, which is making arrangements to take a large party to Whangapara, Great Barrier (states the New Zealand Herald). It is proposed to arrive at the island on Christmas Day and camp in the mill houses, several of which are available. A wqek will be spent in general exploration trips from the camp to places' of interest, including the scenes of the wrecks of the Wairarapa and the Wiltshire, the copper mines, and the kauri bush reservations, for which permission has -been given by the Kauri Timber Company.; , • Trawlers and net fishermen have been over so much of. the Hauraki Gulf that they might have been .expected to know all the fisli by this time, but (says the Auckland Star) every now and again some stranger is brought to the top. Fishing off Bird Island at the- back of Motutapu, the fishing, launch Little Jim discovered a queer little fish when the mullet net was drawn. Seven inches.and a-half long, browny green, .mottled like a “tommycod,” with a whisp of a tail that looks too feeble to steer the rest of - him- with any degree of certanity, he stands out from the rest of the fish tribe by having a sort of crest and a. formidable pouter breast, out of all proportion to the rest 'of him. Meeting, him bow , on, you would expect sizable fish, but the stern view of him is quite another matter. . If a name were wanted, he might be called' the .pigeon fish, , But there -is no need to christen him. The fishermen sent him up ,to ’ the museum, and MrL. T. Griffin identified him as Cristiceps aurantiacus, also knbwn as the crested weed.fish. “It is.a veiy pretty little species,” said Mr Griffin, “which inhabits the-dense; kelp, round some of our rocky islands. Blending well with the weeds .owing to its-greeny colour, *t is\ seldom', seen by the fishermen,' but is'fairly’ common round the New'Zealand coasts. This one is the largest .sp’ecimen I have seen, and so it was .a .welcome,‘gift to .the;museum.”

"We have just cpme from Russell,,in the . Bay of Islands, ’ We were told that a few days there would ; more than tire us, but, we stayed eight-weeks and could have gone on for many, weeks more.” The foregoing is an extract from'a letter written by a visitor to- New Zealand' to a friend in Dunedin, whom he met several months- ago for the first tithe, and who mayjclaim to have, acquired ap extensive knowledge of the Dominion. “ Since ,we •left Dunedin,” he - writes,. ." we have visited the Marlborough . Sounds, Wellington, Hastings, . Taupe, Tokaanu, National Park,. Rotorua, Auckland, Russell, and Whangaroa, so thajt we have! now ‘done’ New Zealand from- Stewart Island to Whangaroa, and- 1 all that lies between. We have met charming courtesy and unstinted kindness wherever we. have been. The accommodation has been, good throughout, and the the best has been found where least .expected.” The visitor is not one of a kind that forms an impression of a country from a few hours’ stay in any one . centre; and he has ■ engaged, in a course of -reading that might put to shame many a resident in the Dominion. "What do-you think,” he asks, “of the following list of reading for a tourist:—" Earle’s Nine Months in New Zealand” (1827); Dieffenbach’s " Travels in New Zealand” (1843) ; “ Marsden’s Life)” Barton’s Life of Buller,” Buller’s " Forty Years in New Zealand,” “ History of the Waikato Wars,” Gudgeon’s "-Taranaki War,” and many others, arid (forgive me) .Zane Grey’s “El Dorado.” ,

From Wharanui to the Blue Slip (five miles) working south, the formation of the South Island Mam Trunk line, with the exception of bridges and culverts, has .been completed. For three miles of this length,' rails are laid. ’ Working south-to the Kikicangu.River (four miles) the .formation (with the exception of the Blue Slip) should be completed early next year. At present six canape have been established, and they contain approximately 150 men, about 60 coming from Christchurch -and a similar .number from the North Island. About 100 men are under canvas and the remainder in huts. It appears impossible to build huts owing to the work advancing so rapidly. The men under canvas will be shifting about every -three, months as they work south. The men appear to be reasonably satisfied ‘(says the Christchurch, Times), .though they feel disposed to disagree with the work being named relief work, thus depriving them of the. award conditions which embrace a cook house and bathing accommodation. In these camps the cook house has been overlooked, and it is considered that it would be an advantage if this matter were finalised, and a marquee erected for use as a cook house and meeting room. At the Two-Camp Huts, evidently a permanent camp, the bath house not having a shower or heater, is looked upon as not satisfactory.

Mr A. Fletcher has forwarded to the executive of the Wellington Chamber of Commerce; a city debenture for £IOO, the Income from which is to constitute. a prize fund for the commercial examinations' which have, recently been instituted by the chamber, the first serice of which is now in progress., Mr Fletcher also forwarded' a cheque for £5 and a debenture coupon for £2 12s 6d to provide prizes for the examination which is now proceeding. He was.present at the opening stages of the examination on Friday last (says the Dominion), when the subjects were shorthand and typewriting, for which oyer 100 candidates were sitting, Mr Fletcher was so impressed with the success aind value of the examinations .that it led him to, make this'contribution. He .antiematea* that the scheme will be adopted ly chambers of-commerce in other centres.

Commissioner F. W. Sandford, of New Plymouth, the veteran 77-year-old member of the contingent of New Zealand Boy Scouts who returned- on Tuesday from the jamboree in England, speaking at the welcome at the R.S.A. rooms in Wellington, said that it was scarcely surprising that the Scout movement did not make more headway in the Dominion. “It is." be said, “ because many .scoutmasters do not carry out the spirit of scouting. Our very first rule is to fear God - and honour the King, and yet many scoutmasters do not believe in God, and some do not even see why we need a King. And yet thev sign the rules.” If the true spirit of scouting was adhered to. it would be one of the finest things which could happen to the country; arid, indeed, to the whole world.

The Auckland City Council is faced with a heavy task in considering the 7< applications for the post of city engineer. The council last night (says a Press Association telegram) appointed a committee to deal with the applications, from which 12 will be- referred to the full council for a final choice. The applications come from many parts of the world.

A small grass fire in Forbury road waa responsible for the City Fire Brigade being called out at‘ 11.8 a.m, yesterday.

An accident attended by extraordinary circumstances occurred recently at Waingarara, a small settlement between Opotiki and - Whakatane. A young Native employed on a farm owned by Mr Boris Black, Wamgarara, was sent out on horseback to get a cow with a calf which was hiding in some scrub. The youth, Pe Tania ti, tied h:s horse to a fence and went into the scrub on foot. As he did not turn up, Mr Black thought he had gone to his home and untied the horse from the fence and took it away. As there was no sign of the youth in the morning Mr Black asked a neighbour. Mr. J. Edv aids, if he had seen him, and on receiving a negative reply, became apprehensive that something had happened to Pe Tamati. The farmers decided to make a search, and visited the place where the youth had gone. The youth was found lying in an Unconscious condition suffering from three wounds in . the chest, three ribs also being broken. Apparently, when the youth went to ’get the cow he was attacked and knocked r°" n . !>- v * he c °w, which drove its horns into his chest. As far as is known, Pe lamatt lay unconscious all through the night, still being- unconscious when found irw.*! 16 nlorn * ng - ®- e was conveyed to Whakatane, where he was admitted to the, public hospital. The residence of Mr Hugh Burrell, at Cheltenham, near Palmerston North, had a narrow escape from destruction during a severe electrical storm which passed o\er the district on Monday. A shepherd who was sitting in the kitchen at the time having lunch, stated that concurrent with a loud explosion outside, the kitchmi doorway was filled with a'sheet of blue flame. On investigating after this uncanny experience, the man found that all the electrical equipment in the house had been badly damaged. The telephone .box and its contents had burst into fragments. An inspection outside ; showed that the farm must have been the centre of the .electrical disturbance,' Some’ wire running through a hedge near the house had been completely melted. 'A stud South, dojvn ewe lamb was lying under some trees, where it had been killed outright. In this respect Mr Burrell is extremely fortunate thafhis loss was not greater, as <it is usual-for his sheep to-take shelter under; these trees during storms. The occurrence probably happened too quickly fqr the animals to reach their usual place of shelter. Three fences over a wideradius, received the full force of the electrical energy,, with a result that many posts were shattered. A' curious feature was that all the posts had been struck about the same level above the ground.