Admiral Byrd's Launch

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22369, 17 September 1934, Page 8

Admiral Byrd's Launch

The party which went to Wellington to bring back to Dimedin Admiral Byrd's cruising launch, Edsel Ford, left Wellington at 6.15 a.m. yesterday in a light westerly breeze, the conditions being favourable for crossing Cook Strait. It is expected that the launch will arrive at Dimedin early this evening. Maheno Under Overhaul Between 00 and •70 men are now smployed on the Union Compauy's passenger steamer Maheno at Port Chalmers. The vessel is undergoing an extensive overhaul prior to taking up her running in the Melburne-New Zealand service at the end of October. Engineers, fitters, carpenters, and painters are busy in the various compartments of the ship, and these will be fully occupied for the next five or six weeks. The cabins and saloons are receiving special attention, and when the Maheno is' ready for sea she will be in excellent order for the mission for which she has been com- j missioned.

Savings Bank Donations At a recent meeting of trustees of the Dunedin Savings Bank it was unanimously agreed to subscribe the sum of flO 10s to the fund organised by Tbc H, to assist the purchase and maintenance of wireless sets in relief camps. It was also resolved to suscribe £lO 10s to the Bristol Fund,-to assist the Dunedin More Work Campaign. These donations were made subject to the approval of the Minister of Finance. That approval having come to hand, . the amounts have been paid to the respective funds. A Crowded Hospital The Palmerston North Hospital contains an exceptionally large number of patients at present, every ward having more than the number for which it was designed. As originally designed the capacity of the hospital was 160. beds, but there are 229 patients in the institution at present. Ten cases, comprising the overflow from the men's medical ward, are temporarily accommodated in one of the isolation buildings. Ferry Passenger's Bravery The recent rescue of a seven-year-old boy who fell from the Bayswater ferry steamer into the harbour by Mr R. A. Lowe, of Sanders avenue, Takapuna, is to be officially recognised (says the Auckland Star) by the Takapuna Borough Council. The Mayor (Mr J. Guiniveu) at last week's meeting of the council, remarked that Mr Lowe's action in diving into the harbour while fully dressed to save the child was all the more meritorious as he was suffering from influenza at the time. "It is a miracle he did not die of pneumonia," said the Mayor, "and the least we can do is to recognise his brave act officially." A suitable resolution was passed unanimously. Markets for Meat Stating that false sentiment had lost trade to New Zealand, Mr B. E. H. Tripp, in a brief report to the monthly meeting of the Timaru Agricultural Association last week concerning a meeting of the Electoral Committee of the Meat Producers' Board which he had attended in Wellington, said that England went for what markets she could get, and he advised the Dominion to do likewise. Mr Tripp said that because Belgium, Italy, and Panama wanted something in return New Zealand had lost chances of selling meat to those countries. At present there was, he said, a good opportunity of doing business with the United States of America, where it had. been found necessary to kill 5,000,000 sheep because of drought. If New Zealand secured such business the Americans would, of course, want reciprocity, and this would have to be considered. Centenary Accommodation

A recent Auckland newspaper report stated that a resident of that city had written to the Centenary Accommodation Bureau in Melbourne'inquiring the terms for board and lodging during the centenary celebrations, and had received a reply (says a Press Association, telegram from Wellington) that accommodation was at a premium at about £3 3s a day. The Australian Trade Commissioner (Mr 11. H. Nesbit) received the following reply to a cablegram to Melbourne on the question:—"Accommodation still available. Applications should be made to the officer in.charge of the bureau, 435 Collins street. No foundation whatsoever in the suggestion that the daily rate is £3 3s. For the peak period, that is during the visit of the Duke of Gloucester, the highest rate is 35s per day per person."

Warning Lights at Crossing Motorists who negotiate the railway crossing on the southern side of Seacliff will appreciate the action of the Railways Department in installing a'set of warning lights at a point on the road which has caused regular travellers considerable anxiety, and which has always been a source of danger to casual users of the highway. The signals, which are similar to those in use near Palmerston and at several of the more dangerous crossings in the North Island, will come into operation at mid-day to-day. They consist of a series of red lights which will begin to flash at the rate of twice in every second when a train is a quarter of a mile away and which will automatically return to normal when the train has passed over the . crossing. The lights, which will be seen by motorists approaching from either direction, will, by virtue of their special construction, be, visible during the day as well-as at night. It is anticipated that as the necessary finance becomes available similar warnings will, be erected at other dangerous crossings in the South Island. The Red-haired Girl

Not so long ago the red-haired girl was made to feel an object of derision. She was called " Carrots " or " Ginger," or something equally objectionable, and if she showed a little temper she was told that was only to be expected from a " hot head." But times are changed. The red-haired girl ig now firmly established in favour. "At least one widelyread novelist will have none for his heroine save a girl with coppery-red tresses. A report of the English Medical Research Council issued some time ago gave statistics which showed that there are more red-haired boys than redhaired girls in the community. It is this rarity, perhaps, that confers distinction on the "red head" and makes her ■ the centre of attraction at social gatherings. Blonde and brunette girls in the United States have found the position so intolerable that they have formed a league which has for its object the counteracting of the influence of their red haired sisters. ,

Roadside Plunder

"The late Viscount Grey of Fallodon, speaking once of the need to save the common country flowers," says the Morning Post, " declared that protection had been made vital not by a change in the disposition of people, but by the vehicles invented to carry them about. But there is a change in disposition. When Englishmen were countrymen, the blossoms of the tree, the flower in the hedgerow, the pretty eggs cupped in the hedge, were not miracles to be seized, but to be contemplated. Yet five-sixths of the nation are pent in towns, the seldomviewed wonders of the countryside overpower admiration—the visitor must possess and bear them away. As the plundering zoologist fills his cabinet with hollow eggs that might have been singing birds, so the greedy motorists and cyclists tear up the bluebells and pull primroses which, seeding themselves, might have delighted the passer-by spring after spring. The motorists' organisations officially.assist by giving routes to places where coveted flowers can be seen—and* picked—and nightingales heard—and robbed. There are county orders against the taking of wild flowers, as there are against the taking of wild birds' eggs; but the vandal carries on. How, then, can the Bank Holiday crowd and the week-end flyers be taught seemliness? The one hope seems to lie with the schools."

Laden Barge Sinks While moored in Putiki Bay, Waiheke Island, Hauraki; Gulf, on Tuesday night with a load of timber from Onetangi •wharf, the barge Waitemata, owned by Parry Bros., Ltd., sank, and the timber was strewn about the shores of the bay. The barge had loaded a. quantity of jarrah timber from the wharf, which has recently been dismantled, at Onetangi Beach, and later loaded a further quantity at the Ostend wharf, making her total load 35,000 ft. When.loading was completed she was towed out into Putiki Bay, and anchored for the night some hundreds of yards from the wharf. The timber was swept from her deck by the rising tide after she sank, and was scattered along the shores of the bay. A considerable quantity which was still floating was salvaged with a small boat. The timber is to be taken to Paeroa, where it will, probably be used for bridg- j ing purposes.

Origin of Surnames Surnames such as King, Bishop, Pop* and Abbot had an interestng origin in the mystery dramas of the Middle Ages, said Mr H. W. Rhodes in a recent address in Christchurch on "Art for .th# People," Players were often designated by the names of the parts they played, and these names were then.handed down in the. family. Characters bearing the rank indicated by the surnames referred to were very common in these days.

Baseball Match Cancelled ' The baseball match which had been arranged between teams from the Byrd expedition ships, Jacob Ruppert and Bear of Oakland, was not played on Saturday afternoon owing to the sodden condition of the turf on the Recreation Ground at Mussel Bay.

Faulty Butchering ■ "My neighbour, who uses his. house as a %veek-end resort, is a provision merchant in London," writes an Englishman to a Wellington friend. "He told me this morning that he had just bought a consignment of New Zealand pigs, and that he wag well pleased with their size, condition, and quality, but he found quite a lot of faults with the butchering. He says that if New Zealand can improve on this fault and can keep up an assured supply she should be able to capture much of the Danish trade. The latter are holding back their produce well below the quota so as to reap a larger financial turnover. My informant stated that last week-end the wholesale merchanto could not fulfil orders of Danish and were supplying the New Zealand pig if the purchaser was agreeable."

The Post and Telegraph Department announces that new or amended entries for the next issue of the Dunedin Telephone Directory, to be published in November, 1934, should reach the chief postmaster, Dunedin, not later.than September 21, 1934.

Made and finished on our premises our rings come to you at prices which it will pay you to heed. Sparkling gem» and strong mounts at lower prices.—Williamsons, 31- Princes street. —Advt.

A. E. J. Blakeley and W. E. Bagley, dentists, Bank of Australasia, corner of Bond and Rattray streets (next Telegraph Office). Telephone 12-359 Advt. • Don't delay with eye troubles. To giv« complete satisfaction is the Ideal of W, V. Sturmer, Optician, 2 Octagon, Dunedin.—Advt.

Who is Peter Dick? The leading tirm for optical and jewellery service. . Peter Dick, jewellers and opticians, 490 Moray place, Dunedin. —Advt.