Cable Tram Mishap

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22632, 25 July 1935, Page 8

Cable Tram Mishap

A faulty gripper on one of the Rattray street cable trams caused an interruption of about 20 minutes in the service between 6 and .6.30 last evening. Some difficulty was encountered in moving the tram to the sheds for repairs, but as soon as this had been accomplished the normal service was resumed.

Dunedin Choral Society Mr W Downie SteVavt, M.P., lias been elected by the members of the Dunedin Choral Society to the position of patron, which was left unfilled at the annual meeting of the society.

Burnside Stock Sale There was an improved market in the beef section of the Burnside sale yesterday. The entry numbered 232, and comprised for the most part medium quality bullocks, with odd consignments of prime heavy cattle, and the usual proportion of cows and heifers, several pennings of the latter being of exceptional quality. The sale opened with prices firm, but the market quickly improved, prime heavy bullock? selling from 15s to 20s in excess of last week's values, medium bullocks appreciating about 10s per head, and cows and heifers selling firm at late rates. A very small entry of 61 toad was offered in the store cattle section. The, offering included odd pens of steers, which met a keen demand, while vealers, on account of the short supply, found ready buyers. There was no appreciable change in prices for the assortment of boner and grazier cows. The small entry of 19 dairy cows was of mixed quality. Any young cows close to profit were > in demand, and the top pi ice realised ior this class was £7 ss. Old and backward sorts were not required. In the sheep section a medium entry of 1481 was offered, the bulk being ewes with a few consignments of wethers and sprinkling of hoggets. Despite the short supply of wethers, there was no appreciable change in prices, but prime heavy- ewes showed an increase in value from Is to Is 6d per head. Medium quality ewes were a shade firmer, but light and unfinished sorts were not in demand, and were hard to quit. Hoggets sold firm at late rateb. The large entry of 179 fat pigs was of mixed quality, with only a small percentage of really prime sorts. Good baconers were in demand, and lighter grades were readily disposed of, prices being firm. _ The 61 store pigs forward met an improved market, good stores selling from 14s to 18s.

T. K. Sidey Summer-time Award It is announced that the second award of the T. K. Sidey summer-time medal and prize will be made by the Royal Society of New Zealand at its annual meeting in May, 1936.. The award, which comprises a medal and a prize of £IOO, is made for the most valuable contribution or contributions to human knowledge by research in the study 6i light, visible and invisible, and other solar radiations in relation to human welfare. Applications will close with the secretary of the society on February 29, 1936. Theses specially prepared for the award or copieß of published, works may be submitted. New Orient Liner Orion

Mr Brian O'Rorke, who is responsible for the whole of the interior decpration of the new Orient liner Orion, constructed by Messrs Vickers-Armstrongs, Ltd., Barrow-in-Furness, has done much distinguished work of this character ashore. He was born in Christchurch in 1901, obtained his degree in engineering and architecture at Cambridge, served the five years' course at the Architectural Association, and won various Architectural Association and Royal Institute prizes. He has worked in London offices under Messrs Easton and Robertson, who have been responsible for a good deal of the modernisation of the Savoy and Berkeley Hotels and also under Mr Charles Holden. His work on his own account during the past four years has included coiintry houses and alterations to and decorative schemes for several London houses. Amateur Billiards

At the conclusion of the New Zealand Amateur Billiards Championship, which was held at the Dunedin Returned Soldiers' Association's ciub rooms last year, it was decided to form provincial billiards associations in the four main centres, and the secretary of the Returned Soldiers' Association (Mr 0. L. Ferens) has received advice that the championship meeting will be held this year at Auckland under the .luspices of the newly formed body. Both in Auckland anfl Christchurch the provincial associations have been successfully inaugurated, and the Wellington and Dunedin organisations are in process of formation. It is understood that Messrs E. N. Stewart and A. Bowie, both of whom took part in last year's championships, will probably enter' for the contest again this year.

A Gem of the Empire Speaking of the Cook Islands yesterday, Mr H. D. W., Brewer,' who has just returned from a month's holiday in the group, referred to il as " the gem of the British Empire in the Pacific." It was an ideal place for a holiday at this time of the year, although he would not advise New Zealauders to make the trip later than September. The natural settings were very beautiful and the native villages were remarkaNly clean. The. inhabitants were a finely built race of a cheerful and carefree disposition. Even the depression, which had seriously affected the Islauds' trade, had not marred this bright spirit which was noticeable in work and play alike. Mr Brewer also referred to the' admirable bowling greens and lawn tenuis courts 'n Rarotonga. These playing areas were situated in a natural amphitheatre of unusual beauty.

Boatshed Pushed Into Harbour The extent to which a motorist may bp. protected by insurance was demonstrated by an accident which occurred at Broad Bay early on Sunday morning last. While a motorist was travelling in the direction of Portobello he was dazzled by the lights of another car coming from the opposite direction. Before he could recover his vehicle had crashed broadside on into a boatshed. The fact that, although the car was almost completely wrecked, none of its occupants «vas injured, was not the only remarkable feature of the mishap, for the boatshed, which contained another car and ether contents, was pushed bodily off its supporting piles an-J fell into the harbour. As the driver concerned in the crash had taken out a policy covering any damage which he might cause to property, the insiirance company is obliged to pay to the owner of the car which was in '.ha boatshed full compensation for the loss of his vehicle, whicn was damaged by salt water, and a considerable sum for the loss of the contents of the shed. In addition it must restore the shed to its original condition.

I Malodorous but Profitable i A Press Association telegram from Blenheim states that a French Paa» j settler found the badly decomposed carI ram of an 80ft speim whale washed up on the beach about a mile from his homestead. With the advice and assistance of two practical whalers he was rewarded with 1452 gallon's of oil, valued at about £2OO, while the teeth are prob». j ably worth £BO or £9O. I Aviation and Practice

"Flying is not like riding a bicycle," said Mr H. Gatty, the famous Australian airman, at a private screening in Wellington of an- aviation picture. "It cannot be dropped .md then gone back to. You have to keep up with it to avoid falling behind, Win-; to the rapid strides it is making." He predicted a great advance in aviation i/i New Zealand over the next few years. It had not previously been needed, but soon everyone who could fly would have great opportunities. "In the United States," concluded Mr Gatty, "many of the old pilots, the wartime flyers, are at the top of the business, but this is only due to their own determination not to let aviation get ahead of them."

Hope Springs Eternal Itinerant beggars who haunt the doors of suburban homes appear tr- have great faith in the credulity-of housewives, and perhaps a justified fa:(h; but a man who tried his luck in Wellington on Monday would certainly (says the Evening Post) quality for a super-optimist. He carried with him four letters, documentary evidence, as it were, cf the bona fides of / his application. The letters had to be posted, he complained, but he could not afford to buy the stamps. And here he stretched imagination a little far. He had lost £3OOO on his farm in Napier, be said, and had walked out on Saturday; and, although his appearance belied it, he had kept walking—trudging to Wellington: , He had walked, he maintained, every inch of the way. It is not-known whether this record—over 200 miles in 48 hours—will be officially recognised.

Patriotism and Art "Our art instructors advise that it has no particular value as a reproduction qf a work of art. It has only a patriotic appeal," was the comment o| the director of the Wellington Technical* College (Mr R. G. Ridltng),-in a report.to the meeting of the Board of Governors on Monday night concerning a request by the Returned Soldiers' Association that the college should purchase a framed reproduction of a portrait of bis Majesty the King *at a cost of £4 10s. . Members were not inclined to accede to the request, and a motion that it be refused was put. " It's the, King. , That's the only standpoint I from which we view it," said. Mrs A. M'Vinar in moving an amendment that j the .portrait be bought. It was heavily defeated and the motion was carried.

Hospital Insurance The Cook Hospital Board,' following upon a recent Court of Appeal decision iu which damages were awarded against a hospital board for an injury which a patient suffered while being treated by a member of the, nursing staff, has decided to take steps to indemnify itself against any claim which might arise as a result of any accident, or negligence, on the part of .its employees. The question was raised by Dr J. C. Collins, who moved that the board should insure itself against liability. He said that hitherto there had been little danger of the board being mulcted in damages for the act of a skilled officer or nurse, but the court ruling now altered the position. The cost of protection, he added, would be 12s 6d a bed for the first 50 beds, and 7s 6d a bed for the next 100. The total annual cost would be £6B 15s. The. indemnity would'be limited to £IOOO for one action, and a total of £4OOO in any one year. The proposal met with general approval and a committee was appointed to examine the details and to arrange a temporary cover of £.IOOO in the meantime. ' •

An Emphatic Warning t Captain E.. Y. Sanderson, president of the Forest and Bird Protection Society of New Zealand, is the author of a stern warning in the society's latest bulletiu as to the denudation of essential protective forests. . Thousands of- .acres of land have gone to waste, he says, other thousands have been burned or over : grazed and thtfs lost to production. There is in New Zealand a great opportunity for some far-seeing Roosevelt who is great enough to override petty individual interests and set about getting our land management on to sane lines ere erosion has assumed the upper hand. ■ Our few remaining forests should be rid of all trespassing plant-eating animals at no matter what cost; protected from fire, and allowed to revert to their primitive conditions. All land which has gone out of production on steep hillsides and oil poor soil should be abandoned for its hoped-for use, and treated as part of the protection forests, beside much high country now used for merino production. Th» plant life on any area of a decided-upon general steepness, or above a certain stated elevation, should b,e conserved.

Offer of Mallard Duck The offer of Mr C A. Whitney, the well-known sportsman, to make a gift of 75 pairs of wild mallard duck for liberation in New Zealand, and the Govarnment's refusal to allow the gift to be accepted, caused considerable discussion at the last meeting of the Te 'Aroha Acclimatisation Society. Explaining the position,- the president, Mr J. M. Cochrane, said that Mr Whitney intended importing these birds from America to ensure the correct type being secured, The offer had originally been made to the parent body in Auckland, where it had a mixed reception. It was contended that the mallard was in the habit of producing crossbreeds or " mongrel duck " of ah undesirable type. Since then, however, Mr Whitney Lad fairly conclusively proved that in its wild state the mallard produced only the pure sporting strain. Subsequently his offer had been made to the Paeroa Society and accepted, but the Minister of Internal Affairs had since refused a permit for the biivls to be imported. Mr Whitney was now seeking the support of all country branches in pressing for the permit to be granted. 4fter considerable discussion members generally agreed that it was in the interests of,, sport that the birds be allowed to enter the country for liberation, and it was resolved to petition the Minister asking that a permit be granted.

Particulars of a request for all unemployed ex-servicemen to register at the Dunedin Returned Soldiers' Association's office are- advertised in this issue. The Public Works Department is inviting tenders for desapped ironbark poles, sawn tallowwood crossarms, and for the manufacture of tents and Ays. Details are advertised. . Donald Stuart, Limited. Slate Merchants, Experts in Asphaltic and Bituminous Applications, including Rock Asphaltes, Sheet Aephaltes, Bituminous Felts, Bitumins, Bitumen Paint, Bitumen Compounds, Cork Insulation. 82 Bond street.—Advt. ; To be well. See well. See Sturmer.— W. V. Sturmer, Optician, 2 Octagon, Dunedin. Consulting Opticians: W. V. Sturmer, F. 1.0., N.Z.; A. R. Watson, P. 1.0., 5.D.0.. N.Z.—Advt. A. E. J. Blakeley and W. E. Bagley, dentists, Bank of Australasia, corner of Bond and Rattray streets (next Telfleraph Office). Telephone 12-359.—Advt.