NEWS OF THE DAY

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24715, 18 September 1941, Page 6

NEWS OF THE DAY

TN order to give its members an idea of the many industries in the city, the Dunedin Manufacturers' Association has arranged for monthly visits to various industrial undertakings. The wide range of secondary industry and the quality of the goods produced will, it is hoped, be demonstrated to business men during the visits that have been arranged for the next, few months. The first visit took place yesterday, when 42 members inspected the premises of Radiation (N.Z.), Ltd., and were shown the various manufacturing processes and the variety of goods produced. After afternoon tea had been served, Mr J. C. H. Somerville (president) thanked Mr W. R. Brinsley, sen., and Mr W. R. Brinsley, jun., for showing members of the association over their factory. Petition to Parliament

The Education Committee of the House of Representatives reported to the House yesterday that it had no recommendation to make on the petition of Mr E. Goodall, of Dunedin. The petitioner claimed compensation amounting to £7OOO and asked for a Royal Commission to inquire into the circumstances of the termination of his daughter's engagement with the Dunedin Training College. Children's Patriotic Effort

Appreciation of the efforts of school children in its district in collecting £375 15s 6d for patriotic purposes was expressed at the monthly meeting of the Otago Education Board yesterday. A letter was received from the Mayor, Mr A. H. Allen, as chairman of the Otago Patriotic Council, acknowledging receipt of the sum, and expressing the council's gratitude to the children. It was agreed to convey the board's appreciation to the children generally.

Spirit of Sportsmanship The first step in giving assistance to the Albion-Y.M.C.A. Cricket Club, which lost all its material in the Logan Park fire, was taken by the Dunedin Cricket Club at its annual meeting last night. It was decided to make a donation of £3 to the Albion-Y.M.C.A. Club, and to send it a letter of sympathy. A motion was also passed giving the incoming committee power to assist the club in the matter of material if it was found that some could be spared.

Dominion Girl's Escape Further details of the escape of Miss Olga Marks, of Wellington, with two companions from occupied France lo Switzerland show that they were detained in the internment camp at Vittel. After escaping they walked 160 miles to the Swiss frontier. There they were arrested and placed in a mediaeval prison at Neuchatel, but Mr H. B. Livingston, the British Consul, has secured their release. Now they are comfortably quartered in an hotel. The other two women are Miss Elizabeth Percival, of Dublin, and Miss Gladys Jeffreys, of Newport, Monmouthshire.

Midnight Explosion Mystery The cause of the mysterious explosion at midnight last Monday has not yet been satisfactorily explained. It was thought by the military guards at the oil tanks that the detonation had occurred at the Logan Park quarry, as the report seemed to come from that direction, but this has been denied by the quarry manager. He explained that no delayed explosion of a charge had taken place, and that it was illegal for such an occurrence to be allowed. An inspection of the quarry on the morning following the explosion had • disclosed that its face was unchanged from the time of the cessation of the blasting operations on Monday. The cause of the explosion, therefore, remains a mystery.

The Historic Josephine The ravages of time and the attentions of vandals have together wrought changes in the Josephine, which in 1872 was the proud pioneer railway engine on the Dunedin-Port Chalmers line, and now occupies a prominent place outside the Early Settlers' Hall. In bright sunshine, and amid neat surroundings, the Josephine yesterday bore a pathetic appearance with all the windows broken and a jagged hole in one side. With her past majesty considerably dimmed, the old engine impresses less as time goes on, and the historic relic would probably be belter preserved for posterity by the erection of a building to protect it than by exposure to the elements.

A Rare Visitor A bird rarely if ever before seen in Otago was sent yesterday to the Otago Daily Times for identification. The bird, though obviously belonging to the cuckoo family, was much smaller than the long-tailed variety which arrives here as a rule early in October on its annual migration. It was identified at the Otago Museum as an Australian cuckoo, and Professor Marples said it was the first occasion on which he had heard of the Australian species arriving in New Zealand. The bird was sent by a settler in the Beaumont district, who said it had been a regular visitor for the past three years. It had been in the habit of eating the black caterpillar that lives on ragwort. In fact, it had never been seen eating anything else and had become quitetame, frequently accompanying the settler by flying from post to post as he walked along the road. The bird was found lying dead at the foot of an apple tree on Monday morning.

Petrol for Soldiers The statement made on Tuesday on behalf of the local oil fuel controller that no distinction is made between soldiers in Dunedin and those in otner centres in respect of supplies of petrol when they are on leave was disputed yesterday by the secretary of the Automobile Association of Otago (Mr P. F. Harre). Mr Harre said he had proof that petrol was being issued to soldiers on leave in Christehurch without requiring them to state the nature of the vehicle which it was proposed to use or the particular journey which was contemplated. He had drawn the attention of the controller in Dunedin to this position and had been informed that licences must be issued in accordance with the regulations. This did not, however, explain the difference in the treatment of soldiers' applications in Dunedin and Christehurch, and his association, in taking up the matter, had been concerned only to obtain for Dunedin soldiers equal treatment with those in other centres. Ordered from Board-room

A complaint made by a member, Mr G. M. Hall, over the attitude of a member of the public led to the removal of the offender from the room in which the Armed Forces Appeal Board was sitting in Chrislchurch on Tuesday. Mr Hall said that the.man (who had been before the board earlier as a conscientious objector) had been smiling at him in a supercilious way. "You see lie knows the man I mean," Mr Hall said, when he called him before the board and the man stepped up. "There is the door," said the chairman, Mr F. F. Reid. S.M. "Thank you, sir," the man said, as he went towards the door. "And if you come here again and conduct yourself in that way, I'll have you removed by the police," Mr Reid added, after pointing out that, he had been unable to see the man because of a pillar.

Coffee for breakfast. Order from your grocer a tin oi " Bourbon," the coffee of quality. Instructions in every tin. Prepared by Durie's, coffee specialists, 32 Octagon, Dun^din.—Advt.