NEWS OF THE DAY

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26355, 9 January 1947, Page 4

NEWS OF THE DAY

Motor Parking Proposals “ Some time this year it is expected that amended proposals relative to motor parking in the city will be put into effect by the City Council,” said the secretary of the Automobile Association (Mr P. F. Harre) to a gaily Times reporter yesterday. The executive of the association regards the matter of such outstanding importance that a special meeting is being called for February 4 to discuss the suggestions from the council.” Fruit for Dunedin A medium-sized shipment of Island bananas is to be despatched to Dunedin from Wellington to-day. This information was given to the Daily Times yesterday by a representative of the Dunedin branch of the Internal Marketing Division, who added that the first consignment of oranges for Dunedin would leave Melbourne by the Waitaki and was expected to arrive at the end of this month. Uncustomed Pearls Though large quantities of Japanese, pearls were recently seized from jewellers throughout the Dominion by customs officers they have now been handed back and (says a Press Association telegram from Auckland) are selling in the shops. Jewellers state that the pearls were returned because it was found that many thousands of people were in possession of uncustomed pearls. Thief Returns Jewellery Thieves entered the home of a woman in Riccarton one evening last week, and during her absence ransacked the house, taking jewellery and other articles of a total value of £l5O. The matter was reported to the police, who made extensive inquiries without gaining the information needed. Two evenings later a parcel containing all the stolen jewellery was found on the veranda of the house, with a message attached: “SVw the name. Could not keep it.” Forty Thousand Passengers Nearly 40,000 passengers left Auckland by express trains during the Christmas and New Year holidays. Between December 20 and January 4 .Main Trunk expresses, with holidaymakers bound for Wellington and the South Island,, carried 39,891 passengers; 6024 passengers left on Rotorua expresses, 5700 for the Bay of Plenty, 5123 for New Plymouth, and 5091 for North Auckland. No details of the numbers of passengers arriving at Auckland were available, but inward traffic was equally heavy. No Absenteeism Absenteeism among those Welllington firms which reopened on Monday after the holidays was practically nonexistent, states the Evening Post. This is in marked contrast to the experiences of employers during the war years. A number of factories have not yet reopened, but it is anticipated that employees will abide by the arrangements made for them to have a good break immediately following _ the Christmas rush, and that they will return to work on time. Absenteeism was particularly rife, during the later stages of the war, but the indications this year are that workers are settling down well to normal peace-time conditions.

Otago Swimmer Congratulated The Mayor, Mr Cameron yesterday sent a cable message to Miss Ngaire Lane, the Otago swimmer, conveying the city’s congratulations on her performance in winning the New South Wales 110 Yards Backstroke Championship at the North Sydney Olympic pool on Tuesday night. Miss Lane defeated the Australian record-holder, Miss G. Millard, who has re-appeared this season after four years’ absence from competition, and Miss M. Stevenson, who was the winner of the New South Wales title last year. Miss Lane will make one further appearance xn Sydney this week, and will leave by air for Brisbane on Monday to compete in the Queensland championships next week. Air Patrol of Forests More elaborate measures than in previous years are being taken to control forest fires in the North Island during the summer. The Central Fire Authority Committee has completed its discussions in Rotorua and a scheme which embraces private as well as State forests is operating. Ensuring closer co-ordination of all the forest fire-fighting services, it aims to suppress outbreaks in the early stages by a thorough aerial patrol operating over about 7000 square miles of forest country. Telephone and wireless networks will add to the efficiency of the patrol service, enabling more up-to-date fire-fighting equipment to be commissioned with a minimum of delay and with more satisfactory results. Truck Paid for Itself The heavy truck used to rescue the Victoria University College tramping party involved in the fatal climbing accident last week has more than paid for itself. The truck, which was called into action by Mr Bruce Gillies, of Oamaru, was bought by Mr Gillies’s firm for £l7 10s from the War Assets Realisation Board some time ago. Since then it. has made history. It was the first truck to force a track through the rough Matukituki country with a load of materials for a new hut which the New Zealand Alpine Club is building near Cascade. In last week’s accident it was the only type of truck capable of reaching the camp near the scene of the tragedy. The wireless transmitting and receiving sets used in the rescue operations were also purchased from the War Assets Realisation Board at a cost of £2O a set. Power Failure in Southland A large area of Southland, including Ihvercargill, the Winton district, and parts of Gore, were blacked-out for about half an hour on Monday night because of a disconnection on the transmission line between the Waitaki and Monowai power systems. Power was supplied from an alternative system, the half-hour delay being the result of difficulty in switching over at Winton. In Invercargilll the tramways service was at a halt for' the whole period of the power interruption, and some of the services had tc be omitted. The screening of films in city theatres was interrupted programmes ending half an hour later than usual. No operation was in progress at the Southland Hospital at the time, and as one light still burned in each 1 ward the hospital was not seriously inconvenienced.

Theft from Moving Train A story of how a young Maori climbed from a carriage into a truck on a moving train, rolled two fivegallon kegs of beer on to the permanent way. and later helped to recover one keg and drink the contents, was told in the Dargaville Magistrate’s Court, when two Maoris appeared on a charge of theft of the beer, and a third Maori was charged with receiving the beer, which he knew to have been dishonestly obtained. The kegs were consigned to the Kaihu Hotel, and police inquiries were started when they failed to arrive. Investigations resulted in the prompt recovery of one, empty keg and subsequently a second keg with the contents intact. Fines of £5 each were imposed on two of the Maoris, and the third was fined £2. Each of the accused was ordered to pay 12s 6d in restitution of the value of the beer consumed. Public Bequests Under the will of Mrs Annie Meiklejohn, who died at Christchurch last September, the Public Trustee has been appointed the executor and trustee, and the following bequests have been made: £ISOO to the Diocese of Christchurch for the New Zealand Anglican Board of Missions, to invest the amount and divide the income equally among the leper stations at Tanganyika East Africa, Livingstonia, Nyasaland, East Africa, and the Punjab, India; £250 to the Melanesian Mission of the Church of England; £250 to the Archbishop Julius Memorial Fund, for the purpose of completing the memorial; £IOO tp the Sisters of the Third Order of Mary, known as the Nursing Sisters of Makogai, Makoga* Fiji; £IOO to the New Zealand Institute for the Blind, Incorporated, Auckland; £IOO to the Nurse Maude District Nursing Association Trust Board; £SO to the Canterbury Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.