NEWS OF THE DAY

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26794, 10 June 1948, Page 4

NEWS OF THE DAY

Gift of Old Watch A massive old pocket watch, the property of the late Mr Adam Swan, who came to Otago on the ship Pladda in the early ’sixties, and became one of the first bullock wagon operators in the Tapanui district, was given to the Early Settlers’ Museum by Mr Swan’s son, Mr John Swan, of Waiwera South, this week. Jewellers’ receipts of over 60 years ago are preserved in the back of the case, and they give an interesting idea of the extent of the change in values over the years in the sphere of watchmaking. Repairs are, listed at 6d, while a new case spring was installed for Is. Cleaning and unspecified repairs cost Is 6d. Appeal for Children

Contributions are still being made regularly in Dunedin to the United Nations Appeal for Children, and to date the total subscribed is £12,978 9s Id. The Dominion total up to Tuesday night was £203,246. Quota Exceeded Users of electricity in the Dunedin area exceeded the quota by 9.87 per cent, on Tuesday. With the advent of colder weather the tendency is towards increased use of powers, but the quota remains fixed and the level of Lake Mahinerangi continues to fall—it dropped another inch on Tuesday to 71ft 7in.

Musical Evenings “There are few things finer than the banding together of a few people for the common purpose of making music,” said Mr A. Meldrum, when judging the choirs at the Mid-Otago Federation of Women’s Institutes drama and choir festival in the Orphans’ Club Hall last night. “In an earlier generation musical evenings were an intrinsic part of social life, and I am sure we would be a much happier and more contented people if we re-established this old custom.” Frozen Meat for London

About 110,000 freight carcasses of frozen meat are at present being loaded into the motor ship Norfolk at Port Chalmers for discharge in London. This frozen meat will occupy nearly half of the large refrigerated space in the 11,300-ton vessel. The Norfolk will also take on board 4000 bales of wool and some general cargo at Port Chalmers before sailing, probably on June 19, for Lyttelton, where she will complete loading. Collected in Notes

An Invercargill investor supported County Antrim to return him more than £2OOO when the horse won the All Aged Stakes at the Ashburton Trotting Club’s meeting on Monday. It was reported later in the day that the lucky investor would not accept a cheque from the totalisator manager, but preferred to collect his winnings in notes after the meeting. Although not a record, the amount is one of the largest to be collected by an individual investor from a totalisator in New Zealand.

Service in Weight Automatic weighing machines which will present one with a small card on which is inscribed the weight of the possessor of a penny are a common sight in New Zealand cities. But in Sydney the branches of a wellknown departmental store provide a service which goes much further. An assistant is kept busy weighing a constant stream of customers, mostly women, and, in addition, determining the. client’s height. All for a penny. A similar facility is provided on the Manly wharf at Sydney. Liquor Polls The Temperance Committee of the Presbyterian Church of New Zealand is in favour of the recommendation of the Royal Commission on Licensing in regard to a ballot paper giving electors a vote for or against corporate control of the trade. The Rev. J. D. Smith, convener, said the committee would organise the strongest possible opposition to any proposal to limit the vote to the retail trade only. Such a proposal would deny the electors any real opportunity to authorise a test of the effectiveness of trust control, as it would leave the area of greatest influence and power still under the incentive of private profit. Report on Aerodromes At a meeting of the Dunedin Chamber of Commerce yesterday copies of correspondence between the Associated Chambers and the Minister of Civil Aviation, Mr Jones,, were received, indicating that the Parliamentary Committee on Aerodromes hoped to place its report before the Government in about two months’ time. Though the committe was primarily intended to report on existing airfields, members of the Dunedin Chamber expressed the hope that consideration would also be given to the matter of landing fields at Alexandra, Roxburgh and Frankton, and to the suggested emergency ground at Blackhead and Otago Harbour as a seaplane base.