NEWS OF THE DAY

Otago Daily Times, Issue 27569, 11 December 1950, Page 4

NEWS OF THE DAY

November Weather “Very mild conditions prevailed for " the third month in succession and in Marlborough, Nelson and Otago crops '• and stock have suffered through lack ~ of rain, although in Otago timely rains H during the last week of the month '* afforded some relief,” according to the ■ \ weather summary for November issued by the Meteorological Office, Wellington. “ Between Dunedin and Christchurch, and also on the West Coast, the excess of sunshine was equivalent to two hours or more a day, setting new November records in several places.” New Post Office The new South Invercargill Post Office ‘will be open for business on Thursday morning. The building, which is now being painted, will provide tolls, full money order, savings bank and postal and telegraph facilities. Payment of child allowances and pensions from this office will not begin for some time. .. Scotsman’s Find The retiring Mayor of Wellington, c- Sir William Appleton, told the City Council last week that though he had been wearing the mayoral robes for t six years and a-half, he had learned only that day that they had a pocket. The discovery was made by the new Mayor, Mr ,R. L. Macalister, when he *l’ put on the robes. “It takes a canny Scot to find these things,” said Sir William. i “Bleak House” Appeal A world-wide appeal is now being made for funds to prevent Bleak _. House ” —in which Charles Dickens ‘ wrote most of his books —from being sold privately. The president of the ; Auckland Dickens Fellowship, Mr L. 'Z V. Nicholls, announced last _ week: V- “There is already,a fund to give the '• house to the nation and the world for ' all time, but more money is urgently needed.”

..i. Fine Effort For School What must be a record of its kind is that of the Ngaio, Wellington, School Carnival Committee, which, as a result of a month’s activity, has raised the sum of £1428 8s 3d. The objective was £BOO. The money is to be used to provide the school with a film projector, material to blackout a room for showing movie films, equipment for the infants’ section, dressing sheds for the swimming pool, and a full range of sports material. - Crowded School Auckland’s second biggest primary school, Panmure. began this year with a roll of 633. With 415 admisV sions and 176 withdrawals during the year, the roll now stands at 872. A new school now being built at Ta*maki is expected to ease the crowding at Panmure by taking about 350 pupils early next year, but as there are already about 500 children in the V Tamaki area waiting to attend the new g; school, 150 pupils now at Panmure awaiting transfer may later have to be redirected back to Panmure. c Customs Of Korea “ They are strange people in Korea,” said Lieutenant-commissioner■ R. A. Hoggard, the new territorial commander for the Salvation Army m New Zealand, when speaking at a public welcome given to him and his l wife in the Dunedin, Citadel on Saturday night. “ In Korea, the people build the roofs of their houses before they lay their foundations: in Korea they sell eggs by .the yard; and in Korea, when a girl reaches the age of 12 her eyes are plastered down and she is married to a boy she has never met. Commissioner Hoggard was in Korea for some years during his youth.

Express Late Because of the' derailment of some goods wagons at Hornhy, near Christchurch. the through express to Invercargill was nearly two hours late m arriving in Dunedin on Saturday afternoon. It wa? scheduled to arrive here at 415 p.m. The express which left Dunedin at 11.20 p.m. on Friday was held up because of the derailment, and passengers were taken from Ro.-» leston to Christchurch by bus. The express due to leave Christchurch at 8.35 a.m. on Saturday for Dunedin and Invercargill was delayed for an hour and 50 minutes to allow the line to be cleared.