IN TOWN AND OUT

Southland Times, Issue 20661, 17 April 1929, Page 6

IN TOWN AND OUT

NEWS OF THE DAY.

Accident at Ocean Beach.

A man named George Kilgour fell down the cookhouse steps at the Ocean Beach Freezing Works yesterday and sustained a broken leg. He was admitted to the Southland Hospital. * # Late Again. The express did not reach Invercargill until 9.27 last evening. One business man who had been kicking his heels at the station since 9 p.m. remarked to a reporter that the Railway Department would be much w’iser to alter the scheduled arrival of the express to 9.30 or 9.45 rather than mislead unfortunate people into wasting half an hour or more on a cold station. * » * * Waipiti Country. A prospector from Preservation Inlet, Mr W. E. Robinson, now visiting Bluff, told a reporter yesterday’ that on a recent occasion two women from the Puysegur Point lighthouse when taking a stroll in the bush had noticed an animal, with huge antlers but too big for a deer, quite close at hand. Men had later inspected the tracks and pronounced them those of a waipiti. . From another source comes a report of a waipiti being seen at Port Craig about twelve days ago ’ . Regulations Governing Explosives. What were termed the “harassing regulations” governing the supply of explosives to farmers were adversely criticized at the annual meeting of the Oteramika branch of the Farmers’ Union last night. Several members gave instances of their having been compelled to wait for several days and even a week before they could procure gelignite and other explosives necessary to enable them to carry out their work. It wa.s decided to recommend the provincial executive to take action to bring. about desirable amendments to the regulations. "Potting Bunnies” on the Highway. Motorists who make a habit of shooting rabbits while travelling along the roads came in for definite expressions of condemnation at the annual meeting of the Oteramika branch of the Farmers’ Union last evening. Motorists from the town were largely blamed by one speaker, but another remarked that boys of the district were also concerned. It was generally agreed that such shooting was to the danger of stock within the boundary fences, and it was considered that a fair number of stock were injured as a result of the promiscuous discharge of firearms on the public highway. It was recommended that attention .should be drawn to the practice at the provinical executive meeting in order that a warning might be issued that such shooting was contrary to the law. *X* * * Mystery Solved. When Invercargill was suddenly precipitated into darkness on the night of February 20, the cause of the breakdown of the electric light service baffled the experts, no reason being found at the time for the mishap. The mystery has since been cleared up, however, and its solution is contained in the following report presented to the Power Board yesterday by the chief engineer (Mr L. B. Hutton) : “With regard to the transmission line trouble experienced on February 20, I am now able to state, with a reasonable amount of confidence, that this was due to a deposit of conducting film on the insulators on a certain section of the line. The film was composed of silica, calcium and iron; all derivable from road dust, cemented or held on the porcelain by means of sodium chloride, which is often present in the air but which had been increased in quantity by 10 days hard wind from the south west, coming off a rough sea.” Motor Vehicles Collide. A minor collision between a motor lorry driven by Mr R. Parsons and a light car driven by Mr A. JI. Hiddlestone occurred at the intersection of Kelvin and Tay streets at 9.40 yesterday morning. The car came down Esk street and turned into Kelvin street towards Tay street and the lorry, which was proceeding down Kelvin street, struck the car on the side. The running board and rear mudguard of the car were twisted, but the damage was slight. The two drivers descended and the lorry driver cranked his engine to back away from the car. His lorry was in reverse gear, but the engine started and the lorry backed away from him. He ran to his controls and stopped the backward progress before any further damage resulted. A constable, who arrived on the scene, interrogated the driver of the car, but when he turned round to speak to the lorrydriver he discovered that he had departed. He obtained the services of the car driver to overtake the lorry and complete his investigations.