IN TOWN AND OUT

Southland Times, Issue 21002, 7 February 1930, Page 6

IN TOWN AND OUT

NEWS OF THE DAY. Cocksfoot. Both in town and country men and boys have been busy in the past days of sunshine cutting cocksfoot. Their hours of toil should be well repaid. * * » * Theft Charges. Two youths appeared on remand at a sitting of the Mataura Magistrate’s Court yesterday before Mr C. D. McConnell, Justice of the Peace, on a charge of alleged theft from a dwelling in Kana street, and were again remanded to appear at Gore on February 11.—Mataura correspondent. First Offender. A statutory first offender who was arrested after the arrival of the excursion train from Riverton on Wednesday was charged with drunkenness before Mr C. D. McConnell, Justice of the Peace, yesterday. He did not appear and was fined . the amount of his bail, 10/-.—Mataura correspondent.;

Invercargill's Cenotaph. An Australian visitor, Mr Joel Fox, of Melbourne, when conversing with a Times reporter yesterday, was loud in his praises of the simple dignity of the Invercargill Cenotaph. "The cenotaph is so beautiful, so effective, set, as it is, amid the glorious surrounding gardens. I like it as well as any memorial I have seen, for its simplicity and dignity so appeals to me.”

Dead Mutton Birds. Hundreds of dead mutton birds have been strewn along the sand at Oreti Beach during the last week. What caused their death is not an easy matter to say. Stormy weather should not have killed them, unless they were struck by lightning, but their bodies show no trace of such a death. Possibly they came across such a big shoal of small fish that they died from gluttony. A scientific explanation of their death should prove interesting. Who will volunteer it ?

Excursion to Bluff.

An excursion train carrying 640 passengers from Riversdale and the surrounding districts spent the day at Bluff yesterday. A more perfect day could hardly be expected, and the visitors were treated to some rare sights. With the two Home boats, Cumberland and Argyllshire with her native crew, the pleasure steamer Hinemoa, and different seaside attractions, the port was at its best. With the permission of the shipping authorities, a large portion of the picnickers were shown over the passenger steamer Argyllshire.—Correspondent.

Praise for the Ladies.

“The young ladies in Invercargill strike me as being superior in every way to those I have observed in your northern towns,” eulogized a visitor from Sydney to a Tinies reporter yesterday. "They seem so much healthier, more rosy-cheeked and happier than their sisters. In fact they remind me very much of the Sydney girls.” “Without, of course, their faces being embalmed with a like liberal application of powder, for which, I understand, Australian girls are somewhat noted,” the reporter qualified such unstinted praise. “Oh, they don’t need it here,” was the visitor’s quick retort. Parking Cars. A notice appears on the Main South Road at Mataura in the vicinity of the saleyards acquainting motorists of the parking area. This notice has been ignored by several who attend the stock sales, and during the progress of yesterday’s sale the local constable took the numbers of cars which were parked in the forbidden area and prosecutions will likely follow'. As the saleyards are situated on the main highway, the parking of cars there is not only a hindrance to those taking stock to the yards, but a menace to motorists using the main highway.

Just Cause for Complaint! “I have travelled 12,000 miles in order to see the Wanganui River and the Milford Sounds, but, you may believe me or not as you will, I can’t procure a decent-sized photograph of either of these wonderful resorts,” complained Dr. F. E. Doering, a much-travelled tourist, when conversing with a Times reporter yesterday. "Surely someone should be enterprising enough to take a good photograph of each. I wanted to purchase six dozen good prints in order to forward them to my friends abroad,” added the doctor, "but was informed only postcard views were obtainable. I don’t desire the penny photograph.”'

Invercargill—Then and. Now. “I visited Invercargill over 45 years ago, and I must confess that, notwithstanding the effluxion of time, the difference between the capital then and now is simply marvellous,” remarked Mr Joel Fox, manager of the Equity Trustees Company of Melbourne, to a Times reporter yesterday. "I can’t realize the progress of the town at all, with its handsome, wide streets and shops. There were no trams at all when I was last here, while it was a small and most uninteresting town in those days. Now I could easily put in an enjoyable week’s sojourn in Invercargill and I consider the town should be recommended—more than at present is the case—by the tourist agencies as a place well meriting a visit for pleasure’s sake.” * * A Unique Event.

In connection with the official opening of Invercargill's new radio station, 4ZP, on Tuesday evening, if is highly probable that the Prime Minister, Sir Joseph Ward, will be numbered among those whose voices will be heard over the air. It is understood that arrangements have been made whereby Sir Joseph will speak by telephone from Rotorua and his message will be picked up and relayed by land line to station 4ZP. This idea is probably unique, in New Zealand broadcasting and will be looked forward to with much interest. Arrangements for the opening of 4ZP are now complete, and final tests will be carried out this evening and Sunday. Mr A. Parsons has arrangements in hand for the formation of a list-eners-in club which will embrace all the radio listeners in the province. An Unusual Catch. An unusual catch was brought into the Times Office yesterday afternoon by a wellknown angler, in the form of an ordinary pickle-bottle well filled with young shrimps. The shrimps, which were about half an inch in length, were caught by hand in shallow pools beside the retaining -wall at the wharf. The fisherman said that the shrimps were moving,, up the estuary in millions and must form a prolific source of trout food in the rivers. He stated that full-grown shrimps were common in all the rivers and streams along the coast, and he had frequently seen them many miles inland. He had been informed that the young shrimps were caught at Avenal about 40 years ago and were used for food. Shrimps find a ready market in the Old Country and, from the appearance of those caught in the estuary, they should prove palatable if well cooked. * * • » Asleep in the Deep! Dr. F. E. Doering, a much-travelled tourist, who returned yesterday from a trip to the Sounds, proudly displayed to a Times reporter a fair-sized piece of teak from the rib of the Endeavour, a sailing vessel which was wrecked at Facile Harbour in the Sounds over 100 years ago. Dr. Doering was one of a party from the Hinemoa who were being rowed ashore at. the harbour by a Maori and another seaman. The young Maori was quite enthusiastically confident that, some of the timber of the vessel was still in position, but all poohhoohed his statement as being but a stretch of fertile imagination. "The only way you can convince us is by Bringing the wood to the surface,” was the remark of Dr.

Gordon Macdonald, a Dunedin practitioner, another member of the party. The Maori immediately let down a sinker and hook and engaged himself at hunting about in the sea in some ten feet of water. At last the hook hit something which was dragged to shallow water. The Maori, jumping in too his armpits, ultimately and smilingly emerged with a rib of the Endeavour. It had two cedinary pin-holes, in one of which was a piece of metal. The rib was undoubtedly of teak, and each passenger has secured a portion thereof as a moniento of what they term “a glorious trip.” The Magnificence of Lakes Te Anau and Manapouri. “There is absolutely nothing in Australia which can even be compared to Lakes Te Anau and Manapouri, and the Fox and Waiho Glaciers,” was the decided opinion voiced by Mr Joel Fox, a Melbourne visitor, to a Times reporter yesterday. “We were deeply impressed with the magnificence of the scenery and even the roads were in good order. We also journeyed to the head of both lakes and were enraptured with the glories around us. The position of Manapouri appealed to us as there were more lovely walks nearby than at Te Anau, while the drive from Waiho to the Fox Glacier is one of the finest X have ever enjoyed. The sandflies, as you can well imagine, were shocking! I would like to add, however, that it strikes me as being a pity that the Government, with such magnificent natural assets in its possession as the lakes are, do not endeavour to modernize the agents of approach to these spots. For instance, surely the time is now ripe for the plying, on the deep waters, of a more luxurious pleasure launch in place of the little boat they now have. It must be 50 years old, if a day. Then, again, there are no landing stages at the head of the lakes. These maj' appear only small matters, but they should be rectified.”