IN TOWN AND OUT

Southland Times, Issue 22499, 8 December 1934, Page 6

IN TOWN AND OUT

NEWS OF THE DAY Eggs and Butter. _ There is no change in the general values for eggs, which are selling at 9d a dozen wholesale and lid retail. Separator butter was reduced id a pound during the week, ■ prices now being 5d and 6d wholesale and 7d retail. * • * • Maheno Due on Monday. The Union Company’s Maheno sailed from Melbourne for Bluff on Thursday at 10 a.m. She is carrying 95 first-class and 95 second-class passengers and should arrive on Monday morning at 4.45. The vessel leaves in the afternoon for Dunedin. » * • * Speeding on Te Anau-Milford Road. Although the road through the Eglinton Valley is essentially a scenic road many motorists travel along it at excessive speed. Quite apart from the fact that they must miss the enchanting views, they run considerable risk of accident since the road is narrow and there are a number of fairly sharp bends. The authorities are taking steps to prevent this abuse of the highway. ♦ * • * Mistletoe in Eglinton.

Those who visit the Eglinton Valley at Christmas will not have far to search for mistletoe. Many silver beech trees are festooned with the rich deep red flowers of this attractive parasite which rivals the rata in giving colour to thebush. The beech trees are shedding their winter foliage for leaves of a fresher green and the different stages of metamorphosis lend a variety of colour to the forest.

• » « * Southland Sheep Praised. During June Mr S. T. Evans, the well-known Longbush breeder, sent a shipment of Ryeland sheep to Victoria on sale to Messrs Nusk Bros., of Antwerp. The sheep were entered in the Antwerp Show by their new owners* and Mr Evans’has now received a letter stating that the sheep met with success, and that they were the subject of favourable comment from experienced judges at the show. » * * *

Birds as Camp Pets. The men working on the Te AnauMilford road have made friends with the birds sharing their home in the bush. The robins and riflemen are firm favourites, but tamest of all are the keas, which are to be seen eating out of the hands of some of the men. But these off-maligned birds are not popular in some quarters, for they have destroyed many articles in and around the camps and have even tweaked the nose of a sleeping surveyor. * * * *

The Hollyford Talkies. It is a far cry from Hollywood to Hollyford, but there is one connecting link, for the talking pictures made at the home of screen stars are shown in the camp of the men who are hewing a road to Milford. On Saturday evenings “The Hollyford Talkies” are screened by an enterprising cinema proprietor who has built a theatre in the camp so picturesquely situated beneath Mount Christina. The seats are made from timber cut out of the bush and the electric power is generated by an old motor car engine located in a shed nearby. The pictures shown are not by any means poor. “The Cuckoo in the Nest” was on the opening programme and to-night Grace Fields will hold sway beneath the beech trees.

Visit to Rose Gardens. Citizens and visitors to Invercargill during the next few days should not fail to see the magnificent display of roses at Queen’s Park. Although the plants suffered somewhat in their initial stages of development owing to heavy late frosts, a reporter on visiting the gardens yesterday afternoon could not perceive that that had in any way detracted from the magnificence of the display. The faint tone of blue from the nemesia, with which all the beds have been underplanted, lends an attractive and fascinating touch of colour. No doubt many of the Dunedin excursionists will be attracted to the Park on Sunday for the Battalion Band concert and are sure to find many features of interest and attraction as they walk through the grounds. * *

Parking of Lorries. The inconvenience caused to the general road traffic by the parking of a big petrol waggon in Esk. street was referred to by a passing citizen to a Times reporter yesterday. Although conforming with the motor parking bylaws, the vehicle occupied almost half of the street and consequently left little room for moving traffic to operate. “For this type of vehicle there should be some other arrangement for parking,” commented the citizen. “The nose-in diagonal position _ should give way to a horizontal position, thus allowing petrol waggons and other lorries to pull alongside the path kerbing. It would certainly be more convenient in the narrower main thoroughfares of the city.” , » •

Exhibition of Students’ Work. The work of the Southland Technical College students, which is now on display, covers a very wide ground and demonstrates in a practical manner the adequate training provided at the school. Large numbers of visitors yesterday attended the exhibition, and spent a very interesting hour inspecting the pupils’ work and watching the students from all courses demonstrating the principles learned in classroom, workshop and laboratory. About 250 senior scholars from the schools in the city also visited the display. The exhibition, which will conclude to-day, has been arranged so that the public can see the results of the instruction given in the college. Visitors are assured of a pleasant and instructive afternoon or evening. * » • * Visitors from Many Places.

A glance through the visitors’ book at Aitchison’s accommodation house at Cascade Creek in the Eglinton Valley reveals that tourists from many parts of the world have travelled along this forest highway. Two Japanese students, K. Kamugama and T. Kawase, wrote in English that they were the first Japanese to go over the Dore Pass to Glade House. They added something in their own language which was no doubt complimentary. A Sydney man had written: “The drive through the forest was the most enchanting in my experience. We have nothing in Australia to equal it.” From English and Indian visitors there was high praise for the scenery and for the treatment received. An Invercargill lawyer had supplemented his remarks on Eglinton’s charm by stating that he had enjoyed excellent bridge. Of a little child of 2i it was recorded that she had climbed the Key Summit—in a haversack.

An Interesting Exhibit Just as the relief model of the Te Anau-Milford area is attracting wide attention in the Art‘Department at the Technical College exhibition of work, so is the diving apparatus proving a source of attraction in the Trades Department. The maker of this exhibit is James Thompson, of Queenstown, an ex-student who has received no engineering training apart from that received at the college. The display includes patterns for castings, boots, helmet, and air pump—-the whole being made in spare time in a home workshop. The head piece, spun from a sheet of copper 32 inches in diameter, can be appreciated only by an experi-

enced tradesman, as the amount of annealing in a piece of work of this kind is tremendous. The boots are also a fine piece of work and are quite up to the standard of the imported article. The construction of the air pump would do credit to any first-class tradesman. The crank is made from an old dredge link and when one realizes the limited tools that the maker had at nis disposal, one can appreciate the skill and workmanship shown. All the lead castings were made at home and the breastplates took quite a deal of moulding and casting. The joints are perfect and the opinion has been expressed that the turning and fitting would do credit to any skilled mechanic. The whole outfit reflects great credit on the maker and his instructors, the job being one of which any expert would be proud.