In Town and Out

Southland Times, Issue 22915, 13 June 1936, Page 8

In Town and Out

NEWS OF THE DAY Roller Canary Championship. At the annual show of the Dunedin Fanciers’ Club yesterday Mr R. A. Lilley, of Pomona road, Invercargill, won the South Island championship for roller canaries (siilging class). Comfort for Tram Drivers. Tram drivers’ wives must now be happy. No longer will they have cause to lament the shiny seats in their husbands’ trousers. The hard, wooden motormen’s seats in the city trams have been upholstered, giving to the driver comfort and the knowledge that his trousers will survive longer than formerly. Radio Sets in Demand. Though business in the radio line is always considerably more brisk in the winter months compared with the summer, dealers in Invercargill report that trade of late has been particularly bright. One firm, which is agent for a well-known .English set, states that it has never nad so many cash sales as it has had this year; indeed, many of the sets have been purchased “right out of the window. Large Shipment of Beech. Approximately 200,000 feet of Southland beech will be shipped to Australia by the Union Company’s coastal trader Kiwitea which is scheduled to leave Bluff for Melbourne on Tuesday. This particularly large shipment indicates the increasing demand in Australia and even further afield for a timber that serves so many purposes in such an efficient manner. Timber mills in Southland have been busier of late and this increased activity is expected to continue. Innovation at Post Office. An innovation at the Invercargill Post Office should prove a great boon to business men. Registered letters, which formerly were not available till 9 a.m., can now be cleared at 8.15. For many years office juniors who cleared the previous night’s mail at 8.30 in the morning would have to return to the Post Office at 9 o’clock to collect any registered letters. Now one trip will suffice and more time can be spent in stamp-licking and the other multifarious duties of office boys. Not Too Old. After the official opening of the new infant room at the Makarewa School yesterday afternoon, the children began to play games. Not to be outdone the members of the School Committee and the staff challenged the senior pupils to a game of basketball. Though not as lissom as of yore, they soon showed that they could not be taken lightly and towards the end of a memorable game they completely dominated play, despite the strict refereeing of the senior inspector, Mr S. Irwin. Prices Rise. Following an increased demand, the prices of most lines of drapery and groceries have shown an upward tendency over the last few days. This rise, it is stated, has been regulated by the ordinary supply and demand and is not an actual marketing increase following greater costs which certain industries have to face as a result of the new legislation. The present increase in prices, regulated as it is by supply and demand, may just as readily become a decrease should the demand for any particular commodity not be so marked. Licensing of Bicycles. Hundreds of bicycles piled up round the Post Office Square yesterday morning prompted an inquiry whether the proposed ’ legislation for licensing bicycles had been brought into force. “No, it hasn’t,” said a postal official, “but what a job it would be!” He waved a gloomy hand at the tangled array of machines. “A shilling registration fee may sound all right, but it is not merely a matter of affixing number plates to each bicycle. The filing system would be far more cumbersome than that for motor vehicles and the work entailed would be much greater.” Nothing To Chance. Though the Prime Minister has publicly declared that the Government will take steps to deal with any merchants or business people who without justification may advance their prices as a consequence of the recent industrial legislation, far-sighted citizens are apparently leaving nothing to chance. One man said yesterday that he had just ordered another suit. “I do not really need it for months ahead, but I am sure prices will go up and I shall put the suit away in the meantime,” he said. A woman recently made a large purchase of linen, which she knew she would require in about a year’s time. A Use for Post Office Square. Those who have been advocating the retention of the Post Office Square must have felt there was some ground for their arguments if they saw the square yesterday morning. On both sides of the square and against the Post Office building bicycles were piled in disorderly array. There were hundreds of them. Bicycles of all ages, of every shape and size. Had they been left on the edge of the footpaths motorists would have found that even Invercargill’s broad streets were not quite broad enough. A special matinee screening for school children at the Majestic Theatre was the reason for the unusual assembly of bicycles. Like the Rockies. Mr J. F. Devlin, the world-famous badminton player and coach, who arrived in Invercargill last evening on a tour of New Zealand, has not had much opportunity to see the scenic attractions of the Dominion. However, he motored from Mount Cook down to Queenstown, and he told The Southland Times that the trip impressed him very much. “It was the most impressive piece of New Zealand that I have seen,” he said. “It was rather like the Canadian Rockies in some respects—there was the same forbidding darkness about it. From what I have been able to see of the Dominion, it is fully worthy of all the fine things said about its natural beauty.” Walking in Duke Street. People walk on the road in Duke street. They prefer to. From Russell street east, strong, silent men have for days been busily engaged in tearing up the footpath. Now all that is left is a rough clay track on either side of the street. Tentative inquiries revealed that the footpath-wrecking is being carried out with a purpose: Duke street is to have new and better footpaths. Meanwhile, residents in that locality are content to walk on the road. Even cyclists find that the footpath has lost its pristine appeal. Last evening one young man was cycling along the track where the asphalt used to be when suddenly his machine left him and the hard ground struck him, smartly in the face. In future he, too, will use the road. Radio Advertising.

The proposals outlined in the Government’s new Broadcasting Bill which will permit the Government to run its own commercial station from which

advertising may be allowed, will prove neither popular nor desirable, according to Christchurch business men. “Nothing is more objectionable than advertising over the air,” said Mr C. Ogilvie, manager of Beath and Company, Ltd. He based his opposition to the proposal on the system of broadcast advertisements in America. “One meets this broadcasting advertising very extensively there,’ ’he said. “Perhaps it is even more offensive at night after a busy day, when one has to listen to advertising ‘bunk’ of all kinds. Especially is it bad in the big hotel lounges in America. In private homes it can easily be got rid of, by shutting off the machine, but it is always hateful.” Capsize Of Car. While in the summer time the volume of motor traffic on the Te Anau-Eglin-ton highway is heavy, cars are much fewer in the winter months. So it was really a piece of good luck for two motorists that after their car had capsized in a deep ditch some miles past Te Anau on Thursday evening, a passing car, driven by Mr J. Goldstone, of the Invercargill office of the Public Works Department, who was returning from a visit to the Homer tunnel, came upon the scene. He and a fellow passenger lent assistance in an endeavour to extricate the car, but the combined efforts failed and the two unfortunate motorists were given a lift to the Mossbum Hotel where they secured ac - commodation for the night and took steps to send a breakdown lorry to raise their car from the ditch. They were English tourists motoring through the Dominion and expressed appreciation of the courtesy shown them by the passing motorists. Popular Pahia Weed. Most weeds are noxious; they are looked upon by gardeners and farmers as a menace, and every effort is made to eradicate them. The Pahia weed, a wild herb which appears to be thriving extensively on swampy land skirting the foreshore around Pahia, does not come under this category. On the other hand it has become popular with bowlers. The weed was introduced to bowling greens in Southland, and has been largely responsible for the velvety surfaces on some of the areas. A year or two ago its fame spread to the North Island and it was “adopted” by some of the clubs with success. Recently Mr S. C. K. Smith, Southland representative on the New Zealand Bowling Council, visited the North Island and saw the results of the Pahia weed. “It is surprising how it has taken on,” said Mr Smith. “The North Islanders are very enthusiastic about it.” He predicts a big demand for it in the near future.