In Town And Out

Southland Times, Issue 22991, 10 September 1936, Page 6

In Town And Out

A Sober City. For the first time in months, no sitting of the Magistrate’s Court in Auckland to deal with criminal cases was held yesterday, there having been no arrests since Monday morning. Auckland of late has been a very sober city. —Press Association. Loyal “Children.”

“Mrs Mclnnes has been called the ‘mother’ of basketball in Southland,” said Miss L. Hallamore in proposing the toast of the New Zealand Cup winners at the Southland Basketball Union’s annual dinner last evening. “If that is so—and the truth of the statement cannot be denied —the representative team must be regarded as her ‘children.’ And they are ‘children’ who have been loyal to their ‘parent.’ Their record at the tournament is proof of this.”

Hockey on Skates. There are few more fascinating and exciting games than hockey on skates. Not only is it exceedingly fast, but it calls for skill, endurance and brains. It is played in nearly all countries of the world, wherever a suitable surface is available. It is exceedingly popular in America, where it is played by teams that have reduced the game to a fine art. It is played in Invercargill and throughout New Zealand, but it is only recently that small townships have become keen about the game. An example of this is the game to be played between Fortrose and Tokanui this evening. Carriage of Milk.

In response to a letter from Mr C. H. Wilson, secretary of the MakarewaGrove Bush branch of the New Zealand Farmers’ Union, requesting information about the licensing of vehicles that carry milk, Mr J. Hargest, M.P., replied as follows: (1) That no carts came under the licensing regulations; (2) That where a farmer obliges a neighbour, by carting milk by lorry, or where a farmer carts another farmer’s milk for the season, the lowest possible licence fee will be charged. The amount is to be 10/-; (3) Where neighbours cart milk, week or month about, there will be no licence fees. The Cud!

“And this is the cup!” With this remark Mrs R. S. Mclnnes, at the 12th annual dinner of the Southland Basketball Union last evening, indicated the trophy which signified Southland’s first victory at the New Zealand basketball tournament. “It has been remarked,” Mrs Mclnnes added, “that it is not a very big cup. That may be so, but it was purchased in 1926—at a time when there were only five teams entered in the Dominion tournament and little interest was taken in basketball. Be that as it may. The all important fact is that this cup is very precious, for only the best basketball players in New Zealand can possess it.” Theft of Bicycles.

Information that two bicycles belonging to one household had ‘fteen stolen in the town yesterday prompted a Southland Times reporter to call at the City Police Station to inquire whether there was another “epidemic” of bicycle stealing sweeping the city. He was told, however, that there was not as many bicycles stolen now as previously. In fact, things in this line had been particularly quiet of late. In the opinion of the police the bicycle thieves jumped on the machine, rode it away, and then left it. Few bicycles were stolen for the purpose of conversion. Nine times out of ten, however, the bicycles were recovered, and it was found that only on rare occasions were they damaged. No Rush.

An Invercargill Rugby football enthusiast arrived at 4.30 yesterday morning outside the office where grandstand tickets were to be sold for the South-land-Australia match on September 16. The sale was to begin at 9 o’clock. The enthusiast to fortify himself against his long wait took a parcel of sandwiches, and made himself comfortable, serene in the assurance that his wait would soon be shared with others keen to secure seats and that conversation with them would while away the time. He waited and waited, and kept on waiting for others to arrive. At 8 o’clock he was still alone, but 45 minutes later--15 minutes before the office was opened—along came another ticket buyer. The enthusiast whose misguided zeal had given him such a long wait was less pleased still when he discovered that employees in his own office who had not waited at all and had gone along at 9.30 had been able to get seats almost as good as those the four and a-half hour wait had provided. Haast and Hollyford.

“In the controversy about the best crossing of the Alps from South Westland, it seems peculiar to those familiar with both terrains that the advocates of the Hollyford-Homer road have overlooked that this route is 1000 feet higher than that over the Haast Pass,” said Mr M. Grant, a keen tramper and photographer of mountain scenery, in an interview with a representative of The Press. Mr Grant, who is familiar with both districts, said that the surrounding mountains were higher and the country much colder, and the Hollyford had been described as a canyon, being much more shut in than the Haast. It was therefore obvious that the snow risk would be greater than at the Haast; in fact, it was certain that the southern route would be blocked by snow every year, whereas the Haast would only be troubled in winters of exceptional severity. The snow risk at Hollyford had been further emphasized this year, said Mr Grant, by two avalanches at Homer, one causing loss of life. On the other hand, when the Haast Pass was visited only three weeks ago there was no snow lying on ths track. From that point alone the Haast Pass was the preferable route.