New Zealand

Southland Times, Issue 22993, 12 September 1936, Page 21 (Supplement)

New Zealand

New Cruiser Arrives. H.M.S. Achilles, the first of thi r two new cruisers for the New Zea' land Naval Station, has arrived a 1 Auckland. There was a big gatherin! ; on the wharf to welcome the cruise: which carried in its complement 201 I New Zealand ratings who a yea: , ago went Home on special servicf ' on the Diomede. To add to the in- ■ terest of the warship’s arrival it; . I supermarine Walrus aircraft escortec II it into the harbour. It had beer . flown off by catapult amidship; three-quarters of an hour earlier. ; The Achilles represents the very . latest in ships of the cruiser class In length 555 ft. with a beam of 55ft 1 and draught of 18ft., 7030 tons in dis- ■ placement, capable of 32.5 knots anc built for a wartime complement oJ 550 officers and ratings, the Achilles had had only one other commissior and is three years old. The first ol : the Leander class of cruisers New Zealand has seen, she cost £1,600,000. Her complement on arrival was 490, made up of 213 seamen, 147 engine-room ratings, 68 miscellaneous and 62 Royal marines. Forty Hour Week and Costs. The 40-hour week means not only increased leisure but increased costs. There has been a further increase in prices since the measure came into operation. An Invercargill master builder estimates that at least £lOO is added to the cost of a £lOOO house by increased labour costs and sharp rises in the prices of materials.

Viaduct For New Railway. Excellent progress is being made with the construction of a huge viaduct over the Mohaka Gorge, one of the biggest undertakings on the East Coast railway. So far very few difficulties have been met with and a start has been made with the erection of the first span of the bridge. Trains are running daily between Wairoa and Raupunga with material for bridge and other jobs on the railway, and a good deal of machinery and supplies has been shipped to the various camps. The work is well under way and additional men are arriving daily. Ten of the men employed on the viaduct had an unenviable experience. They were crossing the gorge in a cage on cables} and when halfway across and 350 feet above the river, the cables jammed. A cold southerly wind and hail and sleet added to their plight, and many frantic efforts were made before the cableway was again in working order and the men were rescued, little the worse for their experience. Education in Backblocks. The Minister of Education stated this week that he would do all in his power to see that children in back-country districts obtained as sound an education as those in closely settled districts. He suggested that the best solution of the problem was consolidation of small schools. i

Southland’s Athletic Girls. The success of the Southland basketball team in securing Dominion championship honours has been capped by the brilliant victory of the Eastern Southland hockey girls tyho for the third year in succession and the sixth time in seven years won the New Zealand championship tournament, coming through with an undefeated record. There was a time when Southland’s male athletes brought fame to their province; now they have to take Second place to women’s teams. First Rugby Test. New Zealand beat Australia by 11 points to 6 in the first Rugby test which was played at Wellington in fine weather last Saturday. Australia led 6 —5 at the interval but the All Blacks improved in the second spell. Two Southland players, Mitchell and Ward, have been included in the players selected to practise for the second test at Dunedin to-day. Otago successfully, withstood the sixth challenge for the Ranfurly Shield, outclassing North Auckland last Saturday to win by 30 points to nil.

Health of the Maoris. The health of the Maoris is a question which often arises both in Parliament and with social service organizations. It has to be admitted that since the white man settled in New Zealand the Maoris have suffered in health. The introduction of European modes of living has always ' reacted unfavourably to the dark, races. Just how effective have been the steps taken by previous Governments to maintain as far as possible the physique of the Maoris is | a matter for debate. A speaker this I week at a Women’s Division of the Farmers’ Union in the Waikato stated that the Maori rate of mortality was four times as great as that of the pakeha and urged that there had been grave neglect of the natives. The Labour Government has, however, indicated that it will I pay close attention to the welfare of the Maoris both hygienically and financially. Miners on Strike. Miners in the Huntly coalfields went on strike this week, their chief grievance being inadequate wages. The 40-hour week was also sought. At the request of the strikers the Minister of Mines (Mr P. C. Webb) and Mr Semple visited Bluntly and addressed a mass meeting at which grievances were aired. Gift to University. The gift of an arts teaching set, including prints valued at £6OO, from the Carnegie Corporation has been added to the equipment of the Otago University. Handsome sets of coloured reproductions of the masters of art through the ages, with photographs on every aspect, of art, are accompanied by 200 valuable books, covering the history of the arts, ranging from landscape garden- |

ing to typography. Among the reproductions is a portfolio of the complete works of van Gogh. A treasure in the library section is apro-Pylaen set of the history of art, costing at least £BO to-day.