In Town And Out

Southland Times, Issue 23229, 18 June 1937, Page 8

In Town And Out

A Sharp Frost The sharpest frost this winter was experienced in Invercargill yesterday morning when 12 degrees were registered. Frosts in North Otago and the Waikato have exceeded this, however.

Radio for New Hospital A gift of £235 9/- from the Invercargill Rotary Club towards the cost of installing radio sets in the new Southland Hospital at Kew was received with thanks at the monthly meeting of the Southland Hospital Board yesterday. On the motion of Mr John Miller it was decided to ask the Minister of Health (the Hon. P. Fraser) for financial assistance to bring the sum up to £5OO to meet the cost of installation. Appreciative Audiences

“We were warned before we came to New Zealand that Dominion audiences did not display much enthusiasm, but the company’s experience has been the opposite,” said Mr Ben McAtee, a member of the Marcus Show. “In a similar manner they told us in the north that South Island audiences were very cold and unappreciative, but that also has been discounted. Not only have the audiences equalled any in the world from an artist’s viewpoint, but also the hospitality extended by New ,Zealanders is outstanding, and very much appreciated.” Waiana’s Maideu Voyage

On her maiden voyage from England via ports, the Union Steam Ship Company’s new motor-ship Waiana will arrive at Auckland today under the command of Captain A. H. Howie. The Waiana, which was launched from the yards of Alexander Stephen and Sons, Ltd., Linthouse, Glasgow, on February 25, will replace the steamer Wingatui in the east coast cargo trade. The vessel, which embodies a number of mod - ern features designed to facilitate the handling of cargo, is 320 feet in length and has a breadth of 48 feet. Her gross tonnage is about 3300 and her dead weight carrying capacity 3850 tons on a draught of 19ft 6in. Her service speed will be 12 knots.

Aviation and Racegoers The manner in which aviation can enable business men to pursue their hobbies in spite of the calls of commerce was illustrated recently when three Aucklanders, who had an urgent business engagement in Palmerston North in the morning, had an equally pressing sporting engagement at Ellerslie in the afternoon, states The New Zealand Herald. They left Auckland early on the Saturday morning in one of the Auckland Aero Club’s machines, made the trip to Palmerston North in Ihr 55min, attended to their business appointment and made the return- flight in Ihr 35min. They were at Ellerslie by two o’clock, in time to see the greater part of the day’s racing

Positions Hard To Fill “The roll number now stands at 297,” said the monthly report of the Rector of the Southland Boys’ High School (Dr G. H. Uttley) received at a meeting of the High Schools Board yesterday. “It seems as if the roll number will not fall greatly below this by the end of the year, as, in answer to requests from employers of boys, 1 have had to reply that none are offering. The boys at present at school are desirous of qualifying themselves by examination for positions with good prospects. Recently I was unable to fill two positions in banks and one position for a boy of 14 years, although the wage in the last instance was 27/- a week.” Launch For Chatham Islands Formerly a ship’s lifeboat, the Wanganui launch Jenine, of 32 feet overall, and owned by Mr G. Battison, will enter another phase of an interesting career in the near future. The vessel is a sturdy sea boat, and in the past few months has been thoroughly reconditioned in readiness for a trip to the Chatham Islands, where it will be engaged in the fishing industry. Thirteen years ago the craft was a lifeboat on the overseas steamer Port Caroline, and has since been twice washed ashore and abandoned. Subsequent to these mishaps the vessel was fitted with a flush deck and engines, and during the past few years has been successfully operated off the coast as a fishing launch. When it leaves for Wellington the Jenine will carry a crew of three Wanganui men, Messrs G. Battison, owner, E. W. Fromont, skipper, and A. R. Fromont. From Wellington it will be towed to the Chatham Islands by the fishing steamer South Sea.

Blushing Youth When the new Training College assembly hall in Auckland was opened, the first opportunity was offered of testing fully its acoustic properties, states The Auckland Star. One of the guests, Dr. I. L. Kandel, of Columbia University, New York, after listening to the singing of the students and to several speeches, said “You need nave no fear at all about the acoustics of this hall. There is not the slightest echo, and the conditions appear to be ideal both for speaking and singing.” He added that he much preferred the name of assembly hall to that of auditorium, which was used in the United States. It conveyed more fully the idea of esprit de corps, co-operation and association, which were so valuable in collegiate life. He regarded social contacts as an essential, part of college experience, and remarked that .dramatic performances should be encouraged. They taught youths to stand up “without blushing.” “And 1 think that is just as important today fdr the girls as the boys,” he added amid laughter. Just Luck The freakishness of luck at a race meeting was well illustrated by two incidents at the recent winter meeting of the Auckland Racing Club at Ellerslie, states The Auckland Star. On the first day a young man who had made up his mind to have two bets was persuaded by his father to stay home and mow the lawn, so he sent £1 by a friend for his selected bets, with instructions to put it all on Sandy Dix for the Great Northern Hurdles, and all up on his other selection for the last race. Listening in at home, he was i thrown into a state of great excitement , to hear that Sandy Dix had paid an unexpectedly large dividend. He and his | father at once set out for the race- | course to find the friend with the ( money and vary the instruction about ; putting it all up on the last race. A i frantic search, which included a message through the race-course radio for the missing man, proved fruitless. But, the story had a happy ending, for the I friend followed instructions, and it was | the horse nominated by the punter that won, multifying many times the winnings on the hurdles. Thus a two-figure winning was turned into a three-figure return, and the punter was glad he : stayed home to mow the lawn. The other incident occurred on the second day, when a man who had already made his bet on the big steeplechase ' was pestered by an intoxicated man, I who insistently urged him to back | Irish Comet. After resisting the rowdy fellow’s blandishments almost to the point of fistcuffs, the accosted man eventually did go and back Irish Comet and he collected a handsome dividend.