In Town And Out

Southland Times, Issue 23948, 14 October 1939, Page 6

In Town And Out

Eclipse of Sun

A partial eclipse of the sun took place yesterday morning and was quite clearly observed by many persons in Invercargill. It was actually a total eclipse, but could be observed as such only in the vicinity of the South Pole. The maximum phase of the eclipse was reached about 7.56 a.m., at which time more than half of the sun’s disk was obscured. The sky was cloudless and with the aid of a smoked glass it could be seen that almost two-thirds of the sun was obscured. There was a noticeable difference in the amount of sunlight reaching Invercargill and those persons unaware of the phenomenon were at a loss to explain the dulled light. £lO For Best Cheese

It was reported at the meeting of directors of the Southland Agricultural and Pastoral Association yesterday that the Minister of Agriculture (the Hon. W. Lee Martin) had presented the sum of £lO for the cheese maker producing the best cheese at the Centennial Royal Show, to be held in Invercargill. It was decided to thank the Minister for his generosity. Stewart Island Bookings

Already no fewer than 66 Dunedin holiday-makers have booked for the excursion to Stewart Island over the Labour Day week-end, and the manager of the Government Tourist Bureau stated on Thursday that a number of parties was included (says The Evening Star). The excursionists will leave Dunedin on October 20, spending the night at Invercargill, and crossing to Halfmoon Bay on Saturday morning. The remainder of Saturday afternoon, Sunday, and Monday morning will be spent at Stewart Island, and the tourists will depart on Monday afternoon at 2.30, connecting at Invercargill with the night express for Dunedin.

Band For Burnham The executive of the Canterbury Provincial Patriotic Council has endorsed wholeheartedly an appeal which is to be launched throughout the South Island for funds to equip a permanent band for the Burnham military camp. This was stated by the Mayor of Christchurch, Mr' R. M. Macfarlane, M.P., on Thursday. Funds are urgently needed for the band, and as the camp is representative of all the island, it is intended to make the appeal widespread. Regimental Camp

More than 300 men of the Southland Regiment will go into camp at the show grounds during Labour Day weekend. They will assemble on the Saturday afternoon and the camp will break up on the afternoon of Labour Day. A course of general training has been arranged. Recreation Scheme

At the invitation of the Invercargill branch of the Labour Party, Miss L. M. Story and Mr Lloyd Woods, district recreation officers, attended a meeting on Thursday night and gave an outline of the Government’s physical welfare and recreation scheme. The president, Mr W. S. Whitty, thanked them for their addresses and promised that individually the members of the branch would do everything to support the scheme.

Oystering in Early Days The quest of the oyster was not always the organized industry it is today. In his talk on the early history of Stewart Island at the meeting of the University Association of Southland last night Dr Basil Howard said that the oyster industry probably had its birth at Port Adventure where fishermen took advantage of the tides to beach their boats, wait for the tide to recede and then load the boats with oysters. Many valuable cargoes were obtained in that way, as much as £3OO for a cutter-load being paid by merchants.

Aparima Dairy Factory The amount of milk supplied to the Aparima Dairy Company shows an increase of 28,2681 b of milk tor September. The. figures are: September 1938, 187,3111 b; 1939, 215,5791 b. There will be approximately an extra ton of cheese made as against the output for September 1938.

Patriotic Purposes Regulations To give effect to the Patriotic Purposes Emergency Regulations 1939, the Southland Provincial Patriotic Council will hold its first meeting in the Council Chambers on October 26. The council consists of the full personnel of the Southland Provincial Centennial Council with the Mayor (Mr J. R. Hanan) as chairman.

Transport Licences Advice that applications for licences must be lodged forthwith by all operators of transport services recently brought under the Transport Licensing Act has been received from the Transport Department by Mr H. J. Knight, secretary of the New Zealand Carriers’ Federation and of the Taxi Proprietors’ Federation. Town carriers, taxi proprietors and a section of ancillary users were now required to hold transport licences and the fact that they might hold local body licences did not except them from the necessity, said Mr Knight yesterday. Those concerned should realize that the lodging of applications was a matter of urgency.— Press Association.

Aeroplanes Commandeered The Tiger Moth aeroplane and two Gipsy Moths owned by the Waikato Aero Club have been commandeered by the Government. The Gipsy Moths will be stationed at New Plymouth and the Tiger Moth at Dunedin. The club instructor, Flight-Lieutenant F. L. Truman, will be stationed at the Blenheim Training School.—Press Association.

Dutch Liner Arrives

With the words “Maetsuycker, Holland” printed in huge letters on her sides and the Tricolour of the Netherlands painted on her bows, the Dutch liner, Maetsuycker, arrived at Auckland yesterday morning from the Dutch East Indies with 48 cabin passengers and 500 tons of cargo.—Press Association.

Best Cabbages on Top The practice of placing the best fruit on the top of the bag and the poorer underneath is not altogether unknown to the public, but a case which came before the Dunedin Police Court yesterday morning was said to have been the first of its kind in which vegetables had been “topped” in that manner (says The Evening Star). The case was one in which a Chinese was charged with a breach of the Orchard and Gardens Diseases Act, in that he forwarded for sale 20 sacks of cabbages which, when opened in a normal manner and exposed to view, did not fairly represent the whole contents of the container. For the prosecution it was said that the defendant had forwarded to the market 20 sacks of cabbages and had placed the best on top, those underneath being very poor, with practically no hearts. The defendant was fined £2/10/-.