NEWS OF THE DAY

Taranaki Daily News, 12 September 1934, Page 6

NEWS OF THE DAY

The New Plymouth railway station presented an unusually active scene yesterday when a special train from Auckland, with 120 members of J. C, Williamson’s Company, arrived. Taxis were at a premium.

A unique record was reported at the annual meeting of the New Plymouth Old Boys’ Cricket Club last night, when it was announced that every subscription had been collected.

A trophy for the batsman to gain the highest aggregate during the season has been donated to the New Plymouth Old Boys’ Cricket Club by Mr. J. S. S. Medley. The competition is open to batsmen of all grades. Work at the port of New Plymouth was unhampered yesterday by the fierce gale that prevailed. The wind barriers on the Newton King wharf provided adequate shelter from the stormy blasts of the southerly gale and the loading of the Port Gisborne was completed. People in the vicinity of the New Plymouth railway station yesterday were greatly amused, and some shocked, at the sight of a young lady calmly strolling along in a pair of shorts. Taranaki’s chilly southerly wind apparently did not deter her desire for freedom. A daily average of 150 motor vehicles and 12 horse-drawn vehicles was tallied at one point on the Main South Road, Opunake, and 120 motors and 15 horse vehicles at another point on Eltham Road in the Egmont County during the recent traffic census. At Rahotu the daily average was 350 motor vehicles and 40 horse vehicles.

Stormy weather prevented the Hauturu from crossing the Manukau bar yesterday, although the John, which left Onehunga at 8 a.m. crossed soon after noon. The Totara, which was delayed at Wellington by the crew’s refusing to put to sea as they wished to attend a stop-work meeting of the Seamen’s and Firemen’s Union, sailed at 3.30 p.m. for New Plymouth.

The wide gap between the customs of to-day and those of 50 years ago is emphasised by a clipping from a copy of the Wairarapa Standard, published in June, 1884. Mr. H. Udy, who had been a member of the New Zealand Rugby team which visited Australia in that year, had returned to Greytown, where a gathering to welcome him at the Working Men’s Club drank his health in “bumpers of champagne.” The late Mr. Udy was the father of Messrs H. and L. Udy, Wanganui.

An offer to provide a four-faced clock for erection at Christchurch has been made to the chairman of the Reserves Committee of the Christchurch City Council by a Christchurch citizen, who wishes to remain anonymous. The donor is prepared to spend a sum of £lOOO on the clock, and has suggested that it be placed near the Colombo Street Bridge, by the Avon. It is suggested that the clock should be mounted in a stone tower for the use of citizens.

Excellent wickets might sometimes be looked on as a mixed blessing in cricket, said Mr. A. T. Donnelly at the Canterbury Greenkeepers’ Association smoke concert on Saturday. He referred to a famous cartoon done by Tom Webster, at the close of the 1930 series of tests in England. Webster had attributed England’s downfall not to Australia’s Bradman or Grimmett, but to the “sunburnt English groundsmen who had made the wickets so good that the Australians thought they were at home.” The fund which has been raised to provide for the erection of a memorial to the late Mr. H. E. Holland, M.P., former leader of the Parliamentary Labour Party, was closed at the end of August, but contributions are still being received. It was hoped to raise £6OO for the memorial, which will be erected over Mr. Holland’s grave at Wellington, but up to the present this sum has been exceeded by nearly £22. Contributions were received from all over New Zealand and from Australia.

“The first tooth I had extracted was taken out by the village blacksmith at Patea,” said Mr. H. G. Dickie, M.P. for Patea, in the course of a speech at the opening of the travelling dental clinic at St. John’s Hill, Wanganui, on Saturday. Mr. Dickie went on to relate that the blacksmith had a slight knowledge of veterinary science, which might have accounted for his first extracting a sound tooth, so that his patient lost two teeth. Mr. A. Stewart, M.P. for Rangitikei, said that when the assistant had failed to extract his first offending tooth the chemist had to finish the job. A party of Christchurch men returned from an investigation of the creeks in the Arthur Pass region reports that chamois appear to be plentiful. Practically every creek explored held some at the top. Not many deer were seen, but the party was higher than the usual haunts of deer. Several chamois were shot, and some good heads have been brought back to Christchurch. The best is about. 10in., not far off the New Zealand record, which is between Ilin, and 12in. Manufacturers and sellers of tobacco would have been pleased had they seen the embankment at Lancaster Park on Saturday afternoon during the interprovincial Rugby match, says a Christchurch paper. Innumerable whiffs of smoke rose steadily from the closely packed ranks of spectators, and mingled to form a distinct blue haze which drifted away before the light easterly breeze. At a conservative estimate 'there were 5000 smokers on the embankment. Assuming that 4000 of them smoked five cigarettes each, 20,000 cigarettes were consumed. The remaining 1000 would probably account for 3000 pipefuls of tobacco. This represents a considerable sum of money, bringing profit to tobacco firms and revenue for the Government. “There is no doubt that Australians have gained the market simply because they have not sold their butter under the label of ‘Empire Produce’ but have kept to the word ‘Australian,’ ” said Miss Doris Symes at a Wanganui Rotary Club luncheon. The words “New Zealand” very rarely appeared, she added. The. last two years had been admittedly hard as regards trade, but despite that Australia had definitely claimed a large interest in the British butter market. Two years ago one would not have seen or heard of Australian butter; to-day it was not only seen, but people could be heard asking for it. Practically the only produce that was advertised as coming from New Zealand was Canterbury lamb, Imperial honey and Anchor butter. With these exceptions most of the Dominion’s produce was known as “Empire produce,” and sold as such. In an address to the Wanganui Rotary Club Miss Doris Symes, who returned recently from Britain after finishing her vocal studies, said that at Home there was very little differentiation between the Dominion and Australia. People in Britain really thought they were doing the Dominion a good turn by buying Australian produce. Miss Symes told how easily the British purchaser was misled as to what produce was being bought. She had gone into a store and asked for New Zealand butter. She was supplied from a large block of butter on the counter. As she moved away a person behind her asked for Australian butter, and was given a cut off the same block. He appeared quite satisfied, but Miss Symes went back and asked if there was any South African and Canadian butter in the block, whereupon the man replied that he really believed it was all New Zealand, but it was regarded as an Empire product.