CHRISTCHURCH NEWS

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXVIII, Issue 19985, 18 December 1934, Page 7

CHRISTCHURCH NEWS

ITEMS FROM THE CITY

CHRISTCHURCH, December 17.

Personal: The Minister of Education (the Hon. S. G. Smith) will pay an official visit to Christchurch to-morrow. He will receive a number of deputations during the day. and in the evening will give an address at the Christchurch Technical College prize-giving ceremony at St. James’ Theatre. Portrait for Museum: The Governor-General. Lord Bledisloe. has presented his portrait to the Canterbury museum, thus completing the museum’s collection of Governors and Governors-General of New Zealand. Cigarettes and Bush Fires: The extensive damage frequently done to roadside afforestation areas through careless motorists throwing cigarette-ends into them was discussed at the meeting of the Selwyn Plantation Board to-day. Mr A. Anderson said that six or seven fires at least had been caused in the board’s plantations in the past through this form of carelessness. It was decided to ask the Canterbury Automobile Association to warn its members against this danger, if possible before the holiday period began. Heavy Passenger Traffic: Prospects are for heavy railway passenger traffic during the holiday period. Well-filled express trains are starting to move tourists and holiday makers, and bookings for the next week or so are numerous. “It looks as if there will be much more travelling these holidays than for the last three or four years,” remarked a railway official to-day. “People are seeking accommodation earlier than usual, and the bookings so far are very heavy.” Six Earthquakes Recorded: Six earthquakes, so small that they were really only tremors, were recorded at the Christchurch Magnetic Observatory on Saturday and Sunday morning. They were all of a local nature. Their origins have not yet been estimated. New Trolly-Bus Service: The new trolly-bus service to Richmond was successfully inaugurated today. The new overhead gear on the buses has caused the engineering branch of the Christchurch Tramways some anxiety, but it was reported by the general manager (Mr Prank Thompson) to-day that everything went off without a hitch. “Hopelessly Inadequate”: Regret at the continued necessity for the work of more than 600 students to be carried out in a building hopelessly inadequate as regards space, wholly unsuitable for the purpose for which it was used, and distressingly unattractive—even depressing, in its exterior appearance, was expressed by Mr C. T. Aschman, chairman of the Canterbury University College Council, when presenting the awards of the School of Art.

Mr Aschman congratulated the students on a most successful year. He said that it would be laughable if it were not so pathetic that artistic talents were expected to be developed, and the ideals of art to be cherished in a building which opposed art and artistic principles at every turn. Whatever success had been achieved in these aims had come in spite of the building. Originally built for a girls’ high school, it probably would not be allowed for that purpose as it stood at present, but it was considered good enough for a school of art, an institution with a far more complex curriculum than that of any academic secondary school. In explaining why the building could not be replaced, Mr Aschman said that it was all a question of money. He said that a section had been purchased at the corner of Gloucester and Montreal Street, and that some time in the future the person who presided at a similar gathering to the present, would be able to announce the welcome news that a new school of art was to be erected in Christchurch. Charge of Assault: William Robertson, a fireman on the Canadian Victor, was charged in the Lyttelton Magistrate’s Court this morning. before Messrs W. T. Lester, J.P., and W. G. Gower, J.P., with assaulting Leslie Rhind. Sergeant D. Wilson stated that accused had been bailed out on Saturday afternoon for the sum of £5 to enable the ship to sail for New York. Outlining the circumstances of the assault, the sergeant said that Robertson and a companion, about 4.5 p.m. on Saturday, went into the office of H. A. Rhind and Co. There was no one in the office, and seeing the men inside Rhind requested them to leave, where-upon Robertson struck Rhind on the nose, fracturing it. Robertson was fined the amount of his bail, half of the fine to go to Rhind. Visitors to Resorts: Though the early morning was not promising, clearing skies persuaded large crowds of bathers and picnickers to visit the beaches yesterday. Beside New Brighton and Sumner, the bays of Lyttelton Harbour, Port Levy, the pools by the groynes in the Waimakariri River, and Kairaki, Waikuku and Leithfield beaches also had their complecent of visitors. At the exposed beaches the easterly wind brought up a good surf, and the bathing was exhilarating. The water was warm and the tide favourable, coming to the full shortly after noon. Nor did the wind, though fresh, spoil the sun-bathing, the sky being clear and the sun hot—the maximum temperature was 67.3 degrees—until late in the afternoon. Tributes to Pioneers: Tributes to the courage, energy and foresight of the pioneers of the province were paid by speakers at Lyttelton yesterday afternoon, when a large stone, bearing an appropriate inscription, was unveiled in the railway yards to mark the spot near where the passengers by the First Four Ships landed on December 16, 1850. Anniversary Day was chosen for the ceremony which was arranged by the Canterbury Pilgrims and Early Settlers’ Association. Many people travelled from Christchurch and there were over 600 present at the ceremony, including representatives of numerous local bodies. The president of the Pilgrim’s Association 'Mr E. R. Webb) was in charge of the proceedings and the stone was unveiled by Sir R. Heaton Rhodes, M.L.C. Others on the platform were Bishop West-Watson, Mr W. T. Lester (Mayor of Lyttelton), Mr D. G. Sullivan, M.P. iMayor of Christchurch), and Mrs Sullivan, Mr L. S. Neville (Town Clerk) and Mrs Neville and Miss V. Hynes. There were also present three of the ten survivors of those who arrived by the First Four Ships, the Rev. F. G. Brittan (Sir George Seymour), Mrs E. D. Howell (Randolph) and Mr Richard Evans (Cressy), Mr Robert Gilbert, who was born on the peninsula before the arrival of the four ships, also attended. The stone is situated on » small

' P iece °f land in the railway yards to ’ the east of the post office and not far i from the entrance to the yards from 1 the town. The inscription on a brass plate attached to the stone reads as follows: “The first settlers of the Canterbury Association, known as the : Canterbury Pilgrims, landed near this • spot, 16th December, 1850.” Drought at Darfield: The effect of the dry spell on afforestation work was commented on at this morning’s meeting of the Selwyn Plantations Board in the report of the superintendent, Mr R. G. Robinson j “During the past thirteen weeks ” said the report, “only 2.47in. of rain have fallen in the Darfield district, and this intense dryness is making the propagation of trees a somewhat difficult matter. No provision is made for applying water to lined out seedlings, nor has this treatment been necessary in previous years. The removal of weeds while the ground is in such an arid state makes the desired cleaning between lines somewhat risky. “It is gratifying to report, however, that so far comparatively few of the young plants are dying off. The seedlings in beds are kept cool by occasional watering, which must be done sparingly to prevent the drawing up of plants. Established plantations are holding out well, but if rain does not fall within a few days the less hardy trees will probably fail.” “Are you sure your rain gauge is all right?" asked Mr Godfrey Hall. “I thought there had been about 6in.” “The figure I mentioned was all for nearly fourteen weeks,” insisted Mr Robinson. The superintendent added that the season was the dryest he could remember. Not only was the soil dry eighteen inches below the surface, but it was actually warm at that depth. At this time the sap was rising in the young plants, and they could not stand drought in the same way as in, say, February and March. Some watering was bem* done, but much watering was a thing to be avoided. The absence of nor’-westers was » hei"