Local and General News

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLVI, Issue 21244, 14 January 1939, Page 6

Local and General News

Punctuation Amended A paragraph published recently drew attention to the fact that two signs recently erected in George Street indicating the direction of the Timaru Ladies’ Rest Room had been printed by the signwriter “Ladle’s Rest.” Doubt in regard to the correct use of the apostrophe has evidently been overcome, as the signs now bear the correct punctuation. Win for the Navy A loud explosion from the region of the Timaru harbour aroused thoughts of a broadside from H.M.S. Leith late yesterday afternoon, but in reality it was a shot marking' the finish of a whale boat race between two crews from the ship and the Timaru Sea Scouts. Tire extra strength and stamina of the ship’s crew told, and they both came in ahead of the Sea Scouts. A Big Churn A new churn capable of making 100 boxes or 2i tons of butter at a churning, has been installed at the Morrinsville factory of the New Zealand Co-oper-ative Dairy Company. Previously the largest churn in the factory was one of 65-box capacity. The new is of similar make to the 100-box churns recently installed in other- factories owned by the company. Sea-Fishing Industry A scheme for the formulation of a plan under the inaustrial Efficiency Act by which the distributive side of the sea-fishing industry can be more economically organised will shortly come before the Minister of Industries and Commerce, the Hon. D. G. Sullivan, according to a statement. This was a result, he said, of the presentation of the report of the Sea Fisheries Investigation Committee last March. A Good Fish Story When a member of the Union Boat Club dived into the Wanganui River last week and emerged with a small herring in his bathing suit he provided material for a good fish story. Had he been on his own he would have difficulty in convincing people of the veracity of his story, but several other club members witnessed the happening and were equally as amazed as the swimmer. Cable Out of Order The submarine cable to Stewart Island is at present out of order, the interruption in the telephonic communication occurring this week. A specialist will arrive in Invercargill from Wellington in a few days to repair the damage, but it is not known when the work will be completed. This depends on the weather and the nature of the fault. Wireless communication with Stewart Island is being maintained. Whistling Frogs Arrive Some months ago a visitor to Napier from Greymouth made the suggestion that Napier should number among its novelties a batch of whistling frogs from the southern district. The suggestion was at the time more or less good naturedly agreed to, but although the incident was long' ago forgotten the batch of frogs, in the tadpole stage, has now arrived. The frogs, when fully grown, are little over an inch in length and coloured brown. Bottle’s Long Drift A bottle’s remarkably long drift across the southern Pacific is revealed in information recently received by the Oceanic Steamship Company. The bottle was thrown overboard" from the Matson liner Monterey on April 12, 1937, when the vessel was between Pago Pago and Suva. On September 9 last year it was picked up at the mouth of the Johnstone River, Queensland, 2180 miles away. In the 17 months’ immersion, the bottle had drifted an average of four and a-quarter miles a day. Record Camping Figures A record number of campers had been "in residence” at the motor camp at the Timaru A. and P. Showgrounds during the holidays. Up till yesterday, reported the secretary (Mr H. H. Fraser) to a meeting of the A. and P. Committee, 610 parties had used the camping facilities. Mr Fraser mentioned that he had visited the grounds on several occasions during the peak of the holiday period, and everything appeared to be satisfactory. A number of visitors had complimented the Association on the provision of swings and a sand pit for the smaller' children, remarking that these facilities were much appreciated. Nursery man’s Warning The attention of the Taranaki County Council to a small patch, probably 100 plants, of heath (erica pyramidalis gracilis) growing on the roadside on the Main South Road at Tapuae was drawn by a firm of New Plymouth nurserymen, in a letter to the Council. This heath, stated the letter, was the same variety of heath that was covering thousands of acres in the Waikato district. If not eradicated it would spread rapidly by the very fine seed and the cost to farmers to exterminate it would run into a very large figure. As the seedlings were very minute it was suggested that the surface of the soil be taken ofl and buried deeply. Maori War Anniversary The 93rd anniversary of a dramatic incident in the early Maori wars, the fall of Raupekapeka Pa, in the Bay of Islands, fell this week. Tire capture of the stronghold led to the collapse of Hone Heke’s rebellion. After suffering a number of reverses, a British force, aided by friendly Maoris, attacked Raupekapeka Pa. Being Christians the defenders were astonished when the bombardment continued on a Sunday. To hold divine service, they withdrew to an outwork to be out of reach of the artillery, and while they were there the attackers entered and the defenders were forced to fall back. Autograph Hunting The autograph hunter at international cricket matches will be the subject of correspondence between Australia and England. In his report to the Board of Control recently on the Australian team’s tour of England, the manager, Mr W. H. Jeans, estimated that each player had to give 7090 autographs. He suggested that the time had arrived when official cognisance should be taken of the time and labour involved in this. The board decided to discuss the question by correspondence with the Marylebone Club, London, with a view to finding a solution. It is desired to draw the line between the genuine autograph hunter and the enthusiast of the moment, who chases players for signatures on scraps of paper. It is also recognised that cricketers’ autographs have frequently been the medium of raising money for charity. Lockers at Freezing Works In order to comply with the decision of the former Minister of Labour, the Hon. H. T. Armstrong, that larger lockers should be provided at freezing works, the Westfield Freezing Company, Limited, which was the subject of the original dispute regarding the size of lockers, is making preparations for the remodelling of its dressing rooms at Westfield. The tribunal decided that lockers should be sft high, 16in. wide and 14in. deep in the Auckland district. Just before-the dispute, the company had installed large numbers of lockers of smaller size and, to comply with the tribunal’s decision, it will be necessary to make extensions to the dressing rooms, Llie provision of about 1000 lockers being involved.