Local and General News

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLIX, Issue 21958, 9 May 1941, Page 4

Local and General News

Rumanian Interests A notification that Rumanian interests in New Zealand have been assumed by the Consul-General for Sweden in Sydney is published in the Gazette. An Aberdonian Sign There was another thing in New Zealand besides the hills and lakes that reminded him strongly of Scotland, said Captain Morrice, one of the members of the medical staff of a British hospital ship who were guests of the New Plymouth Rotary Club. “As an Aberdonian,” he said, “I have been very struck by the number of threepenny bits in circulation.” Large Sum Stolen A sum of £lO7, mostly In notes, was removed from the office of the Metropolitan Hotel, Taupo Quay, Wanganui, some time between 2 a.m. and 7.30 a.m. on Sunday. Apparently entry was gained to the office through a window which was unlatched and, although there was a quantity of gelignite about the safe in the office from which the money was taken, there had been no explosion. Reduced Lighting Advice that no permits are to be given for lighting for any “special events” has been issued to all Local Lighting Controllers by the Dominion Controller. For this reason an application for lights at Caroline Bay for basketball practice has been declined, and presumably a ban will be placed on the use of illuminated notice boards for municipal or national elections. Charitable Bequests A number of legacies to those institutions in which he had been Interested for many years were left by the late Sir Charles Manley Luke, Wellington. They are as follows: Wellington Public Hospital, £200; National Committee of the Y.M.C.A., £100; Trinity Methodist Sunday School (Wellington South), £100; Methodist Foreign Missions, £100; Wellington branch Y.M.C.A., £5O. Shallow Sea "Originally, the Chatham Islands were a part of New Zealand, but through some great volcanic disturbance became separated from the mainland,” said Mr A. L. Willis, in the course of an address to the Napier Rotary Club. “The sea is very shallow, and, normally, Is very rough Indeed,” he said. “There is a large lake inside the island called the Ponga Lagoon, which is also very shallow, being about 15 feet deep in its deepest part.” S.P.C.A. At a meeting of the committee of the S.P.C.A., the inspector reported on a number of cases dealt with by him which Included the destruction of five horses and 12 dogs; also cases of horses and sheep being found starving on bare paddocks. Mention was made of the number of cats found caught in rabbit traps in the Borough and being left for a considerable time in the trap. Members were unanimous in condemning this practice. For Mercantile Marine "I think we should give more recognition to the Mercantile Marine,” said Captain A V. Hale-Munro in suggesting at a meeting of the Wellington branch of the Navy League that Navy League evenings should be held regularly for members of the Mercantile Marine. On both the eastern and western coasts of America, in Canada and Nova Scotia, clubs were being formed for the Mercantile Marine, he said, and, without in any way disparaging the work of the three sailors’ societies In Wellington, he thought the Navy League could do more than it was doing. Discussion was postponed till the next meeting. Death at Sea Cabled advice of the loss at sea of her only son, Mr Albert William McLaren, has been received by Mrs I. McLaren, of Auckland, The son of Mrs and the late Mr William McLaren, he was born at Kaitangata in 1892. He was educated at Dunedin, and on leaving school was employed by an engineering firm. Mr McLaren joined the merchant marine as an engineer. He served at sea throughout the last war and one of the ships he was in was torpedoed in the Irish Sea. Since the outbreak of the present war Mr McLaren had been engaged as chief engineer on cargo vessels trading from England. He is survived by his wife. Britain’s Food Position Breakfasts each comprising a plate of porridge with milk and syrup, two rashers of bacon with a fried egg, brown bread and butter, marmalade and half a pint of hot milk, were still the regular thing in England last February, and probably still are. Writing to a friend in Auckland, a Londoner states that his family is little inconvenienced by food rationing and price control, the worst shortage being sugar. Oranges apples, bananas and nuts were unobtainable, while chocolate and sweet-stuffs were becoming scarce owing to the sugar shortage. Cheese was difficult to get as it was reserved chiefly for manual labourers. Supplies of meat, bacon and eggs were then ample, on which a trust in his staff had been misplaced. Boys’ Costly Game Seven boys who played for an hour round a Royal Air Force aeroplane which had made a forced landing in a wood in North Cumberland accidentally set the machine alight. A charge of “boarding an aeroplane used by his Majesty’s Forces” was brought at a Juvenile Court at Carlisle against the boys, whose ages ranged from 10 to 16 years. The boys had told the story of their misadventure, which occurred during a Sunday afternoon walk, in statements to the police. One of them, aged 12, said; “I struck a match on the side of the aeroplane and dropped the match on the ground. Petrol was dripping from the tank on to the ground. I wanted to see if the petrol on the ground would flare up.” The parents were ordered to pay 4/- each toward the costs of the prosecution. Wins Cairo Title Lieutenant P. F. Sharpley, Hawke’s Bay and New Zealand sprint and low hurdles champion, has been hitting the high spots in Egypt. At the Cairo track and field championships on March 29 and 30, he won the 110 metres hurdles in 16.6 secs. The performance, made incidentally on a cinder track, was poor compared with the best Sharpley has produced in this country, but he had had only a week’s preparation. In any event, it would be extremely difficult for any man on active service in Egypt to find that fine touch necessary to turn in a fast time. Another New Zealander, C. R. Bradwell, of Christchurch, several times runner-up to Sharpley in the New Zealand 120 yards hurdles event, was third. Sharpley competed also in the 100 metres. He was unplaced in the final after running second in his heat to the ultimate winner, Valsamidis. Sharpley was the New Zealand 100 yards champion in 1939.