People and Their Doings.

Star (Christchurch), Volume XLIV, Issue 493, 30 June 1932, Page 10

People and Their Doings.

Was the Sea Monster a Giant Squid? A Captain s Theory : More Stories about Brigadier-General Braithwaite : Canon Bean was Ordained by Bishop Harper.

'JMIE SKIPPER of the Auckland trawler who witnessed an unknown monster appear from the ocean off the North Cape probably saw a giant squid, one of those seldom-seen members of the cephalod tribe which live in the depths and which form part of the food of the sperm whale, writes J.C. The squid is very different from the familiar octopus, and it is believed to attain an enormous size. This is the theory, founded on experience, of a veteran master mariner, Captain C. F. Post, of Wellington, who for many years commanded the Government steamer Tutanekai. Captain Post, on reading the telegram recording the spectacle seen by the trawler, recalled a similar incident in the Bay of Plenty many years ago, when he was out searching for a missing ?cow. He was looking oqt northward when he saw a great creature that was not a whale or any other sea denizen known to him rise suddenly from the water and wave violently to and fro, and some distance from it there appeared what seemed to be its rounded back. The first impression he' gained was that the object protruding from the water was the head of the monster. ® W ® TT REMAINED A MYSTERY to Captain Post until a few years later Mr Frank Bullen, the author of “ The Cru‘~2 of the Cachalot ” and other books dealing with sea life and whaling, visited New Zealand on a lecturing tour. Yarning with Mr Bullen, the captain mentioned the strange monster of the deep he had seen in the Bay of Plenty, and asked him if he had ever witnessed such a thing in his years of sailoring. “ Why,” said Mr Bullen, “•don’t you know what that was? I saw exactly the same thing once, in the Indian Ocean. We were on a voyage from Madras, and one day we saw a great object such as you describe thrust suddenly up out of the water and jerk about as if trying to grab something. Then we saw near it the back of a sperm whale. What we were watching was one of the huge round arms, or feelers, of the giant squid, thrashing about while the portion of the creature under the water was in the jaws of the whale. The giant squid has only two large tentacles, unlike the other cephalods. It grows to a very great

size, and it is of all colours. I have seen great bitten-off piece? of it inside whales and they were yellow, mottled, blue, all manner of colours.” 9 9 9 J APPRECIATED very keenly your references in last night’s “ Star ” to BrigadierGeneral Braithwaite, as I am sure did many other returned soldiers, writes “ Bardolph.” I can supplement your remarks about the General visiting New Zealand as the guest of the country. Major Frank Turnbull (Wellington Regiment), discussing the matter with Mr Coates, said, “ I’ve got a better scheme. Get him out here as Gov-ernor-General and wherever he lands put me in charge of the Guard of Honour. I know the points he’ll look for and I’ll have everything wrong. I’ll do everything wrong for the very joy of getting another ‘ strafe ’ from Bill.” There is a story told which shows that at least once Brigadier-General Braithwaite was defied. It happened on a troopship leaving New Zealand. Accompanying the General was his small son, aged about six, and at Colombo for some disobedience the boy was. confined to his cabin. The General was on deck above leaning over the side talking to some officers when he observed a Sam Browne belt thrown out to sea. “ Some fellow throwing his kit overboard,” he remarked. The belt was followed by various other articles and finally a peaked cap, swathed in the unmistakable red and gold of the Staff appeared. “My hat! ” roared the General, and rushed down to his cabin only to find that the youth had locked himself in and was taking vengeance as described. The General pleaded with him to open the door but the youngster firmly declined. “I’ll have no kit left.” stormed the General and but for the timely arrival of the ship’s carpenter he certainly would have had very little.

TT WAS when one was apparently safe that one got the “ strafe, as this little talk of his to some officers at Sling Camp proves. To the first officer he said, “ Are you a Company CoVnmander ? “ Yes, sir.” “ Do you know all the duties of a Company Commander?” “ I wouldn’t like to say that I knew them all, sir.” “ What do you mean, sir? When I was a Company Commander five-and-thirty years ago I knew every single duty of the command and you ought to know the same. Learn them, sir! Learn them!” And then to the next officer who thought he was “ wise ” the General said, “ Are you a Company Commander?” “ Yes, sir.” “Do you know all your duties?” “ Yes, sir.” “ Don’t stand there and tell me that, man; there’s no man breathing knows all the duties of a Company Commander.” He was perhaps the best-known figure in the Expeditionary Force, and if he visited New Zealand his welcome by all returned soldiers would be a wonderful 3? £JANON W. S. BEAN, who has just celebrated the fortieth anniversary of his arrival in the parish of Addington, has established a record in the Canterbury Diocese. The vicarage at Addington to-day, is, by the way, the same building to which he took his wife in 1892. Canon Bean was ordained at St Michael’s by Bishop Harper on September 25. 1881, and Bishop Harper also conducted the ordination service when he was made a priest at Christchurch Cathedral in 1883. For two years he was a curate under Dean Harper, and was then appointed vicar at Sheffield, Springfield and Hororata. where he remained until 1888. He moved next to Kumara, and was vicar of that district and of Waimea and Stratford until 1892. While at Kumara he married the eldest daughter of Mr R. J. Seddon, who was then Prime Minister. Canon Bean is to retire at the end of this