People and Their Doings.

Star (Christchurch), Volume XLIV, Issue 661, 14 January 1933, Page 8

People and Their Doings.

A Police Inspector Whose Hobby is Carpentry : Approval of the British Soldier s New Uniform : Refuge from Yesterday’s Heat Wave : Mr O. C. Cox Retires.

LIKE MOST MEN whose work entails responsibility, Inspector Cameron, of the Poliice Force, finds rest and enjoyment in a hobby. Of course, his first hobby is

being a good policeman, but when he feels a little jaded after a heavy day, it is his pleasure to have an hour or so with a hammer, a saw, a stick of timber, a handful of nails, and a chisel. He is a handy man. Among the evidences of the Inspector’s skill with tools, he has in his office a neatly and rather ornately framed mirror which he made to adorn the chest of drawers in his corner of the Wellington police barracks quite a number of years ago. There is also a standard for measuring height which is very neatly made and incorporates a number of novel features. The rigidity of the sliding indicator is secured by a cunning spring made from quite primitive materials.

sg 9 9 "yESTERDAY being the hottest day of

the summer, almost all classes of the community were united in one sweltering bond of sympathy, the exception being the small boy, who has a way of his own of dealing with the heat question. All the way up from the Armagh Street bridge the Avon was thickly populated with boys who gambolled about in the water with evident enjoyment. Possibly the most comfortable person in the city was a boy who was sitting in a foot of water near the bank on the shady side of the Holmwood Road bridge. A bag of sweets was within easy reach on a convenient ledge in the bank, and he had a pink paper in his hand, which, judging by his preoccupation, had something more thrilling in it than his school grammar.

9 9 9 QAPTAIN J. S. G. FRASER, who returned to England last year after three years’ service on the Navy Board in New Zealand, has been appointed to succeed Captain E. G. Robinson, V.C., as King’s Harbour Master at Devonport. During the war Captain Fraser was on the Dover Patrol staff, and Admiral Sir Reginald Bacon in his book bears testimony to the valuable work of surveying and buoying he carried out in the very dangerous waters off the Belgian coast.

JJOWLERS GENERALLY are appreciative of the surprise victory of W. Parkhouse in the singles championship at the New Zealand bowling tournament. He was not regarded as among the best half-dozen bowlers in the Dominion, and after a long succession of the same names figuring in the final of each tournament, the victory of a man who is not regarded as a champion skip is welcome and in the best interests of the game. In the semi-finals Parkhouse defeated Edwards, of Temuka, a fine bowler, who has been in close pursuit of championship honours for several seasons, but has always been defeated in the final stages after giving the winner a close game. Maxwell Walker’s famous Auckland rink, which won the rinks championship last year, started well by winning its first two games quite comfortably.

9 9 9 THE NEW TUNIC designed for the British Tommy has met with loud approval among the men, so English newspapers assert, and this approval is shared by the officers. An officer who has seen service in India and Mesopotamia said this morning that the innovation should have been brought in long ago, especially with regiments serving in the East.. He remembered an occasion when marching with men in Egypt. They had nearly stifled in the heat through the clutching of the heavy tunics round their necks. One man, in desperation, tore the buttons loose and marched with his collar undone. His example was quickly followed by many others and some of the men reversed their helmets to keep the sun off their faces. A general of the rigid Imperial school was passing in his car. He stopped, expressed strong disapproval, and ordered the men to dress themselves like British soldiers. “It will be a good thing,” said the officer, “ when a man can dress like a British soldier and still be comfortable.”

9 9 9 TNTERVENING wars and famous battles **■ of later days have dimmed the memories of New Zealanders in regard to the battles of the Maori War. To-day, however, is the sixty-seventh anniversary of the capture of Otapawa Pa, South Taranaki. The pa was stoutly defended by more than 200 Hauhaus, but the British force under MajorGeneral Chute, assisted by some friendly natives, dislodged the foe with the loss of eleven killed and twenty wounded. A survivor of this engagement is a resident of Wellington, Sergeant-Major E. Bezar, who will be shortly entering his ninety-fifth year.

AFTER SIXTEEN YEARS as manager of the D.1.C., Mr O. C. Cox will retire a month from to-day. His associates in commerce will be pleased to hear that he is not retiring altogether from business, although he has not decided on what form his future interests will

take. Mr Cox is a Tasmanian by birth and education. He started business in the Island but was not long in finding a position with the big drapery firm of Farmer’s in Sydney. After coming to New Zealand, Mr Cox held two positions in the North Island, being three years manager of

Adair Brothers, Gisborne, and also head of the Manchester Department in Kirkcaldie and Staines, Wellington. He was appointed manager of the D.1.C., Christchurch, on March 1, 1917. Mr Cox is a popular member of several business men’s organisations and is also well known on the bowling green and golf links.

9 W gIXTY YEARS AGO (from the “Star” of January 14, 1873). Accident at Irwell. —A valuable draught horse belonging to Mr Miller, whilst grazing near his house, backed into the well, which is of the ordinary dimensions, and fell so far down that only his head was visible above the ground. An alarm was raised, and several neighbours collecting on the spot, a block and tackle was fixed to a tripod over the well, a rope put round the neck of the horse—the only place that could be got at—and such hearty goodwill was thrown into the pulling at the hoist rope, that it was evident the horse must come up or lose his head. Happily flesh, bone and sinews stood the test, and after some hard work, the horse was hoisted on to terra firma again. Agriculture in Tasmania. —They are a primitive and old-fashioned people in the rural districts of Tasmania. We noticed a report of a ploughing match the other day. There was a considerable excitement, as might be naturally expected, over so stirring an event. One man won, of course, but the splendour of his victory is slightly dimmed by the local journal, which records that the other competitors had only wooden ploughs. The conqueror boasted the only iron implement of that kind in the district.