People and Their Doings.

Star (Christchurch), Volume LXVI, Issue 20484, 10 December 1934, Page 6

People and Their Doings .

By Maori Custom the Duke can only be Welcomed in Traditional Style in the Daytime : Queen of Holland Honours the Mayor of Albury : Dr Park off the Beaten Track.

yj RS KITTY O’SULLIVAN, the “modern grandmother,” has returned to Auckland after riding a bicycle from Spirits Bay’ to the Bluff, the total distance covered being 1500 miles. She crossed Cook Strait by’ steamer from Wellington to Picton. She said that her experiences included head winds and heavily-metalled roads, quite unsuitable for cycling, and much kindness along the route. She rode from Christchurch to Timaru, a distance of 112 miles, in eight hours, this being the fastest travelling on her trip. Drivers of trucks frequently’ offered to give her a lift, but the offers had to be refused. The entire, journey’ was made without a puncture in the riding time of eight days eleven hours. sS? sS? sS? JV’O DOUBT few European people are aware that it is contrary to Maori custom to receive distinguished visitors in traditional native styde except in the davtime. For that reason there will be no formal reception to the Duke of Gloucester at Te Poho-o-Rawiri, states the “ Poverty’ Bay Herald.” It was suggested that a welcome should be given to the Duke at the meeting house, and that he should be asked to lay’ the foundation stone of the church, but the elders of the Maori people consider that it would not be fitting for so distinguished a personage as the Duke to be received at Te Poho-o-Rawiri in anything but the customary native manner. Since such a welcome may not be given at night, according to Maori custom, if the Duke visits the meeting house, there will be no formality about his arrival. The Maori people there will be glad of the privilege of receiving the Duke at To Poho-o-Rawiri as a visitor. The request that he should be asked to lay the foundation stone has been forwarded to the authorities of the Department of Internal Affairs, though it is impossible, until the Duke arrives in New Zealand, for any such arrangement to be made.

T.N RECOGNITION of the services of the Mayor of Alburv (Alderman A. Waugh) and the citizens of the town to the Dutch air race fivers, whose machine became bogged on the Albury racecourse, the Queen of Holland has created Alderman Waugh an Officer of the Order of Orange Nassau. This places the Alderman among the notabilities of Holland, for his rank is a degree above that of Chevalier, which is a knighthood. Parmentier and Moll for their efforts in the air race were created Chevaliers. The Australian Consul-General for Holland (Mr Staal) will visit Albury to pin the order on the Mayor’s breast. Alderman Waugh will visit Holland next year, when he will be received by Queen ilhelmina. Alderman Waugh has been Mayor of Albury so long that he is now known as the “ permanent Mayor.” lie is a great lover of racing, and although Albury, the border-town of New South Wales, is 150 miles from Melbourne, he is a constant visitor to Melbourne’s Saturday race meetings. Owing to an injury, the Alderman always uses crutches. ® JJIRDS have shown almost fatal ingenuity in selecting the unlikeliest spots on the Waitaki hydro electrical system in which to build their nests. They have built them under the hoods of lightning arresters, and twined their straws round the contacts of isolating switches in a manner that threatens a short circuit to the system and death to themselves. The engineers just have to watch out for the birds in the nesting season and pull their nests down. Wherever electricity is distributed there may be unexpected problems like this. In India, birds of the eagle type used to sit on the cross arms of transmission towers and in flying off spread their wings and short circuit two of the conductors, and often it took some time to put the lines into service again. The birds, of course, were fatally burned in each case.

T)R AND MRS PARK, who have been touring New Zealand, will go from here to Sydney and spend some time in Australia. Thence to Macassar and a two and a half months’ cruise amongst the islands of the Celebes, then to the Moluccas, the Lesser Sundas, Borneo, New Guinea and back to Macassar. They will then visit and motor through Bali and Java. A drive is planned through the jungles of Sumatra, followed by tours of the Malay Peninsula and the Straits Settlements. Then Indo-China, Saigon, Hongkong, Manila, a cruise through the Philippines, back to Hongkong, thence to Shanghai and through the interior of China, ending at Pekin; up from Pekin into the new province of Manchukuo; Korea to its southernmost point at Fusan; tc South Japan, up the inland sea. visiting important points, ending in Yokohama, and then Honolulu and San Francisco. “ From there,” said Dr Park with a smile, “we have only a 3000-mile train journey and we’re home at St Louis.” sj? s2? CIXTY YEARS AGO (from the "Star” of December 10, 1574) : Grahamstown, December 9.—lt is settled that Ohinemuri shall be opened for mining at once. Mr Mackav was busy yesterday morning marking off the reserves and boundaries. The Natives retain the freehold. Sir D. M’Lean is expected on Friday. Wellington, December 9, 2.35 p.m. At twenty minutes past one, with an ordinary telescope, Venus could be seen just entering the disc of the sun. At twenty minutes to two she had fairly entered. At a quarter to two the sun was obscured by cloudy weather.. It is now dull, cloudy, and oppressively hot. Dr Hector reports the utter failure all over New Zealand to observe the transit at the critical moment, as the sun was obscured. Hopes are entertained of further observations at five o’clock.