Town Talk

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 73, Issue 419, 10 November 1930, Page 6

Town Talk

The Harbour Loan. It is reported that at an early date members of the Wanganui Harbour Board will take the platform in support of the proposed loan to effect improvement to the harbour moles. In all probability meetings will be held at the country centres. No Pi MBaud Contest Highland Pipe Band had been looking forward to making the trip to Wellington in February next for the purpose of attending the pipe bands’ contest which, it was intended, would be held there about the same time as the brass bands’ contest. Intimation has been received in Wanganui to the effect that no pipe band contest will be held next year, so that the trip will not now eventuate. Staff Retrenchment. There is to be a special meeting of the Wanganui City Council to-morrow night for the purpose of considering the report of the City Engineer (Mr J. S. L. Deem) on staff retrenchment. This matter was before the council last week when recommendations from the Wo'ks Committee that ten men be dkpease 1 with and 97 be granted three weeks leave without pay wore held in abeyance until to-morrow night. Wanganui On the Map. Some time ago photographs and news items in the Auckland press created the belief that Wanganui had not been favoured as some of the centres hail by having its coat-of-arms elected in the new Auckland railway station. The “Chronicle” has been advised by Mr C. Reginald Ford, architect of Auckland that Wanganui is represented in the decorative design of the building, this city’s coat-of-arms appearing at least four times. Scouting Strength. Striking evidence of the strength of the Girl Guides and Boy Scouts in Wanganui was afforded yesterday when Girl Guides, Scouts, Sea Scouts and Cubs marched down Victoria Avenue and along Ridgway Street to the Opera House to attend the Armistice Commemoration service. They were led by the Queen Alexandra’s Own Band. When the band reached the Post the last of the Cubs were passing the National Bank. Worthy of Ramemhirance When speaking at the Armistice Com memoration service at the Opera House yesterday afternoon, the Rev. E. T. Cox said that in the national memorial at Edinburgh even the mice and canaries who had assisted in the Great War were not forgotten. Mice and canaries were used in submarines, as, when the air was nearing the point when it was unfit for humans, the mice would become excited, and the canaries would droop. Not Deterred

Bowlers are not easily deterred from enjoying their Saturday afternoon gamo on the greens and this was given evidence on Saturday after the blustery morning and showery noon. In some instances greens were not fit to be played on at the usual time for the commencement of activities but before 3 o’clock members were busy getting their games off. with the result that most of them were clear before the torrential downpour of the late afternoon. Wanganui is accounted fortunate in having a sandy formation for most of the greens thus ensuring a minimum of delay after rainCricket Affairs In spite of the rather unpromising outlook on Saturday morning, cricket matches proceeded much as usual during, the afternoon- Two matches were played on Cook’s Gardens, and in each of them players were responsible for hitting the ball clean over the boundary fence for a “six.” Bullock-Douglas, of Old Boys, performed the feat twice, while C. Spriggens (Technical College Old Boys) and W. Thrush (Wanganui) were the other batsmen who emulated the feat. One of the Technical College eleven, Mete Kingi, sent the ball seven times to the boundary of the oval al Cook’s Gardens. Generous Donors In order to provide sets of pipes for some new members of the Wanganui Highland Pipe Band, the president, Mr .Tames Patterson, has canvassed several Scottish families in the district with a view to obtaining donations in this connection. Mr Patterson has met with a ready response, having been promised nine sets and in three instances the donor’s twelve guineas to cover the cost has been forthcoming. It js understood that six of the sets will be ordered during the week, while the others will he procured as soon as the donors send in their cheques. Tn each instance the pipes will carry a silver plato with the name of the donor engraved thereon. A Meteor Sighted. An exceptional meteor was observed from Mosstown on Saturday evening at 8.20 p.m. The observer, who informed the Chronicle immediately after the meteor had disappeared, first observed the meteor in movement at an angle of about 45 degrees towards the west. It travelled in an easterly direction an'd was lost to view behind a cloud bank over Durie Hill. Behind the meteor was a tail of spark/, the size of large stars. These were blue in colour. The meteor appeared to he falling in the Earth’s atmosphere, and eventually appeared to be of the size of the moon. Doubtless others saw the body in motion. It would be interesting for them to supply the 1 ‘Chronicle” with details of their observations.