Town Talk

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 77, Issue 104, 4 May 1934, Page 4

Town Talk

School Holidays. Primary schools break-up to-day for three weeks’ holidays, when books and all school cures will be temporarily forgotten. The secondary schools have already begun their holidays. Passenger Licenses. The No. 5 Licensing Authority, which comprises Mr p. Thomson (chairman), .Major R. A. Wilson ami i'lr J. U. Bolleston, sat at Wanganui yesterday, and dealt, with applications ~,',‘r the .renewal of passenger licenses, ■the sitting avill (continued to-day. Penalty on Rates. Collection of rates is now being made by the Wanganui City Council - or the year ending March 31, 1934. As usua., a penalty will be inflicted upon tho&e ratepayers who do not meet their obligations after a certain period. It has been announced by the town clerk. Mi. G. Murch, that an extra 10 per cent, will be added to all rates unpaid after Monday, May 21, less than three weeks distant. The Town Bridge. A move is being made by the Wanganui County Council to set up a commission to revise the basis of allocation of cost of upkeep of the Town Bridge. This structure, which is now the joint responsibility of the City Council, the Harbour Board and the county, was ei’ected so long ago that it is considered now that the old division of cost as between the three local bodies mentioned is very much out of date. Replacement of horse-drawn traffic by the motor-car and the narrowing of the county boundaries have completely altered the situation as it was when the bridge was erected. Sovereign as Exhibit. An assortment of exhibits was produced at the Magistrate’s Court at Wanganui yesterday morning when two prisoners were charged with breaking, entering and theft. Not the least interesting was a sovereign which had escaped the attention of the banks by reason of th e fact that it was given to its present owner in 1910 and that he had retained it as a keepsake until it was stolen. Another interesting coin was a Kruger two shilling piece. Of baser metal were an augur, used by one of the offenders for boring holes in a door, and a carpenter’s chisel, employed for th c purpose of bursting windows open. Enjoyable Journey. Mr. Frank L. Purnell, of Wanganui, said in an interview at Christchurch that he had never had a more enjoyable train journey than that from Dunedin to Christchurch. Ho had been in most parts of the United States and Canada, and had made trips through the Rocky Mountains on several occasions, but he had never seen anything to compare with “the moving picture of thc Southern Alps” seen

from the window of a carriage on thc South Island main trunk line. Mr. Purnell added that it was a great pity that more overseas visitors were not encouraged to see more of the south. Honolulu, he said, might be “the paradise of the Pacific,” but New Zealand was still “thc wonderland of the South Seas.” Successful Recruiting. Judging by the very favourable response made to Captain D. T. Maxwell, N.ZS.C., who was on a territorial recruiting campaign in Taihape this week, the Wellington-West Coast Regiment will have a very live unit added to it. Some 30 enrolments were made, comprising a very fine representation of the Main Trunk centre’s sporting world. The Mayor (Mr. de Latour) presided at a meeting attended by Captain Maxwell on Tuesday night, and there were representatives of the executive of the Taihape R.S.A. present. This body has promised its full assistance in the move now being made, and with the active co-operation of the civic authorities and young men of the district, a very fin© military unit is likely to develop in Taihape. Its creation will increase the spirit of now in vogue as between the city of Wanganui and its outlying centres of population. Cross-country Championships. The opinion that the West Coast North Island harrier team would be called on to look to its laurels when defending its title of champion crosscountry runners of New Zealand was expressed by a follower of the sport to a “Chronicle” reporter yesterday afternoon. It was remarked that there was great activity amongst the 13 harrier clubs in Otago, whose team was defeated by tho West Coast team at Wanganui last year, and that good form was being shown by Otago’s prominent runners. The New Zealand Cross-country championships have been set down for August 25, and Otago's junior and senior championship will be decided on August 11. Three of the four members of the winning West Coast team last year belonged to thc Wanganui Harrier Club, which is hoping that its members may secure prominent places when the West Coast championships are decided in order that they may travel to Dunedin to defend the title. Telephone Control of Trains. A new system of direct control by telephone communication from Wanganui of all trains running between Marton, Stratford and Okahukura will be brought into force on Sunday evening. This will be the first time that direct control has been employed on this route, with the exception of the Stratford-Okahukura line, which, up to the present, has been controlled from Stratford by this method. Previously the movement of trains was communicated by way of telephone exchange, but the new method provides for all stations equipped with special telephones to be in direct connection with the Wanganui office, which will plot out the. movements of all trains on special graphs. The times of arrivals and departures of trains will be reported so that in the event of trains not running to schedule, arrangements may be made with the minimum of delay for the speeding up of the service. Designs showing the number of sidings of the various stations arc placed at thc Wanganui office to enable the man in control to give instructions for a train to pull in and to let another pass if necessary. No headgear will be used by the officer at Wanganui, for the messages will be received by a loud, speaker and transmitted by means of a. special mouthpiece. The Wan ganui office will be open for 24 hours a day, and four men will work six-hour shifts. The installation of the new service will result in a minimising of delay in the timetables, and a better service for th«*