Town Talk

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 80, Issue 101, 30 April 1937, Page 6

Town Talk

King George Memorial. The Wanganui Fire Board, at its annual meeting, decided to donate a sum of £lO to the King George V Memorial Fund being raised for the establishment of children’s health camps in the Dominion.

Another School Broken Into Gonville School was broken into on Wednesday night, similar treatment being meted out to cupboards and tables as was accorded the Intermediate School on Tuesday. A piece of candle in one of the rooms served the intruder well and had evidently been alight for some considerable time.

Mortgagors’ Relief Commission. The recently-appointed Mortgagors’ Relief Commission for the Wanganui district, of which Mr. E. M. Silk is chairman, will commence its first sitting at Wanganui next Monday. The commission will be sitting for several weeks and will hear applications from the Waverley district. Programme for Coronation.

The sub-committee which was recently set up in Wanganui to consider a programme of celebrations to mark the Coronation of King George VI. and Queen Elizabeth next month has completed its arrangements. The subcommittee’s recommendations will be submitted to a meeting of the general committee for approval this evening.

Drama Festival. Wanganui has been selected as the centre in which to hold this year’s elimination festival promoted by the New Zealand branch of the British Drama League. The winning groups from each of the competing areas will play in Wanganui for the purpose of finding the North Island finalists. The elimination is to take place at the end of August and beginning of September.

Swimming Pool Complete The Maxwell swimming prol, which was swept away with the floods In February, 1936, has been completely restored and the surroundings are ready for re-planting. Unhappily, the season just over has not been a good one for swimming, and the pool has been little used since its restoration. Maxwell residents, however, are looking forward to next summer with pleasant anticipations. “Mascot” for Motorist.

A Wanganui East resident who had occasion to motor into the city last evening was evidently unaware of the extra passenger accompanying him, for he travelled over two miles with a rooster perched on the hood of the car. When he called at a service station for petrol his attention was drawn to the unusua’l mascot on his car, and his surprise was perhaps no greater than that of the attendant at the petrol-pump.

Maxwell Memorial Environs The grounds at the War Memorial at Maxwell, one of the noted beauty spots on the main road between Wanganui and New Plymouth, are looking at their best at present at the autumn of the year. There was a gathering at the memorial on Anzac Day after a service at the hall. Returned soldiers placed a wreath at the foot of the monument in memory of fallen comrades. The assembly was greatly struck with the beauty of the surroundings.

Searching for Houses The difficulty of finding a house in Wanganui was mentioned to a “Chronicle” reporter yesterday by a young man who recently arrived in the city. “I have trapsed all around the city in an elusive quest for a house, but my efforts have been unavailing,” he said. Whenever he saw a house advertised he immediately communicated with the advertiser only to find that someone had got in ahead of him. The housing question in Wanganui has now become fairly acute and recently an advertiser offered a reward for anyone giving him information which would lead to his securing a house. Wanganui’s Fire Loss

The damage to insured buildings and contents by fire during the year ended March 31. 1937, was £4013, representing £3337 loss on buildings and £676 on contents, according to the annual reoort of Superintendent N. M. Ross, which was adopted at the annual meeting of the Wanganui Fire Board on Wednesday. The buildings were insured for £22,035 and the contents for £Bll7. The damage to uninsured buildings was £9l and uninsured property £l6O. The valuation of the buildings on which the fires occurred was £31,040 and the value of the contents was £11,940. The loss on insured buildings last year was £1136 and contents £5424 and loss on uninsured buildings and contents £75 and £487, respectively. Year’s Fire Calls

During the twelve months ended March 31, 1937, the Wanganui Fire Brigade responded to 123 calls according to the report of Superintendent N. M. Ross, adopted at the annual meeting of the Wanganui Fire Board on Wednesday. Thirty-two calls were received by fire alarms, 81 by telephone, and 10 by messenger. The calls for the various months were: April, 4; May, 7: June. 7: July, 5; August, 6; September, 12; October, 15; November, 10; December, 23; January, 14; February, 16; March, 4. Mondays and Wednesdays were the worst days for fires, the daily summary of calls being Monday, 22; Tuesday, 17; Wednesday, 22; Thursday. 13; Friday, 14; Saturday, 16; Sunday, 14. Of the calls, 41 were to actual fires, 47 to grass fires, 19 to chimney fires, one to a rubbish fire, two were out of the district, seven were justified false alarms, and six calls were malicious false alarms.

Fordell Railway Station. The future of the Fordell railway station, after completion of the deviation between there and Okoia and Wangaehu, as troubling a good many residents of the district and of the Wangaehu Valley Road. It may happen that the present officered station will be removed to the Wangaehu Valley and will be connected by a road leading up from the village of Wangaehu. In that event, the station at Fordell, removed to a site somewhere down the Deniair or Matarawa Valley, will become a flag station. It is understood that the matter has not been finalised. Settlers along the Wangaehu Valley beyond Fordell are apprehensive. It is pointed out that if an officered station is removed from access from the main road to Mangamahu a great deal of the traffic from that end of the valley will be diverted to the road. To establish road 'access to a station in the Wangaehu Valley from Kauangaroa is considered to be proposition.