Town Talk

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 80, Issue 257, 29 October 1937, Page 6

Town Talk

Hawthorn in Bloom The flowers of the hawthorn present an attractive sight in various parts of the Wanganui district at present. Later in the autumn of the year, these hedges present another pleasing display when the red berries ripen. Wanganui Harbour Bill. Mr J. B. Cottcrill, M.P. for Wanganui, telegraphed yesterday that the Wanganui Harbour District and Empowering Amendment Bill was passed through all stages in the House of Representatives yesterday afternoon. The passing of the Bill will facilitate finance for completion of the moles. New Taihape Ambulance. A new ambulance vehicle ordered by the Wanganui Hospital Board for use in the Taihape district, arrives in Wanganui this evening. It will be held in the city for a day or so and later despatched to its headquarters at Taihape. It is a modernly-equipped vehicle and will considerably improve the sendee handled from Taihape Borough. Girls’ Colege Roll. During the month of September the roll of the Wanganui Girls’ College was as follows: Secondary 35, primary 51, boarders 97, piano 69, violin 5, class 5,’ singing 9, ’cello 3, elocution 17, class 3. During the month seven girls left the secondary j school, six going to positions. There was one new entrant in both secondary and primary schools. Tourist Liner Due To-day. The Orient Line’s luxury vessel Orion, a vessel, of 23,371 tons register, is due at Auckland at 5 p.m. to-day with a large party of Australian tourists. Parties will leave Auckland for various parts of the North Island shortly after the arrival of the vessel, which will ail from Auckland for Wellington at midnight to-morrow. The Orion will leave Wellington for Australia early on Monday morning. Swimming Under Way. The second club night for this season was held by the Gonvillc Club last evening, when a number of men s events were contested. The fields were not as big as could be desired, as the water is still chilly, but there was a good attendance of onlookers. The Aramoho Swimming Club is to hold its opening club night next Thursday evening. Examination Successes In the monthly report by the Vrincipal, Miss A. C. Tizard, presented to the Wanganui Girls’ College Board of Governors at yesterday's meeting, mention was made of the successes of candidates in the recent Royal Academy and Trinity College examinations. All candidates from the college passed, in the former there being four with honourable mention, and in the latter four who gained certificates of merit, and three passed with honours. Athletic Season Opens. The first meeting of the season was held by the Wanganui Amateur Athletic and Cycling Club last evening, when field events, cycling and running were held. Good fields were in evidence in all sections. A feature of the meeting was the appearance of A. D. Adlam, Wellington provincial champion for the hammer throw, javelin and discus. He competed in the discus and shot put events and was successful in winning both. Adlam is well known pn the West Coast as an allround athlete and his appearance in this city was welcomed by all connected with sport. Ambulance Housing. New accommodation for the Wanganui Free Ambulance service is nearing completion. The residence for the transport officer-secretary (Mr. E. Gullery) has been occupied and the housing for the vehicles will be finished within the next week or two. The new premises are located on a convenient site at the hospital and when are complete will represent a progressive step in equipping a service essential to the public welfare. At the moment there are two ambulance vehicles, but the new buildings have been built to accommodate three.

Historic War Canoe. On behalf of the owners of a Wanganui River war canoe "Te Wehi,” an offer has been made to the Wanganui Museum that it might be deposited in the building. At present the old canoe is at Parikino and the native owners have offered to bring it to Wanganui, if the museum will accept it. The museum a year or so ago spent a considerable sum in restoring a historic canoe—"Te Mata-o-Moturoa,” which is now one of the great attractions of the museum. A member of the Board of Trustees, Mr. E. Barns, a former native interpreter, collected its story, and he has already gathered the story of "Te Wehi.” These old canoes, adzed from totara trees with stone tools, are becoming rarer each year, although a few are still to be seen on the Wanganui River. "Te Wehi” is perhaps the last one with an authentic war history.

Chemists Catch Criminals. How the in the Dominion Laooratory assist the police in tracking erring motorists is revealed in a paragraph in the annual report of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research. In a "hit and run” case minute green patches on two overcoat buttons of the deceased, and a dull streak on the mudguard of the accused’s motor-truck were submitted for examination. It was shown that the green patches on the buttons corresponded with the green paint on a bent bar of the truck. Scrapings from a ntimber of points of the dull streak on the mudguard all gave the characteristic smell of burning rubber, when carefully heated over a small rlame. No similar smell was observed with scrapings from any other part of the mudguard. Smears vvere then made on the mudguard with the rubber grip of the deceased’s motor-cycle handle and scrapings from these all gave the smell of burning rubber when heated. It was found, however, that after a period of three weeks no such smell could be obtained from these or the original smear. This was probably due to oxidation changes in very thin deposits of rubber. It was therefore concluded that the original smear could not have been more than three weeks old when first examined.