Town Talk

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 80, Issue 266, 9 November 1937, Page 6

Town Talk

Institute of Secretaries Three Wanganui candidates are mentioned in the results of the September examinations conducted by the Australasian Institute of Secretaries. A. G. Gover and L. A. G. Rich were successful in securing sectional passes, and V. D. Benefield completed the intermediate examination. Special Harrier Race Members of the Wanganui Harrier Club will compete in a special open handicap race of three miles on the Wanganui Racecourse at the show tomorrow evening. Handsome trophies have been donated by the A. and P. Association for competition. C. Weller, national champion, will probably be in action. The event is to commence at 7 p.m. and a commentary will be provided by a public address system. Wanganui Cricket Although the Wanganui Cricket Association’s season has been in progress but three weeks, two centuries have been scored, both in the junior grade. E. Buddle (Marist A) and J. O'Grady (Marist B) topped the coveted three-ligure total. The nearest approach to a century in the senior grade was made last Saturday, when D. Revell (Technical Old Boys) made 96, just missing the required luck to get him the remaining four. Birds’ Threatened Extinction. The threatened extinction of the green New Zealand parrot, the kakariki, is causing naturalists considerable concern. Of approximately the same size as a blackbird the parrots were familiar figures in bush and reserves a few years ago, but now they are to be found only in remote parts of New Zealand. At one time hundreds of the birds were to be seen upriver, but it is considered by aviculturists that none remain in these regions now. A concentrated move for the preservation of these parrots is under the consideration of naturelovers. “Waiata Poi.” A unique broadcast from Germany was heard in Wanganui on Sunday evening. The programme was intended for Australian and New Zealand listeners and included a number of Maori songs sung by a German choir with orchestral accompaniment. Those who are familiar with Maori music were intrigued by the treatment of such well-known songs as “Waiata Poi” and “Waiata Maori,” sung in English by German artists. “Waiata Poi,” which is supposed to be sung in a spirited manner, representing the rhythm of the poi dance, was given a dirge-like tempo and any Maoris who happened to be listening to the broadcast must have been amused by this interpretation of one of their favourite songs. It was quite apparent that the German artists had never seen a poi dance, otherwise they would have known that this descriptive song should be taken much faster. The Joy of the Open Exhaust. Summer is again here, rather earlier than usual, and dwellers on main roads and thoroughfares have with them already the plague of the noisy “sporting” motor-cyclist, states an exchange. The regulations, bylaws, rules, prohibitions, and whatnot that are not observed forbid absolutely the riding of motor-cycles with) open exhausts or even with exhausts that can be opened, but the summer 1 “sport” takes no notice of that, neither does the sporting car “sport,” who argues, correctly, that if his car lacks length and head room, it can at least even up road importance in racket, and it does, and how! Noise possibly killed nobody, but it has driven a lot of unsporting people berserk, which, except when extremely violent, is neither certifiable nor effective. Som people are not affected by the racket, among them the traffic controls. If they got as mad as residents along main roads, a good deal might be done. Supreme Court.

The quarterly sessions of the Supreme Court at Wanganui, which opened on November 1, concluded yesterday morning, the Chief Justice (Sir Michael Myers), who presided throughout the session, determining a will case and giving judgment m three other cases heard earlier, concluding the business before mid-day. This session marked a departure from usual routine insofar as the presiding judge was concerned. It has been the practice for the judge presiding at Wanganui to sit for a week and then proceed to New Plymouth. Such was the expected volume of business at Wanganui on this occasion, however, that the Chief Justice arranged to take the sittings in this centre and Sir John Reed went to New Plymouth, beginning the work there yesterday morning. Had the full list of business originally set down for hearing at Wanganui come to be heard the session would have extended at least until to-day, probably until midday to-morrow. The withdrawal of a divorce matter, however, considerably curtailed the time of the court. Tuis Plentiful. The golden blooms of kowhai always seem to attract the tuis about Wanganui. Hundreds of these beautiful birds have been noticed in various parts of the city reserves of late, in Mr. H. J. Duigan’s garden in Carlton Terrace the tuis have made their presence very definite this season, availing themselves of the shelter of a patch of native bush overlooking the river. Virginia Lake is a haven for tuis and at this time of the year and when the kowhai is in bloom, they become quite bold. Two Wanganui residents studied a male tui at six yards range near the lake on a recent Sunday. The bird had come down to ‘feed from the kaka beak flowers growing on the new rockery and seemed quite unperturbed until the humans got within almost touching distance. Then it flew away in that unmislakeable flight which distinguishes it as one of the aristocrats of the feathered family. Boys and cats are the tuis greatest enemies in the city reserves, boys because of their unbreakable habit of robbing nests, cats because of the unbreakable animal instinct nature endowed them with, the instinct which drives them to pounce, paw and finally kill anything in the shape of a fluttering bird, provided that bird itself has no semblance of being an animal of prey like the cat itself. Virginia Lake is not so populated with cats as some gardens und reserves, but small boys have been operating there of late. It is a pity they are not caught sometimes and the needful lesson taught them that birds of New Zealand, like the tui and the bellbird, need protection.