Town Talk

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 80, Issue 58, 10 March 1938, Page 6

Town Talk

Eire at Gas Works. Fire broke out in the meter room of the Wanganui Gas Works at 7.30 p.m. yesterday. The Fire Brigade attended the outbreak and quickly had the blaze under control. Damage was confined to a partition and cupboards, and there was no danger of explosion of gas. Vessels Sheltering Owing to yesterday's strong winci making the Patea River bar unworkable. the South Taranaki Shipping Company's motor-ships Hawera ana Inaha, bound from Wellington, returned to Wanganui to shelter. It is expected that the vessels will continue their journey to Patea this morning. Liners Heavily Booked When the liners Mariposa and Aorangi left Auckland on Tuesday they carried almost 600 passengerfrom New Zealand. Both vessels han practically all their accommodation taken, the passengers including a number of people who visited New Zealand to attend the Roman Catholic centenary celebrations at Auckland. Children’s Sports Meeting The annual sports meeting of the Wanganui Primary Schools’ Athletic Association at Cook’s Gardens to-mor-row will provide a happy day out for many school pupils in Wanganui and district. The entries for the various events total more than 3000 and as no prizes are offered this speaks well of the sporting spirit existing in primary schools. Features of the programme will be a gymnastic display by Y.M.C.A. pupils and folk dancing exhibitions.

Athletic Championships. The national athletic championships are to be held at Christchurch tomorrow and Saturday. The West Coast (North Island) Centre will be represented by C. V. Evans (440 and 880 yards), F. S. Barraclough (pole vault) and Mrs. V. Rollerson (ladies’ running events). Mr. Evans and Mr. G. Benson, who is to manage the team, left for the south yesterday, accompanied by Mrs. Benson. The centre will be represented at the annual conference by Mr. Benson. Mr. L. Burgess, of Wanganui, was to represent the centre in the 220 and 440 yards, but owing to a decline in form he preferred not to make the trip.

Swimming Record Equalled The New Zealand record time of 40 2-ssec. for the junior girls’ 50 yards breaststroke was equalled by Miss P. Cave (Aramoho) when competing in a handicap event at the Aramoho Swimming Club’s carnival last evening. In the junior girls’ 50 yards breaststroke championship at the New Zealand championships this year, Miss Cave was placed second to Miss M. Stewart, whose time was 41seo. Miss Cave last night eased up toward the finish of the race or otherwise she would have registered a better time than the record. However, a record cannot be recognised if it is made in a handicap event so it is likely that this young swimmer will make an attempt to lower the record at a later date.

Carriage of Ragwort Seed Differences of opinion exist as to how ragwort seed is carried in the greatest profusion. One of the Rangitikei County Council delegates present at a conference of local bodies held in Wanganui yesterday to discuss the control of noxious weeds, said that his county was afraid of the wind undoing all the good work being done in the Rangitikei in the way of control. That prompted Mr J. Allison (No. 1 Line) to remark that very little ragwort seed was carried by the wind. Most of it was conveyed by birds. Mr J. J. Lissette (chairman of the Wanganui River Trust Board), Mr A. IL Collins (ch* ’ 'an of the Wanganui County C<> and Mr T. E. Wilson (Patea otara Rabbit Board) all stated that, flood waters in the rivers w,ere responsible fot carrying the seed down country. Mr Lissette said that in 1926 there was little ragwort on the Wanganui River below Pipiriki. In that year there had been a record flood and the seed was spread all through the silt. Until the source of supply of that seed was cut off inland there was little chance of the River Trust’s work being effective, he said.

Spraying of Ragwort. At a conference of local bodies and other interested organisations held yesterday in Wonganui to discuss control of noxious weeds, Mr. C. L. Duigan, one of the representatives of the Waimarino County Council, asked Mr. A. H. Cockayne (Director-General of the Department of Agriculture) whether it was not a fact that in Canada, New Brunswick, for instance, a greater degree of success had been obtained in the destruction of ragwort by spraying it with sodium chlorate when the plant was young and the crown hardly formed. Mr. Cockayne replied in the affirmative, pointing out that the growth of ragwort in New Brunswick' was different to what It was in New Zealand. For eight months of the year Ihe plants wore dormant and then carhe a prolifit growth for three months. It had been found that success attended spraying before that growth started rather than when the weed was in stem. Mr. Duigan: Doesn’t that suggest that it would he better if New Zealand farmers got at the spraying earlier than they do now? Mr. Cockayne replied that experiments tried in the north had proved that that was so.