NEW ZEALAND NEWS ITEMS

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 83, Issue 258, 1 November 1939, Page 6

NEW ZEALAND NEWS ITEMS

A Gentie Hint. The smoker of a notorious pipe recently celebrated his 21st. birthday. His friends made the most of then opportunity and among his present; were no fewer than three new pipes. The final and crushing blow however, came from a girl, who gave him a packet of pipe cleaners. Large Whales Righted. A party of fishermen from Kaitaia, h-hing oif the Whangaroa Heads, reporteu that they hau seen two large whales a shoit distance from their boat, states a correspondent. The men stated they saw ai least oO feel of the whales out of the water, their backs being as hign above the surface as the launch Horn which they were fishing. Guy Fawkes lhi> Year. November 5 fails on a Sunday this year, and many people are wonuering whether the celebrations .should be held on the Saturday or the Monday. There is an old saying which reads. •‘Don’t you remember tne fifth of Nox ember, falling o.i Sunday, gets held on the Monday, ’ and it seems that this wiil be thr case, although it will probably be a matter for individual choice. Warning to Mariners. D>ubt ic. c as a netes ary var precaution mariners are njtiiicd in the Gazette that a large number of coastal lights may be extinguished at any lime without further notice. Nearly 5u lights are mentioned, extending from the North Cape to the Biuff. and they include the lights on Plat Rock. Devonport janu-pit, Ponui Pass ana several in the Thames area. M ire K-idio Licences. The total number of ladio licences in loice in Jilt Dominion at the end of last month was 334,541, compared with ■•'.07,486 at the same time last year. Of lhe.e 332,299 were receiving licences, and 103.952 were held in the Auckland district. The Wellington total was 118,459. and those for Canterbury and Otago were 01.b.33 and 43,255. The numbei of receiving licences has increased from 304,-vS at the end of September last year. Min With Wooden Leg. It was one of those intellectual conversations among a groun of intellectual men. Subjects discussed ranged ail the way from the political situation to trie cultivation of chrysanthemums, but the sharpest difference of opinion took place when one of tne most ci udite. displaying his knowledge o t law, pointed out that the State could not hang a man with a wooden leg, slates the Auckland Star. This statement was instantly refuted and logic was called on to reveal the absurdity of such a contention. “Nevertheless, i .‘Luk to my story,’’ said th? erudite one. moving towards the door. “You tan t hang a man with a wooden leg. You have to use a rope.’’ It was an old j >ke, bet it had gone across. There was a rush for the joker, but the door slammed in the faces of his victims as he left for parts unknown. Value of Rat Week. A report on fat week, in June, was piesented to the Auckland City Counlast week, by the Town Clerk, Mr. J. Melling, and it was suggested that jat week should be made an annual effort, states the New Zealand Herald. It was stated that the holding of the campaign was justified by the cooperation of all sections of the community. The amount of poison distributed throughout the combined areas of the city and suburban local bodies was equivalent to over 430,000 poison baits, and. while no definite information was available of the number cf rodents caught, advices received were sufficient to indicate that the campaign was well worth while, in addition the wide publicity undertaken must be regarded as having the cumulative effect of directing the attention of householders and citizens generally to the necessity for taking constant measures for the destruction of rats and to prevent their harbourage.

Fig Omitted From Certificate. ' "I would be sorry to see such a thing j issued from any organisation I was j connected with. It looks like a label 5 for a honey pot or a jam tin." This .’view v as expressed by the chairman . of the Northland District Pig Council, ■Mr. H. W. James, at a meeting of the j council at Whangarei, when commentI ing on the Centennial Show certificate, | draft copies of which were received, i The secretary, Mr. C. P. Butler, drew J the attention of members to the fact j that the pig had not been given a i place among the animals shown in the i design. The council decided to write to the Minister for Internal Affairs exI pressing disappointment that the pig ’ j industry had been omitted from the (Centennial Show certificate, especially ; a.s the pig was the first animal to be . released in New Zealand. Gigantic Kock Cod. I The most imaginative of fish stories ! must pale before lhe account of a rc- • I cord catch made by an Indian on the j Navua River. Fiji, which is given in a Hotter received fioni Suva, states the ! Auckland Star. It was a huge rock ■ cod of the species known as kava by ! the natives and weighed between 200 • and 3001 b. The Indian used a halfi meh rope line, and stated that he had ■ little difficulty in landing the fish I apart from tne final stage of getting • it into the boat. This was eventually lacomplished with the aid of two companions. The cod measured 6ft. from tip to tail, and had a waist measurei ment of over 7ft. When displayed in i lhe market at Su\a it attracted con- ; siderable attention. i ' Buying H of Public. : Contrasts in lhe buying ha oils of lhe I public in various parts ot New Zealand ’have b on brought prominently under ithe notice of chain store organisations | and wholesale distributors as a result of the increasing scarcity of many lines in common use. For instance, the ; [ shortage of wooden matches has been more noticeable in Auckland (han in ; the South, due to the fact that South- | ern people use more wax matches. I Canned fruits, on the other hand, have i been disappearing from stock more I quickly in the South than in AuckI land, probably on account of the taste ■ for such fruit acquired where the seaI sen for fresh fruit is comparatively Ifhort. Other examples of the kind are I coming constantly under the notice of j distributors. I ; Beds for Sick Soldiers. I Arrangements which have been com- | pleted by the North Canterbury Hospital Board will ensure that 50 beds { are available for soldier patients. The Minister of Health, the Hon. P. Fraser, ■ has approved of the purchase of a j large residence, which will be used as quarters for the domestic staff. This | staff has been living under a ward in I the main building, but arrangements j have been made for the transfer elsej where of the departments domiciled in i this building, and the space thus | made available will allow for an adj ditional ward of z 5 beds. With accommodation arranged for eai her. soldiers |will have 50 beds at their disposal at ■ the hospital. ' X.Z. Banknotes in Sydney. I Recurring instances of lhe dilficul- | ties experienced by New Zealanders in I attempting to convert Dominion bank- ! notes into Australian currency are re- ! ported by New Zealanders who have (visited the Commonwealth. Significant of the position was a case mentioned by an Aucklander, who said he had seen a man on the wharf at Sydney endeavouring to dispose of 51 New Zealand one pound notes at 16s each in Australian money. He was offering them to people returning to New Zealand, and explained that he had been unable to exchange them at the Sydney branches of New Zealand trading banks or at the offices of travel agencies with branches in New Zea- ' land. Similar difficulty was being experienced in exchanging New Zealand coins into Australian.