GENERAL NEWS

Wanganui Chronicle, 14 January 1948, Page 4

GENERAL NEWS

Legal Offices Re-open. Legal offices in Wanganui opened yesterday after the Christmas and New Year vacation. Grass Fire. The Castlecliff Fire Brigade was called to suppress a grass fire at noon yesterday near the abattoirs. The outbreak was quelled without damage to property. Band at Castlecliff. The Wanganui Garrison Band, under the conductorship of Mr. R. Francis, L.R.S.M., will parade at Castleclift to-morrow evening and present a programme of music. On Sunday next the Wanganui Highland Pipe Band will play on Durie Hill. Motor Cyclist Injured. Injuries which necessitated his removal to hospital for treatment were received by Mr. K. W. Smith-Pilling, of 9-1 Gonvllle Avenue, when the motor-cycle he was riding was involved in a collision with a motorcar at the corner of Ridgway Street and Wilson Street yesterday. He war taken to hospital by ambulance. Freedom From Crime.

Wanganui enjoyed a period ot freedom from serious crime during the holidays and no special sittings ot the Magistrate’s Court were necessary. The first weekly sitting of the Magistrate's Court for 1948 will be held next Monday when, it is understood, there will not be a long list of cases for hearing.

Fire In Grocery Store Groceries were damaged by smoke and water when a fire occurred in a grocery store. in St. Leonard s Street, St. John’s Hill, yesterday morning. The fire occurred in a storeroom and had secured a good hold when the Wanganui Fire Brigade was called shortly after 9 a.m. One lead of hose was used and the flames were soon suppressed but some of the groceries in the store were damaged. The property belongs to Maypole Stores, Ltd.

Display Of Gladiolus. There will be gladiolus blooms from all parts of the North Island at the Dominion Gladiolus Federation’s North Island show which will be held In the Drill Hall to-morrow and Friday in conjunction with the Wanganui Horticultural Society s gladiolus show. Excellent entries have been received for both events and some first class blooms will be on exhibition. A feature of this show wil be a special display by members of the Wanganui Aquarium Society. Registration of Dogs Soon "The good news has just come through," said the town clerk (Mr. White) yesterday. “The dog collars which we ordered months ago, and which should have reached us before Christmas, are at last en route. As soon as they are here we can start making registrations and issue the anti-hydatid tablets which are to be fed to all dogs. A resolution may be published after the next meeting of the council. This if the first time registration has been delayed, as during the war years stocks of buckles and straps were used judiciously.’’

Freezing Works Busy. Freezing works throughout the Wanganui district are now working at high pressure as lambs are coming in from the farms in increasing numbers. The season opened quietly as a result of a cold spell early in November but since the resumption of work after the holiday period there have been heavy killings. Motor lorries and railway trucks of new season's lambs have been passing through Wanganui daily in large numbers bound for the freezing works at Imlay. The recent spell of dry weather was responsible for many farmers drafting out their lambs early after the holiday period. Car Uninsured in Collision

Mr. A. Terry, of Wanganui, suffered an abrasion to a knee and was otherwise unscathed when his model “A" Ford car was crushed by a Gonbille tram yesterday at 2 o’clock. He was driving out of Sarjeant Street on to the Heads Road. The right front mudguard and wheel were crushed and a side wind-shield was broken. “And I was going to pay my insurance tomorrow," commented the driver ruefully after the accident. Bystanders pushed the car to one side and the tram proceeded to town. Aquarium Society Exhibit. In conversation with the secretary of the Wanganui branch of the N.Z. Aquarium and Water Garden Society, the “Chronicle" was informed that the exhibit at the gladiolus show is to be an outstanding one. There will be fish of many breeds, including some'of the more fancy types, such as Moors, Telescope-eyed, Nymphs, Fantails, Comets. White Cloud Mountain Minnows, Newts and a rather outstanding specimen of the Chinese Paradise Fish. Also on display will be many unique garden ornaments made by one of the society members. It is undoubtedly an exhibit which should not be missed. A "Damaged” Window. The enterprise of a window dresser in a city departmental store yesterday attracted large crowds of curious pedestrians. The window was made to appear as if it had been broken and inside reposed a brick which it would appear had been thrown through the large plate glass sheet. Rumours were soon flying that there had been a visitation by smash and grab robbers, that a motor-car had mounted the footpath and crashed into the window and that workmen had broken the plate glass. Many people entered the store to express sympathy with the proprietors in their loss and an insurance inspector arrived armed with claim papers. The stunt was designed to attract attention to the store and in that respect was most successful.

The Native Tui Mention this week of a tui which dally visits flowering "Chinese Lantern" trees in Wanganui has prompted a reader to write that there are at least two of these native birds with a certain defined “round" in the Wanganui East suburb. The reader states that for the past year the two birds have made their home on the property of the late Mr. Hope Gibbons where there is an area of bush admirably suited for them. These birds are reported to pay halfhourly visits to at least three other properties in the area to gather food. Tuis are fairly common in Wanganui and suburbs, where red gums and other honey-producing blooms have been planted for their benefit by the Wanganui Acclimatisation Society. The late Mr. Hope Gibbons was a great advocate or planting red gums for native birds, and distributed many thousands or these trees throughout the district.