ITEMS OF NEW ZEALAND NEWS

Wanganui Chronicle, 28 December 1949, Page 5

ITEMS OF NEW ZEALAND NEWS

Miles Of Tote Tickets In his report to the New Zealand Metropolitan Trotting Club the totalisator engineer, Mr. R. T. Roberts, said that 1,397,820 units of 10s were recorded on the totalisator during the four-day Jubilee Cup meeting. This amount was handled with the greatest of ease. Ticket, paper used required 80.5 miles of paper cut into three-inch lengths.

Respect, Not Popularity. Personal popularity did not worry him, the Minister of Lands and Maori Affairs, Mr. E. B. Corbett, told a meeting of Oxford Co-operative Dairy Company directors when tendering his resignation as chairman. “But,” he added: “I hope I shall always have the respect of those I have to deal with even if I have to do some things they may not like.” “Bit Absent-minded.”

A lost child was found crying in the children's department of a large city store in Auckland. Despite calls over the loud speaker, no one claimed him. Just before the store closed for the day a woman rushed in and asked if a child had been found. She lived on the North Shore, she said, dnd while shopping had left the boy playing in the children’s department. Then in a hurry to catch the ferry, she had gone home without him. It was not until she had crossed the harbour that she remembered him. “J am a bit absentminded,” she said.

Baptism in School Chapel. A ceremony unique in the history of St. Stephen’s School, Bombay, Auckland, took place during resent centennial celebrations when two children were baptised in the school chhapel. They were the adopted son of Mr. and Mrs. W. Roa, of Paparata, and the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. P. Smyth, jun» The headmaster, Mr. P. Smyth, sen., and Mrs. Smyth were godparents to Mr. and Mrs. Roa’s son. The Bishop of Aotearoa, the Rt. Rev. F. A. Bennett, baptised the children.

A Rough Ride. “You ought to do something about your railways. The transport in NevZealand is very poor,” said Mr. Jack Hobbs, Arcadia, California, who is visiting New Zealand, in an interview in Christchurch. With his friend, Mr. John Combs, also of Arcadia, Mr. Hobbs flew from the United States to Auckland. Mr. Hobbs said that they came down from Auckland on the midnight express, and that it was very rough riding. “Compared with the United States railways, your cars are very uncomfortable. We have no first or second class in the States. When you buy a seat you get the best seat,” he said.

Landed In Hayfield. Harvesting operations on a farm at Edgecumbe. Baßy of Plenty, were held up owing to a break-down in an essential piece of farm machinery. A mechanic from a Hamilton firm was flown to the scene of operations in a Tiger Moth of the Waikato Aero Club. The aircraft landed in the hayfield and the necessary repairs were effect- i ed. After having afternoon tea With I the harvesters the pilot returned to ! Rukuhia. Providing Belter Milk. That the Hamilton City Council do ; all in its power to assist in educating' the citizens of Hamilton in the proper' care and handling of bottled milk, I was a recommendation from the! treatment station manager, Mr. D. i J. Moran, to a conference of city milk supply interests. Another recommendation from the same source was that [ the Livestock Division cf the Depart- j ment of Agriculture take immediate: steps to endeavour to reduce the, heavy pollution of all raw milks with' coliform organisms. i

Vanished Memorial. “This pohutukawa was planted by Mrs. W. H. Nicholson, Mayoress of Sumner, to mark the jubilee year of the reign of King George V. and Queen Mary, May 6, 1935.” This inscription appears on a metal plaque set in concrete on the foreshore near the clock tower at the Scarborough! end of Sumner beach. Behind it is an oil drum set in the ground, but there is no sign of pohutukawa. The drum contains a litter of cigarette packets, silver paper, and other rubbish. Lottery Success. The first prize of £lO,OOO in an overseas lottery has been won by Mr. R. S. Paynter, Stratford, and two employees, Messrs. Noel Giibanks and Patrick Ford, under the nom de plume “Three Carpenters.” The only previous successes the syndicate had in 45 attempts were a £5 prize and a free ticket. Mr. Paynter is married with three young daughters, Mr. Giibanks is married with one child, and MrFord is a young returned soldier. Warning to Haymakers “I would again like to stress the grave danger to haymakers in stacking hay under or near electric-power lines —two cases have occurred this month—and fatal injuries will probably result if farmers and contractors concerned do not exercise more care regarding the matter.' ’said the engineer, Mr. E. Bryant, at the annual meeting of the Te Awamutu Electricpower Board. The chairman, Mr. ... T. Johnson, expressed amazement that farmers should still persist in the use of haystackers without caution in the vicinity of power lines. It would be most regrettable if the holiday season was marked by a fatality preventable by the exercise of care.

Australian Speech “Australians are blunt In speech, and do not make use of flowery rhetoric. They call a horticultural instrument by its proper name," said [the Rev. A. C. Watson, addressing the Christchurch Rotary Club's luncheon Mr. Watson, formerly of [Christchurch, has been minister of 'the Toorak Presbyterian Chur/h, Melbourne, for the past eight years. He added that "ave a go” was a phrase frequently heard at the Melbourne Cricket Ground when the batting was slow. This phrase typified the Australian spirit. The ordinary man in the street, provided he was not regimented and controlled, could prove himself the equal of any. and prove his worth io the British Empire.