LOCAL AND GENERAL

Waikato Times, Volume 126, Issue 21100, 30 April 1940, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Bandsmen Enlist No fewer than 11 members of the complement of 25 in the Dannevirke Municipal Band have enlisted. Drum of Bitumen Explodes A drum of bitumen caught fire and 1 exploded when being emptied into a * Public Works sprayer at Palmerston j yesterday. Mr Robert Walsh, a lorry driver, receiving burns to the arms and face necessitating hospital treatment. Another man was less severely burned. Another Frost Hamilton awoke to another very cold morning to-day. Although there seemed to be little difference in tern - j perature compared with yesterday ! morning, frost readings were actu- j ally lower. Three degrees were re- | corded in Hamilton, and at Ruakura j Farm, where heavier frosts have \ been consistently registered this year, the reading was 8.6 degrees. Church Figures Increase Speaking at the annual 'meeting of the parishioners of St. George's j Parish last night the Vicar, the Rev. I V. A. Bianchi, said that during last j year 32 weddings were solemnised J in the church, compared with 28 in j the previous year. Baptisms last j year numbered 55, as against 45 in j the previous period, while the re- j spective figures for confirmations were 24 and 12. Loss of Petrol Hundreds of gallons of petrol escaped over the Sydney wharves into the harbour yesterday, endangering shipping, when a petrol pipe-line was broken between a tanker and the storage reservoir some distance from Balmain. It is understood that a large quantity of lead ingots on the wharf capsized on to the pipe. Lord Nuffield’s “Right Hand Man” Giving evidence at the inquest at Streetly, Birmingham, on 53-year-old Mr Oliver Hermann Boden, Lord Nuffield’s “right hand man,” a doctor stated, “It was all work with him, I’m afraid. His work came first, and he would not consider himself.” Mr Boden died in his car when being driven to his home. A verdict that “Death was due to heart failure’’ was recorded. Rotary District Governors Three district governors’ nominees to the international Rotary conference to be held shortly at Havana were among the guests at the weekly luncheon of the Auckland Rotary Club N'esterday. The three delegates were Messrs A. Gardiner, of Ceylon, E. J. Doran, of Sydney', and G. L. Buss, of Bundaburg, Australia, who were through passengers on the Mariposa. Visitors included Mr W. H. Coltman (Hamilton) and Mr A. Hayward (Ngarua). Petrol Without Coupons “An impudent evasion of the regulations,” was how Mr J. Miller, S.M.. in the Napier Police Court, described the action of a Wellington man, Eric William Mason, in obtaining petrol from a Westshore garage without the use of coupons or a license. A garage attendant stated that Mason had had four gallons of petrol. He paid for this and, remarking that his petrol license was probably in the car, went out and drove away while witness was making his entry. Witness noted the number of the car. Accused was fined £7 and costs. Exhibition Crowd A big crowd of 44,351 on Saturday swelled the attendance figures for the Centennial Exhibition in Wellington to 2,445,110, with a week to go before closing day. The performances of the Southland Boys’ High school bugle, trumpet and drum band were accorded the warmest support cf any during the entire exhibition, according to the Dominion, and special arrangements were made for an extra performance. The daily average attendance at the Exhibition up to and including Saturday was 16,521. The Enemy Within The great dangers facing the world today from the anti-spiritual forces that threatened countries from within, were referred to by the Bishop of Wellington (the Rt. Rev H. Holland) in an address at Wellington. , It was not sufficient to think that the elimination or defeat of Hitler would make all well again. It was possible to grasp the spoils of victory and lose the pearl of great price. They wanted to conquer, with England. not alone militarily and economically, but in the great battle to retain the abiding things that were wanted for world salvation. Good Omen for Soldiers? If there is any truth in the story of the luck of the rainbow, officers and men of the Maori battalion will surely find the legendary pot of gold. Toward the end of the battalion service at the Palmerston North Showground on Sunday afternoon, when members of the battalion were singing unaccompanied the hymn, “ Jesu, Lover of My Soul,” a perfectlyformed rainbow appeared through the clouds immediately above them. Seen from the main grandstand, the setting was extraordinarily beautiful, resembling a giant halo over the heads of nearly a thousand singing men, who were grouped in a square formation. Gold From Sand During the last few weeks miners at Bruce’s Bay, near Hokitika, have secured over £4OOO worth of gold from a layer of black sand exposed by the sea. The next rough sea will probably cover once more the black sand* and it may be many years before the leads are again exposed. Even behind the town of Hokitika, at the rear of Revel 1 Street, rich layers of gold-bearing black sand are known to exist. In 1914, when the sea eroded the beach and washed many backyards and portions of | business premises to sea, rich layers of black sand were exposed and I miners were quick to realise the j wealth that was waiting for them. I Swimming Presentation i The presentation of a clock was I made at the meeting of the South I Auckland Swimming Centre in j Hamilton last night to Mr and Mrs L. Cross, who have been joint secreI taries for the past three years, and • who were recently married. In mak- ! ing the presentation, the president, i Mr E. H. Grocott, spoke of the unj tiring efforts of Mr and Mrs Cross | for swimming in the South Auck- | land district, and expressed the hope 1 that their services would be avail- • able to the centre for many years to I come. Mr Cross in replying, said j that what he and Mrs Cross had j done for swimming in the South | Auckland Centre had been because j of their love of the sport and their i interest in the welfare of the young • people generally.