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Manawatu Standard, Volume LIII, Issue 22, 22 December 1932, Page 6

A thresher shark weighing 6221 b was caught this week by Mr Zane Grey, fishing off Mercury Bay in his new launch Frangipani. The shark was caught after a 2i-hour fight, and is claimed to be the record thresher shark for these waters. It measured 16ft in length and 6ft in girth. An application by two men for a license to carry out prospecting on the foreshore at Takapnna was before a meeting of the Auckland Harbour Board, this week. Both the harbourmaster and engineer reported unfavourably, and the board decided to instruct' its solicitors to oppose the application. A loan poll in connection with the provision of sewerage at Whakarewarewa was carried yesterday by a narrow margin. There was a very small poll in the special area adjacent to the Whakarewarewa pa —15 for and two against. The general poll over the borough of Rotorua resulted in 81 for and 80 against. A reminder that settlement began many years ago in New Zealand is an overgrown native cemetery in Tom Bowling Bay, the farthest north cemetery in the Dominion. Long ago there was a Church of England mission church there, but to-day the building has gone, and the scrub is fast reclaiming tlie clearing where it stood. Among the thick scrub there are some tombstones that record the names of Maoris born before New Zealand became a British colony. The oldest perpetuates the name, if not the memory, of a Maori who was born in 1818, 114 years ago. Other old stones are over the graves of men who died respectively in 1829, 1831 and 1835, the last-men-tioned ante-dating Hobson’s landing by live years.

In a pool of soft mud nt Makirikiri, near Wanganui, n number of moa bones have been discovered in an excellent stute of• preservation. Extensions of lines in the Makerua district were reported to a meeting of the Horowhenua Power Board this week. The opinion was expressed that when times improved a great deal of electricity would be used on the Makerua Pla-ins.

The Christmas feeling is reported to be much in evidence in Wellington, and business men state that trade has shown a great improvement this week. Returns so far are quite satisfactory, in many cases being quite equal to those of the previous year. A large number of Australian tourists arrived at Auckland yesterday by the Monterey. The vessel had nearly 400 passengers, of whom approximately half disembarked to spend the holiday season in New Zealand. The Marama also brought 200 passengers.

The comet reported from Adelnide was found on Tuesday night bv Mr A. W. Burrell, of Stratford, reports a Press Association message. Its position at 9 p.m. summer time was right ascension 23 hours 12J minutes, south declination 2G degrees 37 minutes. ' The total value of the wool sold at the first Auckland sale on December 1 and 2 was £132,118, according to the returns of the Auckland Woolbrokers’ Association. Of 28,686 bales offered, 23,547 were sold. The average price is calculated at £5 12s 3d a bale and 3.686 d per lb. The Dominion Museum in Wellington has received a. meteorite from Henbury, Central Australia, where a large number fell recently. The meteorite, which is about five inches in length, weighs over 31b and looks like a jagged piece of metal. It has the usual pitted appearance and consists of 91 por cent, iron, 7\ per cent, nickel, and small quantities of carbon, cobalt, etc. The Kyeburn School has a very fine attendance record for the year just concluded, writes a correspondent of the Otago Daily Times, since, out of a roll number of 28 pupils 15 gained attendance certificates. When it is considered that eight of these children had a distance of over four miles to drive, and this during the severe conditions of a Central Otago winter, the value of this record may be appreciated. As a recent visit by the house committee of the Auckland Hospital Board to the Warkworth Hospital showed that there was only one patient, although a staff of five was maintained, the committee advised the board at a meeting this week that in its opinion the continuance of the institution was unwarranted. It recommended that the whole of the board’s services in the district should be reconsidered at the end of the financial year.

Several more buildings planned to replace those destroyed in last year’s earthquake are now in progress in Hastings, and others are about to be begun. Among those now in progress are the new Bank of New Zealand, a new theatre, and the new fire station, which will cost a total of over £30.000, and other buildings to be put in hand immediately are new premises for Dalgetv and Coy., Ltd., an hotel, a picture theatre, and for the owners of two shop sites. In the Bowes Park (North London) News of October 28 appears the follow-ing:-—“The splendid show made by the New Zealand Government at the Alexandra Palace Exhibition caused many people to ask at the local shops for New Zealand cheese and butter. . . . For the moment it seems that New Zealand is the only Dominion pushing and patriotic enough to bid for North London goodwill, and that enterprise deserves encouragement, and should be an example to others.” “Things do happen through real Christian prayer in the spirit of prayer. Let us think what the words really mean when we recite them in Church,” stated lit. Rev. W. H. Baddeley, Bishop of Melanesia, when speaking in Palmerston North last evening. “It is to those who rediscover the power of prayer that the spirit of God comes.” Unshaken faith was needed in prayer to-day, he added, and he counselled all to pray with expectancy and earnestness. That was the strength of the Church.

Representing the Levin Aero Club, a deputation, waited ui>on the Lake Domain Board at Levin this week seeking assistance in securing a permanent aerodrome for the .town at the Domain, where relief labour could be utilised in effecting improvements. It was stated that the club had five j>upils ready to do their solo flights, but thev could not get any further until they got a bigger ground locally or went to Palmerston North, though at present Palmerston North had no machine. The Domain Board carried a resolution that it was prepared to support the Aero Club’s application if it could be shown that the proposal was a sound one and had the approval of the Government Departments concerned.