Untitled

Manawatu Standard, Volume LIII, Issue 26, 28 December 1932, Page 6

The building of the new fire station in Hastings is to be begun within the next fortnight. The cost of the station, together with a house for the superintendent, as well as two houses for firemen, will be about £BOOO. A Greymouth correspondent reports that the Unemployment Board contemplates spending £6OOO to deviate the road between Stafford and Waimea Creek, which was encroached recently by flood waters. The area is low-lying. A tribute to the beauty of the flower gardens to be seen in all parts of New Zealand is paid by Lord Salvesen, a Scottish peer, who is in the course of a holiday tour of the Dominion. The garden flowers attained greater size here tha.n they did in England, he said, although in most cases the seeds were English. Roses in England never attained the size to which they grew in New Zealand.

A confirmed punter took a pound out to Ellerslie on Boxing Day, and decided that if it “went west” it would be the end of his speculation. He bought—as he thought—a ticket on No 13, and a ticket on No. 2. The race was won by No. 13, which paid handsomely. Going up to collect, he was just about to tear up the No. 2 ticket when he was amazed to see that it was also branded “Thirteen.” At the machine he had asked for “Two and thirteen,” but in the hurry the ticket-seller evidently took it for “Two on thirteen,” and punched accordingly. The punter collected quite a lot of money—quite by accident. —Star.

During recent excavation operations in North-Easi Valley, workmen discovered a silver' medal, which was found to be in an excellent state of preservation. It came into the hands of the seci-etary of the Otago A. and P. Society, Mr A. F. Duthie who, finding that it was issued by the Peninsula Society, took it to Portobello, and was able to restore it to Mr D. McKay, whose father had won the medal 48 years ago. The trophy was for the best yearling halfbred Alderney heifer, and was dated January 2, 1884. An interesting point is that Mr McKay remembers taking that particular animal to the show, which was held that year on the camp road near Larnach Castle.

Run over and killed instantly by a passing car in the main street of Morrinsvilie, a slatey coloured racing pigeon belonging to some pigeon fancier in another town came to an untimely end. On one of its legs was a silver ring inscribed, “H.1.K., N.Z., 296,” and a rubber ring with the number 608. The bird was apparently a young one, which had lost its way. It made itself at home in the backyard of a shop in the main street throughout Tuesday, and allowed itself to be handled by the occupants, "which shows how tame it was. In an evil hour it flew out into the street to pick up some scrap of food and alighted just in front of a moving car, to the grief of bystanders.

The Manawatu Golf Club is holding its usual New Year mixed tournament at Hokowhifcu on the Ist, 2nd and 3rd January. All events are open to men and lady players, the ladies’ handicaps being adjusted by a concession of five strokes. Programmes can be obtained from the professional, and entries for the match play events close at the links on Saturday at noon. Other events ore post entry.

Business people generally in Palmerston North report that their turnovers for the Christmas trade far exceeded expectations, in some cases the cash returns exceeding those of last Christmas. Their experience has been most encouraging, and has given them an optimistic outlook. Prom the roll of about 800 boys who have registered with the Wellington Boy Employment Committee, sufficient volunteers cannot be mustered to fill the jobs which farmers are offering and rural employers have been informed that their applications for boy labour cannot be tilled, says an exchange. It was due to the enterprise of Mr W. F. Itovdhouse, founder of the Evening Press, a daily newspaper published in Wellington over 40 years ago, that the picture process was first adopted in New Zealand newspapers. He introduced this feature, which is now one of the most popular sections of the Dominion’s leading daily newspapers. Full use. is at present being made of the motor camping facilities at the Esplanade and the improvements recently effected there have net with most favourable commendation. The closeness of the site to the several splendid bathing pools in the Manawatu River is greatly appreciated. The camp is expected to be fully occupied all the holidays.

The twinkling lights which gave the streets of Palmerston North such an attractive appearance on Christmas Eve were commented upon by a Wellington visitor, who contrasted them with what he termed the drab appearance of the Capital City, where the civic authorities have not seen fit to decorate the business areas with festoons of coloured electric lights. He stated That Palmerston North’s appearance on Christmas Eve was one which could be made the subject of much praise. The earthquake which shook Nevada and California, as recorded in last Thursday’s cable news, was recorded on the seismographs at the Dominion Observatory, in Wellington. The distance of the shake from "Wellington was correctly estimated from the tracings, but the exact direction could not be determined without the receipt of information about records obtained elsewhere. The cable message, however, left no doubt as to the origin of the earthquake which made its tracings on the instruments.

Commenting that he had been delighted with the flowers in* the Square, and had been favourably impressed by the neat and well-kept appearance of the gardens, a visitor from the Wairarapa expressed regret that he had sought in vain on Monday, a day of exceptional heat, for a shady seat where he might sit to admire nature’s beauty. He stated that Palmerston North’s beautiful gardens attracted many people to this centre for the holidays, but it was very disappointing indeed to have to sit out on seats exposed to a glaring sun. So far of parent mut-ton-birds which are seen annually, about this time of the year searching for sardines and other foods have not been observed, says the Southland News. A few groups of isolated mut-ton-birds only have so far been noted. A report from a prospector who has spent the past nine months at Preservation Inlet, says that muttonbirds, large flocks of them, remained there from June up till tlie present time. This is considered to be a most unusual thing, and a significant departure from their unerring migratory habits, ‘‘lt’s handy to sixty years ago since the world’s first submarine was built and launched in Dunedin,” a Port Chalmers man remarked to a reporter, adding that he was an engineering apprentice at the time and worked at the building of her engine. Designed on the general lines of Jules Verne’s famous Platypus, the vessel was designed to salvage gold from the bottom of the Molyneux River. Paddles on tire outside of the hull were intended to work the internal machinery, the paddles being driven by the racing river current as the vessel lay on the bottom of the river, the crew meanwhile opening her false bottom and scooping up the gold. When fully loaded the compressed-air machine was geared in the revolving paddle wheels and the gold-laden ship rose to the surface and was warped to the river bank to discharge. Eventually she was launched at Musseb Bay, and with a select company of experts on board was successfully submerged in the harbour. Everything worked well until the Time came to rise to the surface again. Then there was a hitch. The ferry steamer Golden Age was requisitioned to drag the submarine along the bottom to the shore, and her hull was altered to do service as a factory soap vat. She never reached her intended destination on the Molyneux.