NEWS OF THE DAY.

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 235, 4 October 1928, Page 6

NEWS OF THE DAY.

One Tree Bill Building. Building permits to the value of £5703 have been issued during the past fortnight, reported the building inspector at last night's meeting of the One Tree Hill Road Board. Five were for dwellings of a total value of £4698, and one for a brick shop valued at £769. The Last Oysters. The oyster season is rapidly drawing to a close. Supplies are still plentiful, and of good quality, and the last consignment is expected to reach Auckland on October 17. It is proposed to close the season on October 20, but this not yet been definitely decided. Howick Domains. Acting on Order-in-Council the Howick Domain Board on Tuesday evening transferred all its assets to the Howick Town Board, wnen the new body to administer the reserves held its first meeting. It was gratifying to note that the funds handed over by the Domain Board were in credit. The meeting decided, at the suggestion of Mr. Armitage, to devote £5 to the newlyformed cricket club to enable it to put its pitches and ground in order. War Anniversary. To-day is the eleventh anniversary of the fighting for possession of the ridges in the vicinity of Ypres, in which the New Zealand Division took part. Two main attacks were by the New Zealanders, one on October 4 and the other on October 12. After one successful offensive rain converted the sector into mud, very heavy losses were sustained in an attack launched by the 2nd and 3rd New Zealand Brigades on Bellvue Spur. A gallant effort in the face of machine-gun fire failed. Later, after a bombardment, the spur was taken by the Canadian Forces. When the Bridge Comes. "What will you do when the bridge comes?" queried Mr. L. Alderton when Mr. G. H. O'Halloran was protesting against the establishment of another bus service license from Devon port to Brown's Bay, on the grounds that the roads of the Waitemata county would suffer if more buses used the main highway. "That will be all right," responded Mr. O'Halloran. "When we get the Waitemata bridged, we'll get such an< influx of population along our lovely East Coast bays that we'll easily get enough rates to lay down a concrete road to Brown's Bay." Mr. Alderton smiled the smile of polite unbelief.

In Remembrance. A nice little souvenir card, suitably adorned with blue ribbon and containing some statistics, has been circulated amongst the shareholders by Cricket, Ltd., the company that was formed to finance the tour of the New Zealand cricket team in England. "Shareholders," it says, "will be reminded of their part of a venture which will always be remembered in the annals of New Zealand cricket." The Auckland Rugby League had 25 £1 shares in the great adventure, and have received out of the "wash-up" of the company a cheque for £3 8/9. They have some solace in the fact that they were not expecting a dividend, and made the investment solely with the view of helping a sister sport. Water Wasting. Proposals for improving the water supply of the district were put before the One Tree Hill Road Board last evening by the chairman, Mr. H. B. Dobbie. "There is enough water running to waste from our well to supply the whole of Auckland, even after we have had all we want," he stated. "During the peak of last season there was more water running through the filters than they could cope with. My proposal is to lay two mains in Hauiti and Miro Roads to complete the circuit, and to provide a larger pump- and two additional filters. The 6cheme would cost between £2000 and £3000, for which I suggest we should raise a special loan." Discussion of the proposal was deferred to the next meeting.

The Koekoea. Hoki-o-te-koekoeia was the name given by one of the ( early Government surveyors to a small wooded island in the Rangitaiki River to perpetuate its original place name, which in the native tongue means literally "the place of the koekoea." This is the long-tailed cuckoo, known also as the koehoperoa, which flies from the South Sea Islands to New Zealand in the spring, and Hoki-o-te-koekoea was evidently a favourite halting place before the birds went on to explore the forest fastnesses of high Urewera eountry. The early Maoris Were puzzled by the habits of the koekoea, for they could not find its nesting place. Commercialised Sport, "iou will want to know my impressions of New Zealand," said the Rev. Hector McLean, of the United Church of Canada, speaking at the Christchurch Presbytery. "Well, I find it a land where every prospect pleases." The laughter of the members of the Presbytery was an indication they knew the conclusion of the quotation. "You know," continued the Canadian visitor, "I feel like the Apostle Paul at Athens. His spirit was sore within him when he saw the city given over to idolatry. The situation is bad enough in Canada, the Lord knows, but it is my impression honestly (it doesn't make any difference to me) that New Zealand is given over body and soul to commercialised sport. Now, I believe in clean and legitimate sport, but when sport becomes an obsession and an over-ruling passion, God help us, and God help the country. It is time to call a halt, and time to do something." "We Learn for Life."

In paying a tribute to the memory of the late Mr. W. J. Binns and the late Mr. R. Hindley, the chairman of the Board of Managers of the Seddon Memorial Technical College (Mr. H. S. W. King) stated at the opening of the new assembly hall yesterday afternoon that it was the bequests of those gentleman which had mmle possible the creation of a fund for the building of the hall. A tablet to the memory of the two benefactors was subsequently unveiled. Mr.. King expressed the hope that the new assembly hall would be the means of building up within the walls of the college a school tradition second to none in the Dominion. This hope was endorsed by Mr. W. J. Holdsworth, the immediate past chairman of the board. He said that the college was now attaining its proper place in the educational life of the community, and it was alrearlv showing signs of becoming a vital force in shaping the lives of future citizens. It is interesting to note that the school motto selected for inchfsion in the college coat* of arms, which adorns the new hall, is: "Vitae non scliolae discimus." Interpreted, it means k "We learn for life, and not for school." Novel Scheme for Milford. Efforts to popularise Milford Beach have taken a novel turn, for within a few days a company will commence to convert the lagoon into an aquatic playground. A structure in the form of an ancient galleon, containing a large dancing floor, cubicles and refreshment stalls, Is to be erected by the Milford Amusements Company, Ltd., which will operate largely in conjunction with the Devonport Steam Ferry Company and the North Shore Transport Company in the direction of providing reduced fares .to the aquatic park from the time of opening next Christmas. A feature of the scheme is that the water of the lagoon is to be locked to ensure a good and safe depth of water at low _ tide, although provision will be made for flushing at high tide. On the site of the tea house standing on the beach nearest the mouth of the lagoon will be construtced a building resembling an old pirate ship and costing approximately £5000. Jn [ this structure will be built one of the largest I dancing floors in the city.