General Topics

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 1, Issue 31, 3 July 1939, Page 8

General Topics

o : LOAN FROM MR NASH A story concerning the Hon Walter Nash's trip abroad is that While cross ing to England on the Queen, Mary, he was urgently accosted by an Auckland businessman who was having trouble getting funds remitted from New Zealand. Although he failed to get a special dispensation from Mr Nash, the Aucklander docs claim to have got a personal loan from him. HONOURED DEAD A bronze tablet in memory of those men who lost their lives in the construction, of the East Coast railway between Napier and Waikokopu since the line was first started, about 20 years ago, has been, erected by the Works Department the Wai roa railway station building. The tablet was unveiled on Saturday by the Hon R. Semple, Minister of Public Works. ELEPHANT HELPS ITSELF When he stopped on his way home with a basket of goods to watch some elephants attached to a circus which is spending the winter in Claudelands, a 10 year old boy becamc so engrossed that he failed -to notice one of the beasts help himself to the contents of the basket. By the time his attention, was drawn to the theft the boy found that a quantity of fish and chocolate was missing. TESTING BISCUITS A method of ascertaining the difference between men who bad experience in steam and in sail was Jocju. larls' mentioned by Mr C. 11. Kcr. sley in an address to the Christchurch Business MenTs Club. If he was given a ship's biscuit, the steamship sailor would promptly proceed to eat it. The man with experience of sailing ships would first knock it against the nearest hard object, to rid it of any weevils it might contain. PRESENT FOR REFEREES Members of the Wanganui Referees Association received a present from an admirer on Saturday. It was a carcase of home-killed mutton from Brunswick. "I am giving it in appreciation, of the as referees and for what they do for the the anonymous donor declared, "Referees play their parts impartially, do not please everybody, but are good marks for criticism. This gift is just to show that one who goes to football every Saturday appreciates just what Rugby owes to its referees." The sheep was cut up among those referees "who were lucky enough to draw their names from a hat. UNOFFICIAL EXCHANGE RATE Considerable dealings in overseas exchange at about 10 per ~cnt above the official rate, were disclosed by a Wanganui merchant in an interview. As exchange was .not available through the ordinary channels, ".ie explained, speculation had commenced in dealings from outside the Dominion, sterling funds being forward ed to New Zealand and sold to merchants at about 10per cent above the official rate. In this way metchants could provide the necessary exchange to pay for urgently-recfuir-ed goods. AVALANCHE PRECAUTIONS The first heavy fall of snow this winter has fallen in the Upper Hollyford Valley, and full precautions have been taken by the Public Work? Department at the Homer tunnel to protect the men from the danger of avalanches. Only one shift, a daylight one, will be worked during the rest of the winter, and a special covered way has been erected from the workshops to the portal of the tunnel. Until recently, three shifts have been worked, but night shifts have now been suspended and a look-out man has been posted to keep a continuous watch for avalanches. NEW CALEDONIA KAURI In the course of his tour to the Near East, in which he also visited the ("French i-land of New Caledonia, Air L. Ward, of New Plymouth, wa; surprised to learn tint that island exported a considerable amount of kauri timber. New Caledonia is about. 1000 miles-north of New Zealand and has a good climate and these trees grow luxuriantly in many of ihe broad valleys. He stated also that there was practically no fever in the island, and there were no n»«til" pests such as were to be found in many other tiopical and sub-tropieid islands of the Pacific-.