Local and General

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 1, Issue 38, 19 July 1939, Page 4

Local and General

YOUNG FARMERS' DEBATE 1 In the Young Farmers Club championship debate for the Aucl land Province, \vh ch took place «i Ruakura last week, the Paengaro Club defeated Waimana Club in. th final. SURF CLUB IMPROVEMENTS Surf Club members were busy a the Clubhouse at o ; .iopc over th week.cnd the job being the erectioi of a punga fence to take the plac of the old ti.tree and wire H'ence fac ing the beach. With the lawn ii r ront of the clubhouse and the soli' fence the sirfars' headquarters wil be very neat. STRAY HORSE ON ROAD Motorists passing through Te Tc 1 -* last Monday evening complain, th?t black horse standing in the middi of the road vraA nearly the cause of : serious accident. Not noticed unti the car was almost-'within a fey yards of it, Ihe horse was found t< be standing stock still in the centri of the road. The driver was lucky t< •lvoid h'tting it by inches. Th?rhave been many instances of strayini stock on the roads lately. FITTING A SCOTSMAN'S GIRTH llow many yards of plaid does i tnko to .stretch round a Scotsman's g rth? Opinions on the subject seen' to vary to the extent of severa yards. Readers might assert that the answer depends on the size of the girth; one would almost think so. A Wellington report stated that 11 yards of thick pleated plaid are worr round the vraist by members of New Zealand companies ofthe Scottish Regiment. That sounds more like an angler's story rather than one of a Scotsman. Anyway one Whakatanc Scot has hastened to tell the BEACON | that the army regulation is for 7-V4 yards of coarse plaid., while for pri. vate use the kdt usually takes eight yards of fine using the bos pleat. "HEN-PECKED MONEY'* A Christehurch visitor to Sydney who returned last week tells a rather good story of an attempt he made to pass a New Zealand florin piece. In entertaining some friends at a hotei bar lie passed over an Australian, f'oin and a New Zealand two.shilling piece. The barmaid picked up the money and was about to hand back the change when she noticed that one of tiie picces was New Zealand coin. ''Here, * .she exclaimed, "what game is this: we don't want any of your iien.pcckci! money here' 1 contemptuous reference to the kiwi which adorns the face of our two shiil ;ng piece. "Where are you from, any how?" she said. "Bourke " was the reply. ''Well, haven't 'you heard about this stufl out there,,'' she asked . The New Zealander had to substitute an Australian for the despised lien.pecked piece, which he.brought! back with him.

BROKEN BOTTLES On the straight stretch of bitumen beyond Poroporo, a patch of broken glass was noticed yesterday consti. tutiUg a distinct menace to motorists. The glass from a passing glance was apparently from a broken bottle ' or two thrown thoughtlessly on the 1 road. ARRIVALS AND DEPARTURES With about 200 empty drums and sundries on board the Motu sailed for Auckland at five o'clock on Monday night. She brought general cargo to Whnkntane. Among it was -'0 tons of cement. The Clansman avcs set down to ljnve Auckland last night and is cxpectcd to berth on Thursday morning at about nine o'clock. FOOTBALLER AFIRE A cloud of smoke, which immediately followed rough and tumble beL.veen two players, gave spectators an erroneous impression of the heat of play in the rugby league match between Kamo and Hiktirangi, at Kamo, North Auckland. Gabolinsky Hikurangi's fullback, had been incautious enough to take the field wear. • n g a pair of shorts, in the hip pocket of which he left a box of wax matches. The impact of another player touehed the matches off, and the fullback got rid ol them with commendable speed. WIRELESS STATION FOR FARME ''Do we want farmers? Doe,s it matter seriously if they, or a lot of them, go' out of business? ' These questions were being raised,, said the president, Mr W. W. Mulholland to the annual meeting of the New Zealand Farmers' Union. ''The philosophy is being encouraged that we can make in New Zeaalnd all the things that we need to maintain our standard of living and that it is not necessary to Avorry about our export trade. Suggestions of this nature are being put over the air in a manner calculated to belittle the farmer. But the farmers are not allowed to find a means of reply through Avireless stations Avhich are not Avithin the con trol of the Government." STATE MOTOR CARS "We think that one of the most dissatisfying acts committed by the Public Service Commissioner during the past 12 been the authorising of traffic inspectors of the Transport Department to report to the commissioner cases in Avhich thev may observe a Government motor vehicle i n circumstances Avhich give some grounds for the belief that the vehicle is apparently being used for non-official purposes'' comments the Public Service Journal in an editor, isl. The article is headed ''Pin Pricks in the Public SerAdce."" It continues: ''We do not know Avhether the traffic inspectors are enjoying the role. The vast majority, however, should view a task of this nature as nauseating, and any self-respecting public servant Avho drives a. Government car, whether he likes it or noV writhes at the idea of being subject to such survillance."

FRIENDLY GAME A team, the backbone o'f which was provided by the Star Club played Manawahe at Matata on Sunday t Manaawhe winning bq 19 points to 11 after a good game. The Lees brothers turned out for Manawahe, and in the second spell R. Lees and M. Lees ve_ inform! Star, play becoming more even. Chambers and the combined in some good runs. Mr B. Norman rcfcreed. BUCKKT BRIGADE S SAVE A fire which destroyed a quantity cf furniture and part of the dwelling of Mr D.udson, Thornton, on Friday night was checked by the good work of a bucket brigade. The fire occurred last Friday morning in the early hours and the family woke to find the outbreak with a firm hold. However all available hands were quickly busy moving furniture and carrying water with the result that a total loss was averted. Insurances are in the State Fire Office. HEADS PARK Work is going steadily on at The Heads and the completion of the concrete wall will not be long delayed. Much filling remains to be done, a concrete kerb and channel construct, ed, the road formed, and dressing sheds built. The harbour board's men are levelling the parking soaeo and constructing the stone seawall. The widening of Muriwai Road by the borough council staff will probably begin next week. The natives have given a further six foot strip of land for th:s purpose. LETTER TO ADVERTISER A quaintly-worded communication has been received by one of the big drapery emporiums in Dunedin from a resident of Aitutalri, in the Cool Islands. Apparently Dun.edin news papers find the'r way to the islands, and some of the islanders have be come intrigued with the advertise ments therein. The firm concerned ha s received several letters asking for catalogues, but the quaintest on* was as follows: "I b~g you to send me also some order forms and envelopes. I'll be your friend for ever. Yours faithfully . . The inronnation sought by the writer was duly forwarded. FARMERS' HEAVY TRAFFIC FEES That the use of motor lorries by farmers for conveying their milk to factories did less damage to the roads than the use of horse-drawn vehicles was a point made by the chairman of the Pahiatua County Council, Mr j A. W. Bisest, during a discussion on fbe question of waiving heavy traffic fees for farmers' lorries conveying milk to factories. The meeting decided to support a suggestion made by the South Wairarapa County Council that some amendment should bo made to the law regarding the fees paid by farmers' lorries, and the county cleric, Mr J. Hutton ? was given a free hand to vote on the question at the annual counties conference. KOWHAI AS NATIONAL FLOWER? (< I would like to see the kowhai established as our national flower during the Centennial celebrations," said Mrs Knox Gilmer at the annual meeting of the Wellington Horticultural Society. ''Now is the time for horticultural bodies to ask definitely for that to be clone.."