Local and General

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 10, Issue 54, 25 November 1946, Page 5

Local and General

Christmas Toys Children’s toys will not be in full supply again, this Christmas, it was stated by a chain store manager at Wellington. Practically all the toys to be had will be of New Zealand make. As at last Christmas, one @>r two pre-war imported lines may come back from the storeroom to the counter. One small shipment of novel mechanical toys was expected early next month.

Fate of Tortoise ' - A tortoise which is believed to have been almost 150 years old and has been in the possession of the family of Mrs E. J. Gunnings, of Shannon, for over 90 years, was found dead recently from what is believed to have been an attack by a dog. The tortoise had lived in the garden at the residence of Mr and Mrs E. J. Gunning, Stout Street, for the past 12 years.

Veteran Driver ' The issue of a driver’s license recently to Dr. T. C. Moore, of Taupo, in his 91st year, is regarded as probably a record for New Zealand. Dr. Moore had no difficulty in gaining his license. He had to produce a doctor’s certificate regarding his health. Although Dr. Moore had driven a car for years, he had not done so for the past four years. He is well known in Napier, where he practised for a long period and also in Taupo.

Testing Paint Durabilities Testing of paints for weather-re-sisting qualities is now becoming an important part of investigational activities by the New Zealand De- • partment of Scientific and Industrial Research, which is looking for more durable and cheaper materials. The paints and building materials section of the department, under „ the direction of Mr J. L. Mandeno, senior chemist, had recently put into operation a new machine which un- r der laboratory methods, reproduces all the wearing effects of weather.

Personalities Condemned “I’ve done my best' to keep personalities ou£ of this campaign and I hope'my supporters will do likewise,” said Mr R. Boord, Labour candidate for the Bay of Plenty at his meeting in the Caledonian Hall last Saturday evening. Mr Boord’s rebuke followed several derogatory interjections aimed at his opponent. General applause greeted his concluding remarks when he said that anything he said. was aimed at Mr Sullivan’s policy statements. That was all! ’

Polling Booths The attention of electors is drawn to the situation of the i main polling booths in Whakatane. At the Borough Council Chambers two booths will be in operation. One will be for the use of ordinary voters; the oth-, in, in charge of a special deputy officer will be available for the taking of absentee, declaration, postal and miscellaneous votes. Those wishing to vote iri any of these categories, are requested to make use of the special facility provided. Other central polling booths are the Caledonian Hall, the Paper Mills and the County Council Chambers.

Mysterious Animal While a man was catching whitebait in a river close to Invercargill recently, he heard a snort and saw a large animal emerging from the water. The beast came half out iof * the river and .remained on the bank for ten minutes, and the man who saw it declared that it was neither a sea lion nor a seal.. It had a very short head, big eyes, wide nostrils, ears about one inch long, and was about 2ft 6in.through the neck. The animal was seen again in the water the following day. Those who saw it said that it could be heard breathing about 100 yards away. The'mysterious visitor is thought to be molesting the trout in the river, as nocatches have been made during the * animal’s presence.

Eel Trap with a Future? Designed by members of the Hawera Acclimatisation Society to purge South Taranaki trout fishingstreams of eels, a specially constructed steel eel trap has been tested in the Kaupokonui River with outstanding success. The first: l trial resulted in the snaring of 16large eels—considered an excellent., result for a period of only .12 hours... Two food canneries in the Souths. Island which have been engaged for" some time in collecting eels on a. large scale in view of great. de- • mands for them in Europe are among the concerns that have requested reports of the trap’s effectiveness. The Department of Internal Affairs states that the Department is extremely interested in the possibilities'. of dispatching largequantities of eels to Unrra.