Bay of Plenty Beacon Published Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. MONDAY, JANUARY 6, 1947 Local & General

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 10, Issue 69, 6 January 1947, Page 4

Bay of Plenty Beacon Published Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. MONDAY, JANUARY 6, 1947

Local & General

Inquest Finding The official binding of the coronial inquiry into the death of the 19 months old infant daughter of Mr and Mi’s D. Tooke, of Whakatane West, was that the little victim died on December 28, death being due to accidental drowning.

A Popular Mount A diminutive Timor pony imported from the Argentine and very like a sturdy Shetland was a popular exhibit at Messrs. F. J. Savage and Sons thoroughbred parade at the Tuhoe Stud, Waimana, yesterday. Free rides were offered the children upon this attractive little animal which was practically stormed by youngsters for the remainder of hte afternoon.

December Rainfall The rainfall for December totalled 1.92 inches according to Edgecumbe measurements. The total for the year recorded on the Plains was 57.28 inches. The average fall for December over ten years was 4.39 inches, while the average total fall over the same year was 57.07 inches —the highest being in 1936 inches) and the lowest in 1938 (43.92).

Exchange of Apples While apples have been completely off the New Zealand market for many weeks, Canada is enjoying a crop of 16,739,000 bushels—more than double the previous year’s harvest. Mr M. R. M. Dale, assistant commercial secretary for Canada in Wellington, said Canada would like to see reciprocal trade in apples. “We would like to have New Zealand apples in our off-season, and vice versa,” he said.

Honourable War Wounds “You will notice that he bears his war wounds on his left forearm,” said Mr F. J. Savage when describing the points of the splendid-look-ing thox'oughbred stallion ‘Pictavia’ to the large crowd at ‘Tuhoe’ yesterday. He went on tq explain that the wounds were received when ‘Pictavia’ was a member of Sir Donald McAlpine’s stables in England at a time when the Germans bombed the establishment with distressing results to many of the horses. The wounds were some of the main reasons for Pictavia’s owner deciding to sell him to an overseas buyer.

A Difficult Year

“It has been a difficult period for shipping, delays being occasioned by continuous bad weather, gales and then heavy rain predominating for the last eight months of'the year—added to this have been delays caused through labour troubles” states a letter to clients from the Northern Steamship Company Ltd. when extending thanks and appreciation for the business placed in the company’s way during the past year. “At times we know you must have been exasperated by these delays, and at times by the shortshipment of some of your cargo,” adds the letter. “This latter has been occasioned by the fact that we must move butter and cheese from the factories to the refrigerated stores at Auckland. The storage space at factories is limited and it is essential at this time that butter and cheese must take priority. The food situation in Britain demands this and we feel sure you will appreciate this aspect.” The letter concludes by stating that in the national interest our sea lanes must be kept open and this could only be done by the helpful co-op-eration of the clients.

Ancient Ship’s Bell The wreck of the whaling brig Patriot, at Mahia Peninsula nearly 100 years ago has been recalled by an old ship’s bell, believed to have belonged to the ill-fated ship, which has been sent to Hastings for repair. Weather-worn and corroded, the bell bears the word “Patriot” and the date 1827. For many years it has hung from the bough of an old oak tree at the rear of the homestead on Mahia Peninsula. Its daily use was to summon station hands to meals, but a crack which has developed has rendered the old bell voiceless.

Shortage of Threepenny Bits A shortage of threepenny pieces is having a serious effect on trading in Palmerston North. The position is stated by a bank official to be desperate, and it might be necessary again to resort to rationing of this coin denomination. All branches of trade are experiencing difficulty in providing correct change for customers. It is estimated that there is about £7OO to £BOO worth of threepenny bits lying idle in homes in Palmerston North, as the custom has grown up by which people on arival home place threepenny pieces in some receptacle and allow them to accumulate. The effect on church collections is not mentioned.

Funeral Expenses

“The allowable deductions in death duties ,were debts owing by deceased at the date of death, but funeral expenses were invariably included,” the assistant-Commis-sioner for Lands and Deeds, Mr W. E. Brown, told New Plymouth Rotarians. “In these days, with increased use of crematoriums, it is rather amusing to note the difference in cost before and after cremation. It is usual .in Taranaki to find that the cost of transportation of the body and the cremation expenses frequently amounts to between £SO and £6O, whereas the last item on the accounts submitted is the return of the ashes, by post— Is 3d,” he said.

Food For Britain The monotony of the English diet was referred to by Mr D. N. Chambers, Australasian vice-president of the Australasian Institute of Secretaries, who recently returned from England, in an address to representatives of the Auckland branch of the institute and representatives of the Chartered Institute of Secretaries, London, and the Incorporated Institute of Secretaries of Australia and New Zealand. As a New Zealander, he said, he found the margarine unpalatable, and felt the acute shortage of fresh meat, sugar and milk. He urged his listeners to send food parcels, which were highly appreciated. Mr Chambers made a report on the negotiations in London for the merger of the three institutes. Those Were The Days A tribute to the durable quality of British products a century ago is a document turned up by an Auckland resident in the course of a springcleaning last year. It is a paybook of a gunner in the British Royal Marine Artillery, showing that he enlisted in August, 1825, over 121 years ago. The paybook is in an excellent state of preservation suggesting an almost imperishable life. According to the document a naval gunner’s pay in those days was 16/a month. However, the cost of clothing was in proportion, and in the list of requirements for the man’s kit, a greatcoat is listed at 10/-, a pair of boots at 12/-, a shell jacket at 12/9, and a cap at 4/1. Trousers range from 3/2 to 5/10, socks run to 2/-, and braces to 6d.