NEWS IN BRIEF

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 11, Issue 11, 28 March 1947, Page 7

NEWS IN BRIEF

Von Luckner’s Escape

The escape of von Luckner from Motuihi Island during World War I. was recalled recently when the 36ft. launch Jean, together with a dinghy and a boatshed, was destroyed by fire on the bank of the Hatea River, Whangarei. The Jean, owned by Eccles Bros., took part in the chase after the German sea raider following his daring dash from Motuihi. Von Luckner was eventually recaptured by the steamer Iris after he had made a bold bid to get away from New Zealand by boarding and taking command •of the Auckland scow Moa which was sailing with a load of timber from Tauranga to Auckland. Tossom in Post Office Although “bats in the belfry” and “ants in the pants” occur quite frequently, “opossoms in the post office” must happen but once in a very long time. 'However, when a cleaner walked into the private box lobby of the Wellington Chief Post Office one night recently, he was confronted by a very antagonistic and well-developed opossum. The animal refused to be persuaded to leave the building, and contented himself by running up doors and walls. The cleaner, using his mop as a weapon, managed to knock the opossum senseless and later finished the job with a hammer. The difficulty remaining was to get rid of the body, and the cleaner, after offering it to a woman as a neck fur, proceeded in the direction of the wharves. Prescription For Longevity “I was asked the other day what was the secret of a healthy and happy old age,” said Lord Bledisloe at the reception given by the Early Settlers and Historical Association in Wellington. “The prescription I gave was ‘continued faith in God, plenty of hard work of a congenial character, and reasonable modera-

tion in all things.’ The last part has been quite the hardest to observe since we left the Old Country-,” he added, “and particularly when you shower upon us your generous hospitality. It is rather hard for M.C.C. cricketers to win their matches when overfed, particularly when they have been through a period of belt-tightening— at least that is the excuse I am going to make for their not winning the Test matches in Australia.”