Local & General

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 13, Issue 76, 11 April 1949, Page 4

Local & General

Brass Band For Cambridge In preparation of a visit to Cambridge over Easter to take part in the South Auckland Brass Bands’' competitions, the Whakatane Citizens’ Brass Band is holding a concert at Whakatane on Wednesday evening. The band has been practising solidly for some time now and is taking the opportunity on Wednesday of letting the people of Whakatane hear the numbers it will be playing in the competitions. Emergency Radio Stations

The Post Office has 24 emergency radio stations in New Zealand—l 3 in the North Island and 11 in the South Island. The purpose of the stations is to provide alternative communications outlets in the event of major line interruptions. State House Rentals

“We will not change the basis of rental for State houses,” said Mr Nash at Wellington recently. Mr Nash added that the cost of construction of State houses was now slightly cheaper than last year, and the Government hoped to decrease the price still further. Place Names Altered

Wangaehu is now Whangaehu. On the register of the New Zealand Geographic Board from May 25 next, “Railway Station River etc,” eight miles south of Wangaehu, shall be known as Whangaehu. The same, notice also changes Kai Iwi Beach, popular summer resort, to Mowhanau Beach.

Railway Fare Concessions Concession railway fares for group travel organisations, sporting and pleasure parties, conference delegates, bandsmen and members of similar (Organisations will be reinintroduced from May 1, and will apply during the slack season of the railways, stated Mr Semple in an announcement last week. Drivers Exonerated '■ Police charges against two motorists were dismissed by Mr E. L. Walton, S.M., in the Magistrate’s Court at Whakatane on Thursday. Harold T. Stowell was charged with failing to keep a proper lookout, and Manuhuia Umuhuri with failing to keep as far as practicable to. the left of the road. " > Writing of Telegrams Because the standard of handwriting in New Zealand is considered to be deteriorating, all telegrams for transmission in future are to be written in block lettys. A statement to this effect has been issued by the General Post Office, Wellington, which says that the block system has been introduced to expedite the handling of telegraph traffic.

N.Z. Innocent Abroad A blow to her native pride was suffered by Mrs Janet Minogue, when she was flying from New York' to San Francisco. In reply to the stewardess, who questioned her about her accent, she said she lived in New Zealand. “Gosh, I didn’t kinda think people lived there!” remarked the stewardess. Then there was the American woman who said to her: “A New Zealander? Let me touch you!” l ' Capital Punishment That capital punishment be re-' introduced if, in the opinion of the judge trying the case, the crime is of such a heinous nature as to warrant the death sentence, that the death penalty be restored to the statute book and that a request be forwarded to the Government to introduce the necessary legislation early in the forthcoming session of Parliament to improve it and conduct a plebiscite was a remit passed unanimously by the 'annual conference of the N.Z. Justices’ Association.

He Lost His Trousers

Disaster speedily overtook a young man who was cycling along Lichfield Street, near the Colombo Street intersection, Christchurch. He was not wearing trouser clips. The cuff of his right trouser leg became mixed up in the chain which ripped the material at the knee, then split the trousers up the back seam and tore them acorss the seat. Clad only in his underpants and the remains of his trousers, the young man broke all records in disentangling himself from the bicycle and dived into a right-of-way. Crowds of people wafched the incident with delight. -