General News

Press, Volume XCV, Issue 28269, 6 May 1957, Page 8

General News

Submarine Police

A demonstration to show policemen how to swim underwater was given in Wellington harbour yesterday. It was arranged by Sergeant J. E. O’Regan, and given by five members of the Wellington Underwater Club. The .club has several times assisted . the wharf police with urgent jobs. The swimmers were in the water more than 15 minutes, surfacing with old boots, plates, pipes, and even an electric torch. Some carried oxygen tanks on their backs, others relied on air pumped through tubes from the wharf, and one man used simply a mask and a snorkel. As the weather was quickly deteriorating, only one policeman entered the water. He was constable R. Ede, who made a quick but successful descent. — (P.A.)

Changed Wording From now on marriage licences in Rhode Island will carry the wording “prospective bride.” Up to now, it has been “expectant bride.” Mrs E. Louise Stoddard, only woman member of the State House of Representatives, introduced' the bill making the change. Today the Senate gave the measure final passage. Mrs Stoddard said- she was happy.— Providence (Rhode Island). May 4. Snowfields Safety The Tongariro National Park Board has agreed to a combination of crossed red tfoles and signs being used to mark all danger spots on the snowfields. A decision to mark the areas was made last year when a skier lost his life over Skipper’s gully. A trial safety fence erected along the edge provided unsatisfactory. —(P.A.) Pottery School All 50 places for the residential pottery school to be conducted by the Adult Education Department of Canterbury University College this month have been filled. The seven-day course will begin on May 15. Lectures and demonstrations will be given to the five groups each day at the School of Art, and there will be lectures in the evenings at Helen Connon Hall, where members will be in residence. Comet “Disappointing” Although it was the sleekest and most expensive aircraft ever to land at Christchurch, the Comet jet plane now at Harewood, was a “bit of a let-down” in the view of a number of persons who visited the airfield to inspect it. Most persons seemed to think that the plane would have been bigger. Actually, it is much of a size with the Tasman Empire Airways DC-6 airliners which use Harewood three times a wedk — with the same over-all height, a shorter wingspan, and a slightly longer fuselage. Its passengercarrying capacitiy is 48 persons, compared with 56 for the DC-6. 84ft Goalposts Claimed to be the tallest in the world, the new goalposts at Rugby Park. Whangarei, are now in use. The previous posts at the park were 60-foot kauri rikas. but these had deteriorated and replacements were necessary. The new posts are 84-foot bluegum. This is the third set of high goalposts at Rugby Park. The first set, erected nearly 30 years ago, were 40 feet high. Later these were replaced by the 60-foot posts. 10,000 ft of Ice Scientists with the United States Antarctic expedition have discovered that the ice sheet is 10.000 ft thick at one point, the “New York Times” reported. Echo soundings at Byrd station in Marie Byrd Land had shown that 5000 ft of ice was above sea level, and 5000 ft below sea level The report said that it was widely believed by scientists that the Antarctic continent had sunk under its burden of ice. Byrd station is 650 miles inland from the Little America base on the Ross shelf. —New York, May 3. Hart’s New Antlers The white hart which stands on the top of the hotel of that name in New Plymouth has a new set of 12 point antlers. The old antlers were damaged when they were dislodged from the 55-year-old kauri statue by wind last week. Three White Herons Some duck shooters at Bowis’s Flat, Lake Ellesmere, saw three white herons on Saturday morning. The same men saw a white heron on the flat over a week ago when they were preparing their mia mias for the shooting season.