General News

Press, Volume CV, Issue 30962, 19 January 1966, Page 16

General News

Complicated Traffic

Eight-lane freeways in Los I Angeles had solved nothing.; said the Minister of Transport (Mr McAlpine), speaking at the opening of a nine-man conference of managers of public transport systems in the main Australian and New Zealand cities, which began at the Hotel Russley yesterday. “Los Angeles has just as much a traffic problem as any other city of comparable size." he said. “I recently spent one hour and a half in a helicopter over Los Angeles, studying the traffic pattern, and trying to learn something. But it was

so complicated. I’m afraid I didn’t learn much.” Record Sales A record £580.000 worth of postage stamps was sold last year in the Christchurch postal district. It was the first time sales had exceeded £500,000. Most of the business was done at the Chief Post Office, where sales totalled £195.306. The remainder was at 120 post offices throughout the postal district. Sa'as at the Chief Post Office were £21,000 more than in 1964. During the year there were 11 special stamp issues, including the Christmas stamp, which was the most popular.

Scattered Sitters The 429 centres for sitting the School Certificate Examination were well scattered According to the pass list, announced this morning, candidates sat the examination in the Cook Islands, Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Bangkok, Nairobi (Kenya), Mussoorie (India), Kabul (Afghanistan), Weymouth (England), and London. (Results are printed on pages 20 and 21.) Next Jamboree Canterbury has been chosen as the venue for the next Scout Jamboree, which will be held in January, 1969. Scouts from Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific will attend. The area commissioner for Canterbury (Mr A. Star) said that the site of the jamboree had not yet been chosen.

Taxi-ing Mishap Two Harvard aircraft collided while taxi-ing at the Royal New Zealand Air Force station, Wigram, at 9 a.m. yesterday before a training flight. No-one was hurt. One of the aircraft was damaged near the tail-end of the fuselage but this damage was being repaired yesterday afternoon. The Harvards are; practising formation flying in i readiness for the opening of I Mangere international air-1 ! port on January 29. Hot Day Christchurch sweltered with temperatures in the eighties for most of yesterday. At 6 a.m. the temperature at Harewood was 70 degrees, by noon it had risen to 81 and reached

a maximum of 84 degrees at 3 p.m. Temperatures in the city were slightly higher and the temperature at the Botanic Gardens at 3 p.m. was 86 degrees. This was the third time this year that temperatures in the eighties have been recorded The other occasions were January 1. when the temperature was 92 degrees and on Sunday, January 16. when the temperature rose to 84 degrees. On January 18 last year the maximum temperature was 73 degrees.

Starlifter Due A United States Air Force CI4IA Starlifter will land at Christchurch airport on January 28 for an hour. The big aircraft will take off again for Mangere, where for the next four days it will be on static display. The aircraft will return to Christchurch on February 1, remain overnight and leave the next morning for Travis Air Force base, California. The Starliner, which was a big public attraction on its first visit to Christchurch last October, will not this time be open for public inspection. Beach Crowds With an off-shore wind, warnings were issued to bathers who tried to use air-rafts at the beaches yesterday, when thousands of people enjoyed the warm weather and good sea conditions. No incidents were reported by patrolmen. Vandalism Many of the low-hanging lamp s have been smashed on the illuminated pine tree on Riccarton road. A Riccarlon Borough Council official said that it appeared that the damage had been done with sticks.

Weather Prophet Five Australian delegates welcomed to a public transport managers’ conference which opened at the Hotel Russley at 9.30 a.m. yesterday were reminded that Christchurch had turned on “some real Australian sunshine.” “And this wind that’s blowing has come direct from Australia—straight across the Tasman,” the Minister of Transport (Mr McAlpine) told them. “Before today’s out you’ll know a lot more about this wind—a real Canterbury nor’wester.”