LOCAL AND GENERAL

Chronicle (Levin), 8 January 1947, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

| Extra Band Practice All members of the Levin Muni1 cipal Band ' are given a final re- . minder to be present at the bandroom tomorrow (Thursday) even- ' ing for practice, Matters pertain- • ing to the uniforms are to be dlscussed and members are requested ^ to be able to supply the size of , their hats. j: Alpine Fatalities ;j More than 20 alpine fatalities have occurred in New Zealand i since the beginning of 1937. The Iworst in the coimtry's history was on Mount Cook in 1930, when a '{party of four women and a guid'e jiwere caught in a blizzard between i the Malte Brun and Ball huts on ' the Tasman Glacier and perished •' from exposure. : Juvenile Gurlosity ;j A six-year-old boy who wanted • • to see a fire brigade in action telephoned the New Plymouth fire ;• station from his narents' home in :: Avenue Road and said that the :fhouse next door was on fire. He li realised his ambition. A general alarm was sounded and the brigade j rushed to the scene, only to find ; that it was a false alarm. The boy .! apparently . got the idea from a lunch table discussion on fires, and . when. left alone for a few minutes : tried it out. Knife With a History • ij A Spanish knife, presented to the Southland Museimi by Mr. Hunter, of Spring Hills, has a history attached to it. The knife was origin- : ally taken to England by oue of ' Wellington's veterans of the Peninsular War. In 1911 this man's | grandson ga-ve it to Mr. Hunter on • 1 the 1 eve of - •Ms^ departivre' - for NeW1 Zealand with the remark that it was something with which to defend himself against the "sanguinary savages," an example of how J the reputation for ferocity, which ■ the Maoris earned for themselves 1 in the early days of white settlements in New Zealand, lingered on. j Egmont Unsafe ! The ascent of Mount Egmont is unsafe at present, even for experienced mountaineers, according to two members of the executive of the Stratford Mountain Club, . .Messrs G. Close and E. Tooley. They stated that the 'snow on Egmont j was partioularly heavy for this ! time of the year and that both the i snow and the weather were uncertain. Because of heavy snow, an accident on the tracks on the northern slopes could involve a maximum fall of 1500 feet, and on the eastern side off the usual tracks a climber could slide a considerable distance. The snow near the summit is often icy and dangerous. . Ticket's Long Life Bought'in the early days of the war, a universal concession tieket on the Wellington city tramways ended its period of use on Saturday. In the meantime, with two rides uncancelled, it travelled to Greece, spent three years with its owner, a Karori soldier, in a German prison camp, returned to New Zealand via Britain to lose one of its valid clips, went away to Japan with J-Force replacements, and returned to New Zealand a second time quite recentlyi During its travels two New Zealand postage Istamps had a'dhered to its back when its owner got wet. and the tramway conductor eyed it dubiously when it was tendered for final cancellation on Saturday. The owner iritends to treasure it as a memento.