NEWS IN BRIEF

Dominion, Volume 32, Issue 154, 25 March 1939, Page 13

NEWS IN BRIEF

Prefix “Royal” The Governor-General has advised tlie New Zealand Institute of Horticulture that Ills Majesty the King has been graciously pleased to approve of the granting of permission to make use of the prefix “Royal” in its title. 1735 Calls Answered.

Superintendent Gaynor, of jche Petoue fire brigade, completed 35 years service with the brigade yesterday. In that time Superintendent Gaynor bus answered the roll-call on 1735 occasions. and has, it is believed, created a record for New Zealand. Institute of Secretaries.

During the past week the Australasian Institute of Secretaries has conducted in Wellington its bi-annual examinations. Seventeen candidates sat for tlie three final subjects and two candidates for the two intermediate subjects. Mr. E. M. Bardsley, secretary of the Wellington branch, acted as supervisor. Training in the Art of Fishing.

A scheme which it is believed will enable young anglers to adopt sound principles when fishing ha's been proposed by the fish committee of the North Canterbury Acclimatization Society. Victoria Lake ha.s been placed at the disposal of the committee by the Christchurch Domains Board, and the committee proposes to liberate there a limited number of small salvaged fish. It was stated at a meeting of the council of the society that tuition in fly easting could probably be given to boy anglers by experienced fishermen.

Grand Opera for Children. They are teaching the children of New York to become opera-minded. Halfway through February some 3500 children from Long Island, West Chester and Connecticut were brought into Manhattan to see a performance of “Lohengrin” at the Metropolitan Opera House, the second of a series of junior student presentations, sponsored by a guild of business men. The last of the series was another performance of “Lohengrin.” to be given before an audience of school children from New Jersey. The cast was all German and the opera was sung in German.

Salvaging of Fish. The fish salvaging work of the North Canterbury' Acclimatization Society has resulted in about 17,000 fish being salvaged to date, according to a report presented to a meeting of the council by the fish committee. Of this total, 12,382 had been placed iu the Ellesmere system, 1632 in the Wirimakariri, 2177 in the Jukes, and 668 in the Avon. To stock adequately the back country lakes, it was agreed, on the recommendation of the committee, to purchase an additional rainbow ova from the Internal Affairs Department if they were available. Railway Signals.

An announcement that with the installation of the electric signalling and tablet system between Whakapara and Opua, there is now complete tablet operation between Newmarket tmd Opua, was made recently by the Minister of Railways, Mr. Sullivan. Emphasizing the department’s attention to this phase of its operations, Mr. Sullivan said it was the aim to equip every section of the railways with modern signalling services, and toward this end, under the heading of signals and communications, the department’s estimates for the current financial year provided for an expenditure of £197,066.

Petrol Power Picks. One of the latest tools in use by the Electric Light Department of the Wellington City’ Corporation is the petrol-driven power pick. Most people have been made painfully aware of the electric rivetter and pneumatic pick, with their loud clatter, but a new note in the industrial symphony has been created by the introduction of tlie petrol-driven power pick, which has to be heard aft its best when used for shattering good concrete. To drive a compressed-air pick one has to have a compresed air plant alongside the scene of action; a petrol power pick is selfcontained. The action of the new pick is no lighter on the manipulator than it is with other mechanical picks.

Improving Oriental Bay Beach. Since the Wellington Harbour Board’s dredge Kerimoana began depositing sand from the eastern side of the harbour off Oriental Bay, a noticeable drift of sand on to the eastern beach has taken place. Though the beach is still at a glance as stony as before, closer inspection reveals that a good deal of sand has settled between the stones, and also that the sandy area below the low-tide mark has approached closer to the foreshore. These ijidications promise well for the success of the scheme to create a sandy beach on the eastern side of the municipal bathing sheds. Access to Tort.

The need for better transport facilities between Christchurch and Lyttelton, if full advantage was to be taken of the coming campaign to advertise the advantages of Christchurch as a manufacturing centre was emphasized at a meeting of the executive of the Canterbury Manufacturers’ Association. The following motion was carried: —“That the attention of the Railways Department be drawn to the very serious loss and inconvenience caused to manufacturers in Christchurch because of np provision being made fertile dispatch of goods to ships at Lyttelton after 11 a.m., and that the department be urgently requested to promote facilities for goods to be sent to the port for ship s sailing on the same day.”