NEWS IN BRIEF

Dominion, Volume 33, Issue 187, 4 May 1940, Page 13

NEWS IN BRIEF

School Holidays

The State schools broke up yesterday for the first term holidays of 1940. They are to resume on Tuesday, May 21. ‘The Wellington Boys’ College and the Wellington East Giris’ and Wellington Girls’ Colleges also dispersed yesterday. They will resume studies on the same date.

Late Mr. Savage’s Will. On the application of tlie solicitor to the Public Trust Oliice the Supreme Court has granted probate of the will of the late Prime Minister, Mr. Savage, to tlie Public Trustee, the executor named in the will. The Public Trust Office has not made public any details of the will.

Old Brigade Greets New Brigade. On the motion of Mr. D. W. Russell, Canterbury, tlie conference of tlie New Zealand Returned Soldiers’ Association decided yesterday that a cablegram of greetings should be sent to the officer commanding tlie Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force, Major-General B. C. Freyiberg, and that lie should be asked to convey to the troops under his command fraternal greetings from the conference.

Kiwis Plentiful. Kiwis are reported to be plentiful at the back of Waverley and Waitotara, and are usually found in gorse and scrub country, where they are often attacked by dogs. Kiwis are nocturnal birds and cannot see well in the daylight, and they are therefore easy prey for dogs. At the back of Ngutuwera tbe birds are very plentiful and can be heard calling at night. Often after scrub fires their nests and bones are found, tlie destruction from this cause being fairly high.

New Use of Neon Sign. At least one church in Dunedin is moving with the times, for in the future neon lights, with ail their brilliance and modernity, will trace against the heavens a religious message from a well-known city minister. Set on top of a two-story building in the Octagon, the sign will compete with the lights of a neighbouring picture theatre, thus symbolizing the ever-present struggle of the Church to attract pleasure-seeking people to thoughts of ’Christian life and service. Crossing Indicator.

It is not always easy for motorists on a dark, wet night to distinguish a pedestrian crossing, however well it may be painted. An experiment is being tried at the junction of Wakefield and Cuba Streets, opposite the Town Hall. This is a vertical replica in miniature of the painted design of a crossing, contained in an illuminated box suspended on the most convenient telephone post. The device is not conspicuous in the daytime, but, when lit up at night, it certainly does its work. Special Sunday Sailing To Lyttelton.

The Union Company’s interisland express service steamers, Rangatira and Wahine will each make two special sailings between Wellintgon and Lyttelton tomorrow. The Rangatira will arrive at Wellington at 6.30 a.m. and -.ill leave at 8.15 a.m. on the return trip to Lyttelton. She will leave Lyttelton again tomorrow night for Wellington, arriving back here at 7 a.,m. on Monday. The Wahine will arrive at Wellington about 5.15 p.m. tomorrow and will leave at 7.45 p.m. on tier return trip to Lyttelton. Excursion in School Tenn.

On condition that in future years such trips should be made in holidays, a request from the headmaster of tlie Te Awamutu District High School for permission for a party of approximately 90 secondary pupils to visit the Chateau was granted by the Auckland Education Board. It was stated that on this occasion it was impossible to ifiake the trip during the-school holidays because of prior bookings. Members of the board expressed their satisfaction that tlie value of the excursion justified tlie break in school attendance.

Battersea I’ark Allotments. In a letter to a 'Wellington friend, Dr. Mary A. Blair, sister of Mr. Justice Blair, relates that the whole of the outer part of Battersea Park, London, has been divided into allotments, which are leased at 5/- a year to people willing to cultivate them. “These people are getting these allotments dug up and planted, and it is a pleasant sight to see them all working on their own bits of land,” writes Dr. Blair. “We hope the pigeons and starlings won't gobble up all the green vegetables.” Wanganui Artist’s Success.

Mr. John Hutton, formerly of St. John’s Hill, Wanganui, has been given the commission of painting the front of the Orient Shipping Company’s London offices, with a suitable design and lettering on a hoarding, says Dr. Mary A. Blair, sister of Mr. Justice Blair, in a letter to a friend in Wellington. “It is a wonderful position, and we hope that it will bring John more work,” says Dr. Blair. “The actual de-sign-is very simple, just a steering wheel against a background of ocean and a border of rope design. I think it is very effective. John was lucky to get the job, as many artists have nothing to do at present. His success was the result of an exhibition of mural designs for hoardings, held recently at the Building Centre, Bond Street.”'

Wives .of Soldiers. “A wrong impression appears to exist in regard to Hie allowance for newly-married wives of soldiers,” said Captain 11. P. Conyers-Brown, officer in charge of tlie Whangarei Army Office. “Men have approached me'and stated that they would be enlisting later, after they had been married for six months. When asked for their reasons for this delay, they have said that they understood that their wives would not receive an allowance unless they had been married for tliat period. This is entirely incorrect. The allotment is paid immediately the man goes into camp, even if he may just have been married. The same conditions apply to a soldier marrying on final leave. His wife receives her allotment immediately.”