NEWS IN BRIEF

Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 6, 2 October 1943, Page 4

NEWS IN BRIEF

Flag Week Yields £ll,OOO

Funds raised on behalf of the Wellington Metropolitan Patriotic Council during.the flag week just ended total tentatively over £ll,OOO. An advance, payment of £7OOO was made to the council on Thursday, and proceeds from yesterday’s street drive exceeded £4OOO. The funds are to provide Christmas parcels for the fighting men. Jewish New Year.

The celebrations of the Jewish New Year, the 5704th year in the Jewish calendar, ended at sunset last evening. It began at sunset on Wednesday.

Record Waterfront Pay-out. A record pay-out of more than £60,000 was made on the Auckland waterfront to waterside workers and casual labourers engaged in cargo stores for the week ended on Wednesday morning.

A Big Membership. The membership of the Auckland Returned Services Association has reached 5020, the highest figure for the past 14 years. Included are 1050 ex-servicemeu of the present war. The largest membership recorded in the last 10 years was 4455 at the end of the 1940-41 financial year. At the end of September last year there were 3341 members.

Poor Fishing Prospects. . Heavy rain which drenched the ivairarapa district on Thursday night resulted in ihost unfavourable conditions for the opening of the fishing season. All rivers and streams in the Wairarapa are carrying flood waters, and with snow having fallen on the ranges indications are that snow-fed rivers will be discoloured for several days. Fibre From Cabbage Tree. The Cordyline Fibre Company has been formed at Te Aroha to manufacture fibre for upholstery and fibrous plaster from cordyline australis, known at the cabbage tree. The necessary permits have been obtained and a factory will be erected immediately. A syndicate of fibrous plaster manufacturers has agreed to purchase all the products in the first year. —P.A. Train Hits Jigger. The afternoon train south from laumarunui on Thursday ran into a jigger a mile beyond Raurimu and two men, Ernest Sweeny, ganger, and Clarence William Plank, ganger, were admitted to hospital, Mr. Sweeny with injuries to his back and groin and Mr. Plank with concussion and injuries to an arm. The condition of both is satisfactory. —P.A. Loss of Mail. The Postmaster-General, Mr. Webb, regrets to announce the loss of seven bags of letter mail for members of the overseas force whose postal address is N.Z.A.P.O. 150. The letters comprised only portion of a mail and were posted in New Zealand during the first 10 days of September.

Gas Supply Position Acute. With the demand for gas increased by the colder weather, and stocks of coal low, the gas supply position in. the capital is reported to be acute by the M ellington Gas Company. Gas pressures in the Hutt Valley have been reduced till more coal arrives, probably on Monday, states the Petone and .Lower Hutt Gas Lighting Board.

Wives Remain in Britain. t A number of the men of the New Zealand . Forestry Unit who are returning from Britain'have married British girls. The wives are not returning with their husbands, and no decision has been reached when they will be permitted to come. It is understood that efforts, will be made to bring them to the Dominion before the end of the war. Auckland Women Tram Conductors. There are now 179 women employed as conductors in Auckland trams, on regular duty and under the. same conditions as men. Before the war there were 382 tram crews, and there are now 385. Motormen and conductors gone into the services totalled 146, the traffic superintendent stated recently. Of these 46 had returned. Rainfall Above Average, Wellington was not the only centre which had an exceptionally high September rainfall. Auckland, had 6.44 in. of rain, compared with Wellington’s O.oOin. Auckland’s recording was Z.Toin. above the average for the month. Hamilton had a rainfall of 7.17 in., compared with a September average of 4.02 in„ but on the year's rainfall to date, is more than seven inches below Wellington’s total. Cheques to Auckland R.S.A. A cheque for £lOOO has been received by the Auckland Returned Services Association from the Auckland Racing Club for the association’s building fund. This is the third donation of £lOOO toward the fund, the first having come from an anonymous donor and the second from the Auckland Savings Bank. A total of over £5OO in smaller sums has been received. Request to Miners. The Minister of Mines, Mr. Webb, has requested the district State coal mines, with the exception of the Liverpool Mine, to work the next two “back” Saturdays to supplement supplies of coal till the warmer weather lessens the demand for household coal. Mr. Webb said in Greymouth this week that all mines, including co-operative concerns but excepting the Liverpool, had agreed to the request. He added that the Liverpool miners were not asked because of their long day away from home and the fact that many of them were getting on in years.—P.A.

Anticipating Summer. , The girls of the 'Public Service in Wellington decided to look their smartest for the service they were to render .yesterday for the patriotic parcels fund. Most of them turned out in frocks of two shades of blue, with white stockings and shoes. It was unfortunate that this sartorial anticipation of summer conditions was not justified. Dull weather, with occasional showers, obtained throughout the day; yet, as one of the girls in blue said as the rain drizzled down, “We can take it!”

Request for More Petrol. “Initial steps have been taken by the association to submit to the Government a Dominion-wide request for an increase in petrol for private motorists,” said Mr. F. G. Farrell, president of the Automobile Association (Auckland). Requirements for home defence had greatly decreased, he added. The amount thus available, and that which would have been consumed by the recently-proposed Victory Parade should be sufficient to provide for an extra half coupon for some time.

Bidding for Shirtcliffe Home. The former family residence of Sii George and Lady Shirtcliffe in Tinakori Road was. under instruction from the Guardian Trust and Executors Company of New Zealand Ltd., offered for sale by auction by Messrs. S. George Nathan and Co. yesterday afternoon. There was a fair attendance of the public. The auctioneer described the residence as one of the largest and best appointed in Wellington North. The house contains 15 rooms and is well constructed of timber, ■two stories in height. Bidding commenced at £4250, and rose in bids of £250 to £5750, when it was passed in, the reserve price not having been reached. Sports Gear for Camps. Though the onus of providing all outside sports gear for New Zealand military camps rested on the provincial patriotic committees, it was made clear nt Wednesday’s meeting of the "Wellington body flint it was always conveyed to the camp authorities that such gear was not to ho taken out of the country by units sent overseas. Yet that had been done. In some instances the gear, including expensive sets of cricketing material, simply disappeared, whereas it might have boon made to serve successive camp units. The honorary secretary. Mr. V. Ware said that it was now almost impossible to obtain cricketing material in any quantity.

Repairing Broken Roads. A start has been made with the patching of Kent Terrace, Wellington, which up till a few days ago was studded with pot-holes, specially between . Courtenay Place and Pirie Street. This length of road surface has now been paved with bituminous -asphalt, and the whole surface has been given a coating of emulsified bitumen and grit or line metal chips. When the chips are spread they arc hosed with water, and a roller is then called into play to consolidate this protective film (for it is little else). Other badly damaged road surfaces will be repaired in a similar manner during the summer months, providing the necessary labour is available.