NEWS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume CVIII, Issue 128, 26 November 1929, Page 8

NEWS OF THE DAY

la a Place of Honour.

The two four-inch guns from H.M.S. New Zealand, which were made available by the defence authorities for the Auckland War Memorial Museum, were received on Saturday. They have been set up on the terrace in front of the museum.

Technical College Breaking-TJp.

The breaking-up ceremony in connection with the Wellington Technical College is to take place in the Town Hall Concert Chamber on 19th December. On the motion of the chairman of the College Board of Governors (Councillor W. H. Bennett), it was decided to ask the Mayor and Mayoress (Mr. and Mrs. G. A. Troup) to be present at the ceremony; the Mayor to address the pupils, and tho Mayoress to present the prizes.

Pigeon Takes a Week.

A tired homing pigeon -was found recently by Mr. B. Vinsen, of Stratford, in front of his premises, states a Taranaki exchange. He fed and rested the bird and then set it free, with a note attached to one of its legs, explaining what had been done. He subsequently received a letter from Mr. F. Perrett, of Wellington, expressing, thanks for his action, and stating that" the bird, with others, had been liberated from Frankton on the day previous to its arrival in Stratford. Bad weather had been encountered, and many of the birds had been lost. The bird Mr. Vinsen dealt with had taken a week to find its way back to Wellington.

Polynesian Society.

The Polynesian Society is a distinctively New Zealand institution, one of the first of its kind in the world, though it has now many well-grown sisters. The soundness and importance of its' work in ethnology, anthropology, traditions, and other Native records have won it recognition in many countries, as evidenced by the requests for membership received from all over the world from individuals and well-known scientific institutions. At. a recent meeting, nineteen such applications were accepted for membership, and the roll is steadily growing. The society Has its headquarters in Wellington, in the Druids' Buildings, Woodward street. Three Theatrea Close.

The prediction of many people a year or two ago, when Dunedin was favoured with two luxurious houses of entertainment, that sooner or later some of the theatres would have to cease operations was realised last week, when three theatres, without any announcement, closed their doors (states the Dunedin "Star"). The theatres that have been affected are Everybody's, Grand, and Plaza, where silent films only have been the source of entertainment. No official reason has been given for their sudden termination of business, but it is to be presumed that the attendances have not warranted continuance. Everybody's Theatre, which is controlled by EullerHayward, Ltd., made its final presentation last Saturday, and so far no word has been received as to the next move by the directors. With regard to the Grand and Plaza Theatres, nothing further is known beyond the fact that they ceased advertising on Friday. With the closing of these theatres, picturegoers have had their entertainment limited to four theatres, all of which are equipped with the talkie apparatus, while the King Edward Theatre in South Dunedin will continue to show silent films. Perhaps the most regrettable feature of their closing down (more especially with regard to the Grand and Plaza) is the fact that British films have been providing the bulk of the entertainment. One would very much like to see Britain firmly established in tho motion picture industry, and commanding greater attention from the public. However, of late a sample of what Britain can do in talking featurettes has been seen at one of our leading theatres, and it is to be hoped that it will not be long before full-length . talkie productions are presented.

Wharf Gates Moved.

The huge iron gates at the entrances to the wharves between the Custom House and the Harbour Board X shed were removed yesterday to the street frontage between these buildings. The work was carried out by means of the Harbour Board's movable trolleycranes and mules.

Technical Evening School,

The evening school at the Wellington Technical College closed on loth November and ia to re-open on 24th February. The Advisory Committee is now considering the results of the work of the different classes. The report of the Painters and Decorators' Committee stated that the improvement in the attendance this year had not been so marked as it hoped, though action had been taken in the Magistrate's Court against a number of students whose attendances had been bad. The attendances and work of the great bulk of the students had, however, been satisfactory. The committee was pleased with what it had seen of the behaviour and the keenness of the classes and with the reports of the instructor. A hope was expressed that the coure of instruction would be properly systematised and that uniformity would be observed in all the technical schools of the Dominion. College certificates of proficiency would then be granted to the students who passed the prescribed tests. Prize Set of Tools.

The presentation of a fine set of tools by Messrs. Moore and "Wright of Sheffield, for competitioa amongst the pupils of the Wellington Technical College, was announced in a letter received by the College Board of Governors from Messrs. E. W. Mills and Co., last night. It was decided to hold the set of tools as a prize for work, the nature of which is yet to be decided upon, done by the pupils next year.

Maori War Veteran.

It is getting to be a far cry to the Maori Wars of New Zealand, but among the veterans still surviving and interested in the country, to which he sailed in 1864 with his regiment, is MajorGeneral H. G. Eobley, now of London. Major-General Eobley made the recording of the Maori tattoo markings his interest while in the country, and published a book on the subject, which is in most of the scientific libraries. At the age of 89, he writes the Polynesian Society, of which he is a respected member, forwarding greetings and a card with a drawing of a Maori chief, Te Kuha, fully tattooed,-with an old-time war canoe in the background. The card is his own handiwork in spite of his, advanced age.

Encouraging Donation.

A donation of £10 towards the new Assembly Hall for the Technical College, was received by the College Board of Governors last night from the Technical College Students' Association Tennis Club. The chairman said that it was very gratifying and very encouraging to the board to have such tangible evidence of the great interest taken by the students in the college.

Domestic Arts.

High appreciation of the good work done by tho students at the Wellington Technical College was expressed by several members of the Technical College Board of Governors at their meeting last night, and the board placed on record its recognition of its indebtedness to the director (Mr. J. H. Howell) and staff for their splendid work. It was stated that over 2000 people had inspected the work exhibited on parents' and visitors' night the week before. Mr. J. Bead remarked that the results of the students' cooking, shown at the cookery exhibition, had fairly made his mouth water. Mr. C. H. Chapman, M.P.: "That always appeals to the men." (Laughter.) The very pleasing odour, stated Mr. J. J. Clark had lured him into the cookery room, and he had taken some of the cakes home with him. His son had eaten some of them, and had declared that he was going to get, a wife from the Technical College. (Laughter.), The director he suggested, might start a matrimonial class. (Laughter.) Mr.-'Bead observed, further, that he had never heard anything better than the entertainment for the children's hour, recently broadcast by Technical College students It was, he declared, a great credit to the students and to the coljege.

To House Head Office Staff.

It is understood that when the new railway station is completed, which is expected to be well within the next four years, the whole of the railway head office staff at present housed in the head office, numbering towards 300, will be accommodated in "the new building, the upper stories of which are planned with that end in view. It will be a fivestoried building. The* old office rendered vacant by the removal of this part of the railway staff, will then be available for the ■accommodation of other Government Departments, several of which are at present using privately, leased offices in the city.

"Did You Peel That One?"

Where are the earthquakes coming from? (asks the "Westport News.") A resident of Westport, talking over the telephone to a Eeefton resident recently, remarked: "Did you feel that shake?" "No," was the reply. "It was a good one," said the Westport speaker. "We've got it now," replied the Eeefton resident. On Wednesday, at a quarter to 7 p.m. the Westport man was on the telephone again and the Eeefton , resident remarked' We have just got a big shake. Did you feel it there?" "No," was the Westport reply, but a little later he remarked: "Yes, we've just got it now."

The Commerce Train.

The magnitude of the task of sending away the commerce train was briefly indicated by the General Manager of the New Zealand Railways (Mr. H. H. Sterling) in a speech at the farewell social; at Whangarei at the conclusion of the train's visit (states the "New Zealand Herald.") Mr. Sterling said that the train had visited 30 towns, while members of the party would have travelled 548 miles by rail and 50G by motor-car on their return to Auckland. In addition to this the tram had travelled 232 miles empty m moving from towns where the party had been dropped to other centres where they were picked up again

The Vanishing Pole.

Canhlevers and suspended verandahs are the only sort now being built in the city, and the pole is vanishing in other directions as well. In view of the danger to drivers-and pedestrians constituted by poles of any kind in these days of congested motor traffic the gradual elimination of these unsightly timbers and standards is highly desirable. The tramways were the first to cut out poles in their overhead cable system, as they constituted a. real danger, once proved fatally. _ Telegraph poles and cable poles of all kinds must eventually follow suit but the day seems far off when - all cables will be put underground, as they should be in the cities. To-day, at a. corner-in the city where a hanging verandah has been put in, tho heavy wooden pole which had groaned for years under a weight of wires for different purposes was being removed, quito a ticklish operation. The top of the pole was anchored to the platform of the repair lorry, and it was sawn off level with the footpath, jacks on either side, lifting against chains round the pole, taking the weight off the saw in the final stages. Steady rain made the sawyer's job particularly awkward, the wet* saw jibbing persistently, and as the spot is a busy one for pedestrian and motor traffic, the lowering of the pole required care, but the corner is now clear. It looks much better.