NEWS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume CXII, Issue 86, 8 October 1931, Page 12

NEWS OF THE DAY

New Zealand Music. "Community singing may help to foster New Zealand music," said Mr. W. H. Dixon at Christchnrch on Tuesday.' "When I have been travelling round 'attending competitions, I havo seen much of the compositions of Now Zealanders, and it would be a great stimulus if we sang some of those songs here." Mr. Dixon mentioned that at a previous meeting he had pointed out that the beauties of. Milford Sound deserved to bo captured in song just as much as the lakes of Killaruoy, for instance. "I have received a song, quite a good effort, from, v Christchurch man written round • Milford Sound, and we may try it at a 'sing' soon." At yesterday's singing, Alfred Hill's "Home, Little Maori, Home," was a popular number. Astronomical Gift Offered. A spcctrohelioscopo has Boon offered to the Dominion Observatory by Dr. G. E. Haley an American astronomer, who has helped to perfect the instrument.. There is a stipulation attached to the offer, so Dr. C. E. Adams told last night's annual meeting of the Astronomical Section ,of the Wellington Philosophical Society, to the effect that, if it is accepted, a regular observational programme shall bo carried out with it. This, Dr. Adams explained, would entail a fair amount of work, but unfortunately at present there was no one who could .be spared to do this work. He hoped, however, that, somo means would be devised to get over the difficulty and allow the generous offer to be accepted. The instrument would permit the visual observation and analysis of the','inn's, prominences and of the flocciili on its disc. "If would bo a valuable addition to our equipment," added >Dr. Adams, "particularly out here," because generally if anything of interest happens on tho 'sun we know nothing about it until it is all over. With this instrument here, wo would bo,able to see and know for ourselves what is happening."1,

Roads Still Hot Good Enough, "The Main Highways Board apparently has given'considerable study to the traffic problem* of New Zealand, but you are going to have, to build a higher type of road to carry the heavy motors I saw on the main roads »t tho speed they are allowed to travel," aaid Mr. J. E. Zahn, of Denver, Colorado, at Auckland (states the "New Zealand Herald"). Mr. Zalin lias made a study of road> and traffic problems for_ seventeen years. Accompanied by his wife he is visiting Auckland at the close of a five-weeks' holiday tour of New Zealand, during which he has travelled extensively in both islands. He stated that the construction of roads in a new country such as New Zealand was one of the biggest problems to be handled, and it was necessary to build, not for present needs, but for the traffic the highways would be called upon to bear in a few years. Motor traffic was increasing every day, and a better type of road than most of those he had seen in Now Zealand would be required.1 Although tho surface of the roads everywhere struck him as good, and he had seen a greater mileage of good metalled roads in the Dominion than anywhere else, moro permanent materials were required on the main highways. American Publicity Methods. The opinion that improved publicity methods were essential if New Zealand and Australia were to capture overseas markets was expressed by Mr. H. C. Davies, of Perth, who is returning to Australia by the- Niagara after investigating, markets in America and Europe (states the "New Zealand Herald"). "We have a lot to learn from the American publicity exports," said: Mr. Davies. "They aro a long way ahead of us in the .methods they use. One could quote the case of fruit. I havo opened American fruit in England and on the Continent, and found that not only did each fruit bear an individual wrapper, but that the wrappers wero attractively printed with recipes showing various ways of asing the contents, All the wrappers, in tho same case did not.necessarily bear the same recipes. "While I was in tho United States Californian raisin-grow-ing interests launched an unusual publicity campaign. A number of university students whose praeticq it is to work during the holidays were paid to learn how to make raisin bread. \Vheu proficient, they were sent out on tho road. They called from house to house and, free of charge, taught tho housewives how to make raisin broad. Tho result was that bread so mado became a craze and the sale of raisins went up by_ leaps and bounds."

Celebration Abandoned. For a- number of years the Chinese residents of Wellington liavc held a sports meeting to celebrate their national holiday—loth October. Owing, however, to the recent Hoods in the Yangtse and Yellow Bivers in China, which caused great loss of life and untold suffering, the Chinese residents of Wellington, out of sympathy for their unfortunate countrymen, have decided not to hold their annual sports this year. ' \ Eggs for Orphanages. It is twenty-one years since the ladies of St. John's Presbyterian Church, Hawcra, conceived the idea of sending an annual offering of eggs to the Welling-, ton Presbyterian Orphanages. They started tho good work with 34 dozen. Since then the numbers have, with little fluctuation, steadily grown. In 1924 the peak, at 250 dozen, was touched. This year being' the 21st birthday year, a special effort has been made, reports an exchange, -with tho result that all previous records have been broken, and, counting in this year's donation, the handsome total of 50,000 eggs has been sent to Wellington. Deceitful September. That the monih of September is a false pretence is the first conviction of Mr. Ken Alexander, writing in the, "New Zealand Railways Magazine.|'| Far from being spring, September is "an impostor of the first water—or the early rains. . . .It seldom has the, spring goods in stock when the custo- i mer calls its bluff. . . . It is winter, in a straw hat. . . .A month that j can associate with influenza should bo called Fluetember, Septuenza, or Influember." i New Zealand Centenary. In the "New Zealand Railways Magazine" for September, "Tangiwai" urges Wellington V right to hold in 1940 a Centenary Exhibition, and also discusses the Auckland project of a Centenary Pageant. It should "roproduce scenes that live in our history the early contact of pakeha and Maori in peace and war, the coming of the pioneer ships, the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, some of the' stirring episodes of the wars, the old-time regiments, the picturesque Maori life of the days when New Zealand was young." It will cost money —but porhaps by 1940 the slump will be over. New Suburban Station? Tho use to which the shaft at the viaduct beyond Johnsonville will be put when it ceases to discharge the spoil from fhat part of the.Tawa Flat tunnel, has not yet been decided upon. It will undoubtedly assist in ventilation. In a recently-constructed very long Italian tunnel, a similar shaft has been utilised' to make an additional station, with a, platform, and passenger and goods lifts to tho surface. Wellington is so peculiarly situated that another "hole in the hill" would very likely be made use" of by suburbanites as a means of access to their homes, even though it were vertical, but there are as yet not many homes in tho vicinity of the viaduct.

Danger to Children. Attention was called at a meeting of tho Island Bay Municipal Electors' Association last night to the danger existing to children from the new stormwater culvert, which has just been completed, and which has no protection around it. "Tho culvert," a report states, "jut* out into the sea some 30 feet, and at high tide there is 10 feet of water at the far end. Children are always playing on this culvert, and it is feared that some will be washed, oft1 or may slip into the water. It was decided that the Director of Parks and Reserves bo wiit.ten to and asked for more supervision on this part of the beach by the caretaker. It was also decided to writo to the City Engineer asking for a rail to bo .placed round the top of the culvert. . The Hermit of National Park. The lonely langor. of tho Tongayiro National Park, Mr. Arthur Cowling, who for ten years inhabited a tiny wooden, cottage at aa altitude of 4500 ft on the slopes of Euapehu, has left his mountain home as a sequel to the Government's retrenchment policy., and has come into; Auckland to seek other employment (states the "New Zealand Herald"). The guardianship and patrol of that mountainous regiori has been left to the* staff of the Chateau Tongariro. For months every year Mr. Cowling led a hermit existence on tho mountain-side, with not a living companion but his horse, known to visitors as Kitty the Outcast, and his cat, a wild creature of the wood, which strolled- out of the forest one night, attracted by the blaze of tho ranger's fire. Both animals were his firm friends, and tho sharers of his solitude. "It was a lonely life, but a healthy one," said Mr. Cowling on Saturday, "and when the snow lay thick in August and September each year crowds of holiday-makers camo to the Whakapapa huts for winter sports. Those were jolly times, and made up for all, the months of solitude. And at' night thero wouia.bo cheery fres, a sing-song, a gramophone to dance to, hot cups of tea, and Htories,' the telling of which lasted long into the night."