FORTUNE CHASED HIM

Hokitika Guardian, 14 July 1931, Page 2

FORTUNE CHASED HIM

AUSTRALIAN SWAGMAN’S LUCK.

ADELAIDE LABOUR AMAZONS.

BOY’S ASTONISHING LIE.

SYDNEY,.July 3

Riches strike men in unexpected places. A few months ago in New South Wales a man invested his last shilling in an art union and won £IOOO the next week. A Cessnock miner recently purchased five tickets in a consultation and each ticket collected a prize, the total winnings being £l5O.

But neither of these instances approaches the good fortune that followed Edward Longhurst, 52, a “down and out” Englishman, who recently camped on the common l near Bathurst, New South Wales. There he was found by a postman, who delivered a letter, the address of which wa salmost obliterated by thq innumerable alterations. It had followed Longhurst all over the StaJe from town to town, and all the time it contained news of a fortune to which; he had become heir. ./ . It from a firm of London solicitors ahd ihforlried the Overjoyed AWngman thate h ehad inherited property including a hotel, worth more than £5000! in itself. Enclosed in the tat tered letter was a cheque for £75 to cover his passage money to so thate he might claim what was his.: 1 He (left England about 20 yearslago and spent most of the past 10 years carrying his swag. 111 the past three years he - averaged only, one week’s work a year, and when the good news reache him he was penniless and on the dole. Needless to say he did not stop on the order’of his going.

FINE FOR PERFIDY. The South Australian Women’s Labour Conference will consider, a .motion on July 20-that “in view of the pohtic al treachery .to Messrs. Moses Gabb and J. L.. Price, M.H.R.’s each Labour member of Parliament in future be required to enter into, a deed under seal.” Under such a deed he would be re quired to pay to the State branch of the Labour party a sum of money if he voted against the Government, or deliberately refrained from voting for a Labour Govrenmen't during a vote of censure or no-confidence.’ : For State members a forfeit of £SOO is proposed’and for ’Federal members the kind-hearted ladies suggest £IOO hilt if a vote of censure or no-confidence hab been approved by a Conference or couilcil of tile party, tiie penalties will not, apply, SYDNEY WoW BUT SLOWLY ' : Figures of building operations in Sydney and suburbs during the year ended June 30, 1931, are the lowest on record. Only 3096 structures were com-pleted-<at a cost of £4,117,799, compared With 8423, at a cost of £13,485,644, in the previous year. Over the past 12 years,.however, 114,952 buildings have been erected at a cost of £l3/,181,774 In 1914 the average cost of all buildings was £698. This figure had amounted to an average of £1551 in 1929, £1624 in 1930 and dropped again in 1931 to £1330.

In Wooilahra, which includes the more exclusive home building,sites, the average cost of buildings last year was £22361 In industrial suburbs, such as Canterbury and Ryde. the average Cost ranged between £7OB and £724.

MYSTERY STEAMER

South Australian shipping circles are intrigued by the appearance and dis appearance of a mystery steamer in Spencer’s Gulf. A well-lit but unaccountably silent large vessel was seen to pass dangerously close to Ward’s Spit in Spencer’s Gulf on the night of June 18, and travel on up the Port Augusta channel; but no such steamer reached Port Augusta.

The Spencer Gulf pilots declare that from the pilot station off the eastern shoal they saw a big steamer come up the gulf on the evening of June 18. As there seemed imminent danger of her striking Ward’s Spit they Morsed a warning and set off in the pilot launch ‘to intercept her. They found this im possible and continued to flash mes sages without receiving any acknowledgement There is considerable speculation as to what happened, since there was no such vessel reported into Pert Augusta on the date in question.

EXTRAORDINARY STORY

The lengths to which a youth will go to bolster up a lie are exemplified by the extraordinary story told by Walter Acorn, 11, of .St. Mary’s, who was found on Tuesday night bound to a tree about a mile from his home.

When found he appeared to be on the verge of collapse. He had been sent out early in the afternoon to gather wood for the fire at his home, and he explained that he was engaged in that task when a much older and bigger boy accosted him, Young Acron said that lie was overpowered by the latter, who tied him to the, tree and then stole all the wood.he had gathered. Police searched during the night for his attacker, but next day, when they questioned him, detectives thought the" detected something amiss. Eventually they obtained a statement from him to the effect tha he had not been attacked at all, and that he had tied himself to the tree.

The explanation was that, instead of collecting wood, he came to the city to see the '.hahour bridge, and returned so late that he was unable to collect tho wood. Afraid of what awaited h>m for his disobedience, 110 concocted the storv.