NEWS AND NOTES

Manawatu Herald, Volume L, Issue 3908, 16 February 1929, Page 1

NEWS AND NOTES

In a‘ small town in Germany they have built a town hall with money collected in fines from motorists.

The twentieth anniversary occurred on Tuesday of the wreck of the Union Company’s steamer Penguin, which struck Tom’s Rock, in Cook Strait, on February 12, 1909. The vessel was making a Hip between Nelson and Wellington when the disaster occurred, 75 lives being lost. An old lady recently called at a southern power board office to explain that she was a property holder on the river below the power station, and washed to know exactly what effect it had on the water, takinb all that electricity out of it, and if it Avas likely to injure the cows.

An incident which demonstrated Ihe sagacious nature of the trained sheep dog occurred at the DanneI virke show sheep dog' trials on i Tuesday. The dog had difficulty in heading one of a number of sheep ! into the pen. Eventually the sheep

was induced to partly enter the closure, but was not in sufficiently for the gate t'o lbs closed. A false move on the part of the dog would have been disastrous and spectators waited wiLh interest for what would happen. To their astonishment the dog crept up quietly 'behind ihe sheep and using both front paws,

pushed the stubborn animal the remainder of the distance. City dwellers who hear a band once a week or oftener should be interested to hear of a settler in one of wayback valleys near Murchison, in the Central Buller district, as having recently heard a band for the first time over GO years. The Murchison Band had been invited to spend a. day in one of these remote regions and among those who gathered on the occasion to hear the music was the old settler referred to. He became intensely excited when the band commenced its per formanee and the bandsmen were

Greatly amused with his subsequent actions, and before leaving foi home gave him hearty cheers. The last occasion on which lie had heard a band was on a man-o’-war in English waters over 60 years ago. If the knack of passing examinations has anything to do with the old idea that twins have a smaller endowment of brains than the rest of the human family, an Auckland parent claims to have discovered an exception (says the Star.) The ease is one of twin sisters of Newton Hoad, who are now 10 years of age. Towards the beginning of last year they passed an advanced commercial college course in bookkeeping, shorthand and typewriting. During the year they pfcissed the terms examinations in dressmaking and •millinery at the 'Seddon Memorial Technical College. In August last, at 15 years 10 months, one obtained a partial pass, and the other a complete pass in the first section of the teachers’ “D” examination, and in December both passed Matriculation.