Whakarongo School.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LX, Issue 139, 13 May 1940, Page 6

Whakarongo School.

The chairman of the Whakarongo School Committee (Mr E. Henaghan) has received word from Hon. J. G. Cobbe, M.P., that the Minister of Education has approved of a grant for the installation of a septic tank’ system at the school. Steamer Salvaged.

The Wanganui River steamer Olmra, which capsized with the loss of three lives last Mondajg lour miles above Pipiriki, has been successfully salvaged and taken to Pipiriki. So far no trace has been found of the bodies of the three missing men. Mines Near Hong Kong.

A sidelight on conditions in the neighbourhood’ of Hong Kong is thrown by the news that, the two mission houses of the Presoyterian Church of New Zealand in Cheung Chau Island, near Hong Kong, have been damaged by the explosion of a floating mine which drifted on to the rocks on the sea front. Unusual Gift.

The visit to Dunedin in the middle of 1938 of the, T< 'innish barque Penang for extensive repairs as the result of damage she suffered off the coast of Tasmania is recalled by a gift which has been made anonymously to the National Patriotic Fund Board. The gift takes the form of a compass face, framed and inscribed and bearing the signatures of those on board the vessel. Shortage of Officers.

A marked shortage of certificated officers, an occurrence practically without precedent in Dominion shipping history, is being experienced in the coastal merchant trade, according to representatives of officers’ organisations. Naval requirements, effects ot the depression on the training of apprentices and the commissioning of all available tonnage are responsible for the shortage.

Housing in Queensland. Houses in the sugar cane areas in Queensland are built on blocks nine feet high because of the heat, said Mr S. Lucas, a former Palmerston North resident, who is now revisiting this city, in an interview to-day. They have single walls and are not to be compared with farmers’ houses in this country. There is no electric power in the country districts; probably that is because -of the lack of water for power generation, lie added. Position Relinquished. At a meeting of the Tauranga Council, on Saturday, Mr E. L. Robinson, the recently-appointed county engineer from the Southland County, who commenced liis duties on the previous Monday, tendered his resignation, stating that prior to leaving Invercargill he had received information from a source in Tauranga which he was unable to divulge concerning conditions in the county. He had now decided to relinquish the position. The matter was dealt with in committee and the resignation was accepted. Queensland Weather.

In the opinion of S. Lucas, a former Palmerston North resident who now lives in Queensland, the winters in Queensland are seasons which it is difficult to better climatically anywhere. To illustrate the mildness of the weather, he said that lie had bought an overcoat when lie had left Palmerston North 14 years ago, ami had worn it only four times since, before having to wear it on his return trip to New Zealand. < He had experienced several droughts on his cane farm, and the summer heat there was very trying. He had now installed an irrigation system, and this, would overcome the drought difficulty.

Badminton Competitions. The Badminton Federation has suspended the Dominion championships and the Wisden Cup contest for the duration of'the war. Poor Response. Only about 2000 people attended the Centennial Exhibition Playland when it was reopened in aid of the : Wellington Provincial Patriotic Fund on Saturday afternoon and evening. It was closed down an hour earlier than had been intended. Last Port of Call. The last New Zealand port of loading of the Matakana, the 8048-ton Shaw Savill steamer which was wrecked on Planas Cays Island (Bahamas), was Napier. It is understood that the ship was carrying a large cargo of meat and wool. Changes in Palmerston North. Many changes in Palmerston North have been found by Mr S. Lucas, of Queensland, who is revisiting the city after an absence of 14 years. He finds the changes in the suburban areas most remarkable. “I would like to say that I hardly recognised the outskirts of the town, because of the way they have been built up,” said Mr Lucas. “The Square has altered in some respects, but is not so much different.” Taking of Toheroas. The beach at Waikanae, near Levin, is lamed for its toheroas, but so wanton has heen the gathering of them that regulations were gazetted, stipulating that only full-sized ones could be taken, that the implement used must not exceed four inches in width, aild that there be a close season. A Bunnythorpe woman was charged at the Levin Police Court, before Mr A. M. Goulding, S.M., with infringing all these regulations, and her husband was charged with ' obstructing the ranger and the police in the execution of their duty. The husband was fined £2 10s and the wife £2 10s for taking toheroas in the close season and £1 for taking under-sized ones.