The Opotiki News Wednesday, January 11, 1939. LOCAL AND GENERAL

Opotiki News, Volume II, Issue 132, 11 January 1939, Page 2

The Opotiki News Wednesday, January 11, 1939. LOCAL AND GENERAL

Gisborne Detective Resigns. Having accepted the offer of a business career in. Auckland, Detective G. P. Belton. Gisborne, has tendered his •resignation; to. the Commissioner of Police, and will leave shortly to take up liis new appointment. • Electric Light Bulbs Stolen. Pahiatua looked a picture during the Christmas and New Year period with the many strings of lights overhead and along business premises. Cnfprtunately- dozens of electric light bulbs were stolen. Mail Blag Mystery. Four bags, of ordinary mail, one including a few registered articles, disappeared from tiie mail lorry that arrived in Gisborne oil Monday-morn-ing from Jsapier. It is understood that some charred paper was found at a point a mile and a half from the Morere post office- but there was nothing to connect it with the missing mail bags.

Gisborne Athletic Meeting. At a meeting of the Gisborne Amateur Athletic and Harrier Club it was stated that the Opotiki and Wairoa clubs would be sending teams to Gisborne to compete at the Anniversary .Day meeting at Gisborne.

Thunderstorm at Hicks Bay. ‘‘The past month was remarkable far heavy thunderstorms and spectacular displays of lightning,” reports a .pettier of the Hicks Bay district. “A phenomenally heavy fall of hail was experienced' over an area of about 300 acres ,close .to the ALatarau station homestead on December 23. when the gi;oiind was covered to a depth of 3in. Apart from the area mentioned, there was no hail c:n the surrounding country.” .Matarau recorded 6.69 in. of rain .for 16 wet days in December, whereat! in the same month in 1937 10.77 in. was gauged on seven days. The total, for the year was 125.30 in., compared with 105.98 in. for the 12 months of 1937. '

•Rat in Departmental Store. 4 large rat was the chief actor iu 'an extraordinary incident in a busy department store in Greymouth. Chased from the back of the premises by some excited male members of the staff, the rat dodged about the feet of shrieking shopgirls and shoppers, it even dived over the feet, of an astonished policeman who chanced to bo talking to the manager of the store. Finally, the rat scurried into .the manager’s office, where the manager made repeated but futile swings at it. first with a broom, which broke, and then with golf clubs. The store’s cat, with an unblemished record as a ratter, was pressed into -service. but, after one disdainful glance at the cause of all tlie commotion, the cat leaped up on to a chair and took no further interest in tlie proceedings. The hunt ended dramatically with joud cries from a youth m the office. The rat had apparently, climbed up a leg of his trousers. Tlie youth .suffered scratches only, but the rat was eventually killed.

inquest on Hospital Patient. The inquest into the death of ‘ Charles Berhard Pedersen, aged o(J, married, mill manager, of Alatawai, who died in the. Cock Hospital under an anaesthetic on December 1(5. was concluded before the district coroner, Mr. E. L. Walton, S.AL, at Gisborne yesterday. The verdict was that death was due tcj shock following an operation superimposed on advanced disease of the heart. Dr. It. J. B. Hall, medical superintendent, gave evidence that the deceased was admitted to the hospital on December 12 suffering from abdominal pains. An op<eration \vas t> performed,, on December 16 under ba^al. afftiesthesia and gas. The operation was almost completed, the witness continued, when the patient suddenly collapsed and became syanosed. Artificial respiration, stimulants. administration of oxygen and 1 massage of the heart were carried out and continued for an hour without any response. The cause of death appeared to. be sudden failure of respiration such as might occur with an embolis mor thrombosis. Dr. H. Angell stated in evidence that he performed a post-mortem examination, under instructions from the coroner, and found that the deceased had a very advanced atheroma of the coronarv arteries.

Stock Sale. / The monthly stock sale will be held in.' Opotiki 'on Friday next. Entries are advertised in to-day’s issue. Farmers are particularly asked td note the change in the day .of the sale this month.- - Waimana Dance. ' Owing to unforeseen circumstances which have grisen, the free bus advertised to convey passengers to the dance to be held at Waimana tomorrow, Thursday, will not now be available.

Dance To-night. A filial reminder is given to readers of the dance to be held' in the Waioeka Hall to-niglit. The function will introduce Boy Paykes and liis Rhythm Boys. There >vill be free taxis. Opotiki Heads >.List. Conditions throughout the North Island were good yesterday, Napier being the only town to report overcast skies in the morning. Temperatures at 9 o’clock were Auckland 65 degrees, Tauranga 66, Opotiki 78, East Cape 75, Gisborne 77, Napier 67, and Wellington 63. Sheep on the Move. ■Although a slow start wus__ made last week kith the dispatch of sheep from Gisborne and Coast stations in the' aifmiai northward movement, larger numbers of Gisborne sheep are now on the road, while Coast mobs are expected to increase before the end of the week. All sheep are being inspected by officers of the Department of Agriculture, Gisborne, to make certain that no lice is carried by them. So far the sheep have been found to be particularly clean and in excellent condition. Hot Weather on the Coast. With a shade temperature of 85 degrees, Ruatoria and Tikitiki on Saturday experienced' the hottest day this summer. The Waiapu River was well patronised by bathers in both places, a number taking the opportunity .of doing their washing at the same time, owing to. the shortage ot water at their homes. At Ruatoria water diviners have been kept busy and many wells are being sunk.— Herald.

Request to Motorists. Neatly painted on a signboard, at the gate of a residence on the Great South road, several miles from Auckland, is the notice: “Motorists, please do not call here with your troubles. ’ 'The house is midway between two garages, which are about five miles apart,

and tlie resident found that motorists in trouble would call in at aii hours of the day or night. The climax was reached on a recent week-end when no less than 12 came seeking help. One wanted a little oil, another was out of benzine, and still another roused the unfortunate householder from his bed about midnight to inquire whether accommodation was avaiUu.e in the neighbourhood.

Eclipses in 1939. There will be four eclipses this year .—two of the sun and two of.the moon —three of which will be, S’isible .in New Zealand. An annular eclipse of the sun on April 18 is tlie only one which will not be seen in tlie nonunion, the track lying over Alaska and the North Pole. A total eclipse of the moon on May 4 will be seen in all its stages, and a total eclipse of the sun o.n October 12 will be visible as a partial eclipse in New Zealand. The filial eclipse of the year will be a- partial lunar one oil October 28. but only the final stages of the phenomenon will be seen heiV.

“Hitch-hikers.” Coming under the category of what the' Americans are pleased io call “hitch-hikers,” two girls clad in serviceable slacks and open shirts arrived, in Napier on Friday evening from "Wellington. They left "Wellington hist- Tuesday morning on bicycles, but both machines developed trouble and were packed on to tlie train at Carterton and returned south. The girls, when they arrived in Napier, had walked just over 100 miles of their journey; the rest they had covered with the assistance of lifts from passing motor cars. Tlie art of securing a “lift,” according: to one cf the girls—they are sisters —is easily acquired. “When we heard a- car coming.” she informed a newspaper man, “either my sister or myself would develop foot trouble and the other would be anxiously examining t-lie limb when the victim drew abreast, file treatment never failed.” 'Hie girls were to set out on their return journey on Monday.