In the News

Southland Times, Issue 24890, 2 November 1942, Page 4

In the News

Tea and Sugar The Minister of Supply, the Hon. D. G. Sullivan, announced on Saturday that the tea and sugar rations for November would be the same as for October. namely, 40oz of sugar and halt a pound of tea for each person. The Minister added that as a result of cutting out the tea ration for children under 10 years of age he hoped to be able to announce an increased ration of tea for December. ■ Coupons 1 to 4 inclusive on tea and sugar sheets in the new ration books will be available for November. The rationing Controller (Mr J. E. Thomas) said each tea coupon would have a surrender value of 2oz and each sugar coupon a surrender value of 10oz.—• P.A. Qattara Depression The fighting in the Western Desert has made the name Qattara Depression familiar to everyone, but probably to most it remains only a name. The popular conception of a depression, in a geographical sense, is a comparatively small area of land below the level of the surrounding countryside, but the Qattara Depression has an area of 5211 square miles. If it were in Southland it would occupy a very considerable portion of the province. The depression is 440 feet below sea level and in a climate such as afflicts the Western Desert the heat in the depression must at times be terrific. Some years ago it was proposed to cut a canal from the sea to the depression, and such is the extent of evaporation because of the great heat that it was estimated that the artificial lake thus formed would never rise above 164 feet below sea level, even with a constant inflow equal to twice the normal flow of the Clutha. It was proposed to use this flow of water to generate electricity. The power was to be used for factories, which it was proposed to establish to deal with salts extracted from the sea water, for lighting and for pumping irrigation water from tire Nile. This scheme is referred to in an article in the number of the magazine Civil Engineering for March 1934. Tennis Balls Scarce “Even if the war ended tomorrow it may be two, three or even four years before there are tennis balls on the market again,” said Mr R. Y. Whyte at the annual meeting of the Waihopai Sports Association on Saturday night. “When the war is over there are hundreds of things made of rubber that will have to be manufactured before tennis balls. No tennis balls have been made at the factory in Auckland for two years and the machines for making i them have been dismantled. There will . be no tennis at all next season because of lack of balls.”

Theft of Whisky A hotel porter, Barrie Grey, aged 21, who had pleaded guilty to two charges of breaking and entering the warehouse of Burns, Philp and Company, Limited, Wellington, and stealing 14 cases of whisky valued at £lOO, was sentenced to three years’ reformative detention by Mr Justice Blair in Wellington. Outsize Tulip Further evidence of the fertility of Southland soil is provided by the appearance in the office of The Southland Times of a tulip, the dimensions of which suggest that it had been grown in some sub-tropical climate. Grown by Mr R. W. Gill, of Makarewa, it stands fully 39 j inches in height and the flower measures about three inches across the top. It is a breeder tulip and carries the name of Bronze Queen. Nearly all with Forces Like most tennis clubs, the Waihopai Tennis Club has been almost depleted of men players by the war. It was stated at the annual meeting of the Waihopai Sports Association on Saturday night that the tennis club now had only two men players. All the rest were with the armed forces. Four members of the club had made the supreme sacrifice and three were prisoners of war. Golf Club Without Links The future of the Maungakiekie Golf Club, whose tenancy of the course in Cornwall Park, Auckland, terminated last week, was discussed at an extraordinary meeting on Thursday. It was decided that the club realize its assets at the discretion of the committee and invest the money so obtained in some form of easily realizable security, present members to retain their membership at a nominal fee and those serving with the forces to automatically retain their membership; that the club retain its entity electing annually a committee which at any time considered suitable should call the members together for the purpose of acquiring property or for any other purpose; and that the committee enter into arrangements it thought fit for members to play on the Akarana course. Shearers to be Released Arrangements have now been made by which skilled shearers who are required for gangs may be released from camp on the recommendation of the Armed Forces Appeal. Board, even though they are attached to overseas units. Advice to this effect has been received from the National Council of Primary Production, stated the secretary of the Otago Primary Production Council (Mr E. H. Calder). Applications for release must have the support of the primary production committees of the districts affected, Mr Calder said but, in spite of the assurance that had been given, he regarded it as unlikely that any men above the rank of corporal or any others holding key positions would be released by the Army. Recreation Huts Twelve months ago the National Patriotic Fund Board was responsible for 49 recreational huts in New Zealand camps, but the expansion of the forces has called for a considerable increase. The board’s responsibility (states a Press Association message) does not end with the building of the huts, as it is also responsible for furnishing and maintenance, even though the huts are controlled on its behalf by welfare organizations. Ninety large institutes have been built in the main camps, and in addition, 51 large huts, measuring 90 feet by 24 feet or larger, are in use. There are also 40 medium bolted huts, 60 feet by 24 feet, and 16 small bolted huts, 45 feet by 24 feet. The bolted huts can be erected readily and moved just as expeditiously in the event of a camp being transferred.