HERE AND THERE IN NEW ZEALAND

Taranaki Central Press, Volume IV, Issue 332, 13 January 1937, Page 3

HERE AND THERE IN NEW ZEALAND

GLEANINGS OF DOMINION NEWS

Court Of Appeal. The personnel of the two divisions of the Court of Appeal for tlh e present year was announced in the Gazette last night. The first division is to comprise the Chief Justice (Sir Michael Myers) and Mr Justice Ostler, Mr Justice Kennedy, Mr Justice Callan, and Mr Justice Northcroft. The second division comprises the Chief Justice and Mr Justice Ostler, Mr Justice Smith, Mr Justice Johnston, and Mr Justice Fair. Cycling Achievement. The feat of the Mount Albert Grammar School (boy in cycling from Auckland .to. Wellington in seven days last, «'.< ek has been eclipsed this week by a Wellington College boy, aged 14, who rode from Wellington to Auckland in four days. He , left his home there at 6 a.m. last) ' Monday and arrived in the northern ■ city at 6. p.m. on Thursday, having I encountered heavy- weather with | strong northerly winds. The boy ' had had some previous experience of road cycling, being a member of the Poneke Cycling Clu’b. Post Office Stationery. To provide pens, ink and blotters for 2,192 post offices having over 6,000 public desks, the Office spends a considerable sum every year. Its regard for economy enables it to closely assess- the cost even of trifles,, and some of the calculations are on the impressive side. For instance, about 632,000 sheets of blotting paper are used in the public offices in a year, and considerably over 100,000 pen-nibs. When the pen-holders for a brief season were somewhat attractive, an appreciative public took away as souvenirs of departmental good taste two-thirds of the supply of 7,000 within three months. Pen-holders used to-day are severely utilitarian. • Five-day Week. A striking illustration of the effect of the five-day working week on the transport services was afforded on the North Beach route this morning. The only passengers who joined the trolley-bus which left North Beach at 7.23 were persons who are temporarily residing at the seaside during the school holidays. None of the permanent residents who: patronise this bus on the other week days travelled in it this morning, all of them apparently being subject to the five-day week. As a result of the falling off in traffic on Saturday morning all the non-stop trips from North Beach have been eliminated, j but there are still two non-stop trips from the . city a few minutes < mid-day. Radio On Trucks. The Auckland Electric Power Board has practically completed -its preliminary investigations for fitting its trucks with two-way radio appa- i ratus so that the outside staff may , keep in constant communication with the board’s city office, from which instructions will be sent regarding urgent work (says the “Star’’). Extensive preliminary investigations have been carried out with portable radio apparatus, and the results have been highly encouraging. Experts from one of the leading overseas wireless firms will shortly visit Auckland and give the board final advice on the most suitable equipment and system of operation. Mobile units in two-way radio telephone systems are being increasingly used overseas, with the result that there has been a considerable saving of time and increased efficiency. Trackless Tram. That the electric tram-car must make way for the electric trackless trolley-bus is the firm conviction of Mr F. S. Morton, a former member of the Auckland Transport Board, who arrived in Wellington this week from Southampton. Mr Morton has been in England for about seven years, and during that time he has been able to witness the great change that has been: taking place in the municipal transport systems of London and other leading cities •f the United Kingdom. “The trackless trolley-bus is replacing the, tram throughout England,” said Mr Morton, “the only place that has continued with the trams being Liverpool. The Royal Commission, which brought down its finding about six years and a half ago, in its report on the transport problem suggested the scrapping of the trams as early as possible, and replacing them with the trackless trolley-buses. They expect to replace all the trams in the metropolitan area in within the next three years. ’They nave between three and five hundred trolley-buses on the road now, and they are taking off the trams wherever they can. There is every possibility that the trolley-buses will eventually work the whole of the London thoroughfares.”

Tourists’ Bad Luck. A number of Australian tourists ! may be denied the pleasure of visit- ' in-g- Dunedin. According to Mr A. R. ; Thompson, Christchurch manager of ; the Union Steam Ship Company, the ’ health regulations may cause a | change in the itinerary of the j Maunganui on her next cruise to the ! South Island. He said that i? the i Maunganui had to cancel the visit to Dunedin, it was piubable that she would spend an extra day at Stewart island or the southern sounds, so that she would still arrive at Lyttelton on January 24. Electrical Storm. A severe electrical storm which passed over the Kumara district on Thursday morning was a trying experience for a number of bushmen employed at Gilbert and Tomasi’s ' sawmill at Westbrook. The lightning [ struck the iron rails and caused a i good deal of damage, tearing up the ; line for some distance. Two workers, |, Messrs Tom Benyon and Steve Wai- ! lac?, suffered worst by the shock. ! The former soon cam e round, but j the latter was brought in to the saw- j mill before he recovered. Both are j still more or less affected by the 1 shock. Housing Scheme. The tenders for the Wellington sec- j tion of the Government’s housing ! scheme close on January 15. There > are nineteen separate contracts for i the erection of 255 dwelling in ‘ Lower Hutt and 90 at Miramar. Th? ' conditions require a bond of £5OO '■ for each contract, and each tender ’ must be accompanied by a deposit ; of £l5O. Therefore, if a builder j submits tenders for the nineteen con- ' tracts he must lodge with his tenders 1 a cheque for £2850. The penalty ! for non-com.pletion of the work | within the stipulated time has been • fixed at £2O a week. Tasman Mails. The close association of New Zea-, 1 land with the neighbouring Common- j wealth of Australia is exemplified ’ not only by the heavy tourist traffic i across the Tasman, but in the great j volume of mails exchanged. In the 1 first three weeks of December, the ! New Zealand Post Office received j from Australia 2,260 bags of mails | and 984 bags of parcels, while/th© i Dominion’s despatches to the Com- j monwealth totalled 1,245 bags con- i tainiog 9,848 pounds of letters and j 36,656 pounds of other articles. It is * estimated that. in. this mail nearly i. 400,000 ,letters were sent; across -the I Tasman, the total including a small J - proportion for South Africa and!' India. • L Strange Explosion. Startled by a loud explosion which severely jolted his car when he was ;' turning into Anzac Avenue from Cus- ■ toms Street on his way home from | work on Tuesday evening, a cjty- ! business man, Mr R. Gregory, j stopped to examine the luggage > boot and on opening it found several : old newspapers in flames (statute the * “New Zealand Herald”). Mr Gregory j had stored a tin containing a small ■ quantity of methylated spirits in the r boot, together with a twosgallon tin of petrol and several old newspapers. The cap on the tin containing th q spirits was fastened securely and evidently the heat on the back of the car during the day, combined with | th© movement when the car started, I caused spontaneous combustion. Mr = Gregory was able tO' extinguish the | burning newspapers without difli- ! culty, but he consders hmself very j lucky to have, discovered the cause I of th e explosion in time to prevent i the can of petrol from igniting. The ! tin containing the spirits w r as burst j open by the force of the explosion ! and its shape bore witness to the i tremendous pressure to which it was 1 subjected.