NEW ZEALAND ITEMS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 2 April 1938, Page 2

NEW ZEALAND ITEMS

Finds in the Garden. A Riccarton resident is wondering whether he should put his garden through a sieve. Two years ago he dug up a sovereign. A few days ago his lucky star was shining again, not so brightly this time, his find being a George 111. half-crown, bearing the date 1817. After 28 Years.

After not having seen each other for 28 years, a brother and sister have been reunited in Hamilton. They are Mr A. Warrington, of Ashburton, aged 74, and Mrs H. Towler, of Boundary Road, Claudelands, aged 70. Mr Warrington flew from Christchurch to Palmerston North and made the rest of the journey by train. This is the first time he has been in the North Island. Native Chief’s Cloak.

A fine cloak of plaited pandanusleaf, once the property of the high chief Tamasese of Samoa, who was killed in an affray there some years ago, has been presented to the Dominion Museum by Mrs H. F. Dykes. The cloak, which is soft and of very fine weave, is heavily fringed and bordered with the scarlet feathers of some tropical bird. It was presented to Mrs Dyke’s father, Mr J. C. Westland, in 1922, when he was stationed at the Apia Observatory, and was the gift of Tamasese. The mat will probably not be placed on exhibition at present. It will be placed, together with other Polynesian treasures, in one of the storerooms under the building, where it will be accessible to students and research workers in the material culture of the islands. Sydney Wine Shops. “From San Francisco to Port Said, I have never seen anything worse than Sydney’s wine shops,” declared a traveller who passed through Christchurch recently, in the course of a world tour that has already occupied four years. “Stiffened by an admixture of raw whisky, the so-called ‘wine’ that they sell is absolute poison. To see regular- addicts arriving at the wine shops at opening time is a shocking sight.” Government and the Farmers.

“You have fairly high wages in New Zealand and a 40-hour week which, however, does not apply to farms,” said Mr H. Lester-Smith, one of the party of 62 Victorian farmers touring New Zealand and which visited the Ruakura Farm of Instruction. “With such good conditions existing in the towns how is the farmer going to obtain labour? Men are not going to work 60 hours a week on a farm for less wages than they can get working only 40 hours in the city.” Mr LesterSmith said the party was very interested in the effect the present Government policy was going to have on the New Zealand dairy producer. Best in World

“Ships’ officers have told me that the South Solomon Islanders are the best stevedores in the world,” 'said Father J. Wall, S.M., of the South Solomon Catholic Missions, when giving an address in Christchurch. Shorter in stature than the Maoris, the Solomon Islanders, Father Wall said, are stockily built and are very strong. It was not unusual for one of them to lift a case of tobacco weighing from 2501 b. to 3001 b. and run with it on his shoulder into a goods shed. They were energetic up to a point, and would work hard in groups, singing and shouting, for five or six hours, but it was difficult to keep them working regularly. Better Reading.

In the opinion of Mr R. Worley, Hamilton borough engineer, highway reading methods employed in the Waikato more than favourably compare with those of any other area in the Dominion. As a result of observations made during his recent tour throughout New Zealand, Mr Worley said he considered that the Waikato reading was “superior in conception, method and contracting ability to anything I have seen in other parts of the country.” Cup for Flying. A handsome cup, bearing the words “Arthur Smith Memorial,” has been presented to the New Plymouth Aero Club by Mr A. Smith, Pungarehu, in memory of his son and Mr James Hamill, who lost their lives in Cook Strait while returning from a South Island pageant. The cup will be kept at the clubhouse and competed for annually. This year it will be presented to the winner of the forced landing competition, which is to be held at the Easter camp. In future it is hoped to be used for instrument flying competition. A Firm’s Expectations.

Apparently an idea exists in some quarters in the United States that subsidies are paid in New Zealand to approved new industrial undertakings. The Auckland Chamber of Commerce has received from a firm in Chicago a request for information as to the prospects of establishing in Auckland a business manufacturing cotton garments, such as men’s and boys’ overalls, work pants and children’s play suits. It asked for particulars of the tariff against American piece-goods and the financial help by way of subsidy that would be given by the province to a company prepared to employ 50 to 200 persons. Keeping Human Blood. It has been found in England that human blood for use in transfusions may be kept up to five days, according to Mr Garth Williams, a New Zealander who has returned from England after spending some years in practice there as a surgeon. Mr Williams said recently that blood was generally kept on ice by hospitals in case an urgent call had to be answered. It was than easily brought up to the required temperature. Premature Obituary. A man who shares with Mark Twain the distinction of having read his own obituary notice in a newspaper is now visiting New Zealand. He is Colonel George Holmes, of the Salvation Army, who has had wide and varied experiences dating from the beginnings of the Army. He came to read his own obituary notice when his ship was wrecked when he was on his way to visit the South American republics, and the Salvationists to whom he was going received news that the ship was lost with all hands. They were mourning for the loss of their “special” when

he appeared among them to read the notice of his death.

Three-legged Gull. A three-legged gull has been attracting considerable attention in Albert Park, Auckland, during the past few weeks. The third leg, which is fully developed, is in front of the bird's left leg, and it does not make use of it, on land at least. The gull is a frequent visitor to the park,' and joins with other birds in scrambling for scraps thrown to them. A Whale’s Pranks.

A whale which has made its home in the Napier roadstead for nearly a year and entertained watchers on the shore is now thought to be a hermit blackfish, or small type of whale, which has been abandoned by the shoal and wandered about looking for a place in which it would be safe from attacks. The fish's favourite diversion is found at the green anchor buoy. It charges into the rope which moors the float and drags it out of sight, then lets it go, repeating this performance for about 10 minutes, after which it rises to the surface and makes a few graceful dives. It is very much interested in stray pieces of floating timber. It usually selects one about four feet long and swims slowly underneath it until it catches the large fin in the middle of its back. It then carefully balances the wood, swimming along the surface until it slides off.

Army Radio Communication. For the first time in Canterbury, wireless telegraphy and radio telephony have been used for military purposes as a means of communication between vehicles moving at ordinary travelling speed. This progressive step was made on Banks Peninsula by 30 members of the Southern Depot, New Zealand Corps of Signals, under Captain R. M. South, New Zealand Signals, during a period of training. The installation and operation of the radio were in the hands of the wireless section, who used the recently acquired service trucks. So encouraging were the results that, at an early date, long-distance trials will be undertaken.

Sheep as a Hurdler. A spectacular jumping feat was provided by a sheep during drafting operations at the Westfield stock yards. After being penned, the sheep jumped into the adjoining pen, repeating the performance several times and clearing with ease the hurdles of about 4ft. Finally it jumped out of the pens altogether, and escaped from the yards by jumping through a gap in a high barbed-wire fence. Before being captured the sheep jumped through another barbed-wire fence into a paddock. Overseas Teachers.

Two unusual requests came before the Auckland Education Board at its meeting when it was considering appointments of teachers. One application, which came through the Education Department, was from a former Christchurch Training College teacher who had been employed as a teacher of English in Japanese schools from 1929 to 1937, and his name was put on the board’s waiting list. The second application for employment came from a Hindu living at Bulawayo, South Africa, who said he had had 12 years’ teaching experience. In this case the matter was referred to the department.