LOCAL AND GENERAL

Wairarapa Times-Age, 20 May 1938, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Air Flight to Wellington. Mr A. W. Buchanan left the Hood Aerodrome yesterday with a passenger for Wellington, and returned later in the afternoon. Professional Wrestling. A professional wrestling match in Nelson between Andy Moen and Abe Yourist resulted in a draw. Yourist secured a fall after ten seconds in the first round, while Moen equalised in the seventh. Pronunciation of Eire. “When I was having afternoon tea with Mr Malcolm McDonald, who was in the Dominions Office, Mr J. W. Dulanty, High Commissioner for the Irish Free State, joined us, and I asked him, for the benefit of New Zealanders, how they pronounced ‘Eire’,” said Sir Thomas Wilford upon his return to Wellington from London yesterday. “He said, ‘Take the name “Sarah” and drop the “S,” and you have it’.” Masterton Band. The Masterton Municipal Band will play the following programme at the Park band rotunda on Sunday next, commencing at 2.30 p.m.: —March, “Perseverance’ (Mogg); hymn, “Ings Grove” (May); selection, “La Regina de Golconda” (Donizetti); march, “Arethusa” (Newton), and four compositions for a brass band by Greenwood: “Whistling Pete,” “Fleur de Lis,’’ “Golliwogs’ Parade” and “Mercury.”

Loss of Pasture Land. A loss of 1200 acres of hill pasture owing to slips during the recent flood was experienced by Mr W. McKinnon, of Rock Station, Te Pohue. Mr McKinnon said the slips did not merely take away the pastures, but also took away the soil right back to the bare rock. Much of his hill country will be of little use in the future. The effects of the earthquake of 1931, which was particularly severe in the Te Pohue district, were undoubtedly responsible for the serious slipping. Mr E. R. Dampney, Ealand Station, is also a heavy loser through slips, and he estimates he has lost 1000 acres of pasture. He doubted whether much of this land could be restored to pasture.

Coal Production Cost. “No competent coal-mining engineer who had any knowledge of New Zealand conditions could possibly say that coal could be produced in the Dominion at 5s a ton,” said Mr W. D. Holgate, president of the Waikato Coal Mine Owners’ Association at Auckland yesterday, with reference to a report that an American mining engineer, Mr G. Cargal, Salt Lake City, had stated in Christchurch that the production cost of coal in New Zealand could be reduced to 5s a ton. “It would not be possible to mechanise our mines to any extent, because the formation of the seams is so irregular,” said Mr Holgate. American mines were very different because the geological structure of the coal-bearing country was so regular that mines could be laid out for largescale production. In addition, there was a huge market in the United States which could absorb large outputs.”

Childless Couples. “It is extraordinary the number of petitions for divorce I have heard here in connection with which there has been no issue of the marriage,” commented the Chief Justice (Sir Michael Myers) in the Supreme Court at Hamilton yesterday. “I do not wish to make any adverse comment. The matter is one of great interest,” his Honour continued. “One wonders how far these things are cause and effect, and one wonders if there would have been a difference had there been issue.” Cost of Missions.

The total estimated budget for the home, Maori and foreign mission work of the Presbyterian Church of New Zealand for the year 1938-39, as submitted to the missions committee is £34,180. This represents an increase of £9OO on the estimates for the current year. The estimates were approved for passing on to the finance committee of the Church. Opossum in Crater.

An opossum found in the crater of Mount Egmont has been an object of interest for climbers during the past week or two. The little animal is not expected to survive his adventure, as he is dependent entirely upon scraps of food left by climbers who have vainly tried to catch him. Unless he finds his way down again to his natural habitat, which appears unlikely, or is captured by a climber after he has become too weak to run away, he will perish from starvation and cold. Buried Logs. ’

Workmen excavating to instal an underground electrical transformer in St Hill Street, Wanganui, have had difficulty in removing a number of totara logs situated some 12 feet below the level of the street. The timber lies on the top of a layer of blue clay, and at the bottom of the seam is ironsand. It is estimated that the logs have been resting in this place for some hundreds of years, but they still retain a remarkable state of preservation. In no instance is the timber rotten, and twigs and small branches are still to be seen. In places the bark of the tree still clings to the log. Frogs After Floods.

An unusual aspect of the recent flooding in Hawke’s Bay has been the appearance of a large number of small frogs in a great portion of the land which was for a time under water and which still carries a great deal of surface water. Motorists on the Napier-Hastings via Fernhill highway have recently noticed thousands of frogs on the roads, particularly at night, and huge numbers of them are now lying dead on the road where they have been killed by passing cars. There was a similar phenomenon in Napier in 1932, when there was extensive flooding in the old Tutaekuri river bed. Market Interests. A warning to New Zealanders to be alert in the protection of their interests in the British markets was given by Sir Thomas Wilford, former High Commissioner in London, in an interview on his return by the Mataroa yesterday from a visit to England. Sir Thomas said he visited Smithfield and was proud of the condition in which he saw New Zealand lamb. New Zealand butter made a good showing in the shops, but the cheese left much to be desired. “The demand of Home producers for protection against flooding of the Home markets with Dominion produce is insistent,” he said. "The Hon Walter Elliot is back at his post as Minister of Agriculture, and his name brings back to memory the many interviews I had with him, interviews which confirmed the opinion I had that New Zealand must be wide awake, for there are those at Home high in authority who are ready to act as the suppliants desire.”

Lit 130 years ago, in 1808, a peat fire has been burning ever since in a wayside inn on Dartmoor.