LOCAL AND GENERAL

Wairarapa Times-Age, 23 August 1938, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Plunket Society Annual Meeting. The annual general meeting of the Masterton Plunket Society will be held in the Rooms, Central Arcade, tomorrow, at 2.30 p.m. Wellington Competitions. At the Wellington elocutionary and musical competitions last night Heather Douglas (Masterton) was highly commended in the Girls’ Song (12 to 14 years) in which there were 22 entries. Social Evening. Another very successful social evening was spent at the Masterton East School on Saturday night. The music for dancing was supplied by Mr Jack Stewart on the piano, extras being played by Messrs W. Voice and Chas. Volheim. Mr P. Ward was M.C. Taueru Road Improvements. A start is to be made shortly by the Masterton County Council with the work of reconstruction, in preparation for sealing, of the Bennett’s Hill to about a mile past the Taueru bridge section, of the Masterton Castlepoint Main Highway. Tourist Traffic.

Indications are that New Zealand will experience a brisk tourist traffic during the coming summer. Already plans have been laid for several large parties of Australian and English visitors to travel in the Dominion, while dates for visits of eight pleasure-cruise liners from Australia have been received by the Government Tourist Bureau.

Austere Coasts—Smiling Faces. “When I neared New Zealand I found the coasts very austere,” said Dr Ford, examiner for the Trinity College of Music, at his lecture-recital before the Hamilton Students’ Association. “But when I landed I found happy, smiling people. I do hope that, in all the changing conditions of modern life, that happiness will continue.

Opposing the Premier. It was officially announced last night that three nominations have been received for the National Party candidate to contest the Auckland West seat against the Prime Minister, the Rt Hon M. J. Savage, at the forthcoming general election. In addition to Messrs H. M. Bagnall and E. D. Stallworthy, Mr G. V. Mullenger has been nominated. The three nominations have been 1 confirmed by the committee of the party branch, but arrangements have still to be made for selection by ballot. Asbestos Cement.

The development of an important new secondary . industry in New Zealand is likely to follow the decision of two private companies to manufacture asbestos cement in the Dominion. This decision will involve exploitation of extensive asbestos deposits in the Takaka Valley in the mountainous district at the far northern tip of the South Island. The Minister of .Industries and Commerce, the Hon D. G. Sullivan, said in an interview at Christchiirch yesterday that the Bureau of Industry had granted to fjvo companies a licence to manufacture asbestos cement, and it was probable that at least one of them would be in production before very long. Tuition of Apprentices.

. A suggestion made at a recent meeting of the board of governors of the Wellington Technical College that, to improve the attendance of apprentices at the college, it would be advantageous if they could attend classes during working hours, has not met with the approval of the Wellington Employers’ Association. At last night’s meeting of the board of governors, a letter was received from Mr W. J. Mountjoy, secretary of the association, stating that it was considered that, with the shortened weekly hours, there was ample opportunity for apprentices to attend the Technical College outside their weekly working time. Fijian Boy’s Adventure.

After being under the care of the Child Welfare Department at Auckland for more than a fortnight, a Fijian boy aged 12 was taken in the Matson liner Mariposa when the vessel left Auckland for San Francisco via Suva. The lad is to be returned' to his people on the liner’s arrival at Suva on Thursday. Discovered on board the Mariposa shortly after she cleared Suva on her last trip from San Francisco to Auckland, the boy was handed over to the Child Welfare Department when the vessel reached Auckland on August 5 and placed in the boys’ home at Mount Albert, where he remained until the Mariposa left on her return voyage. It was stated that the lad would not be kept in custody in the ship but would be placed under the care of one of the crew.

Short-paid Postage. Notwithstanding the publicity that has been given to the new overseas postage rates which came into operation on July 26, an examination, the Masterton Postmaster reports, made during the past week of letters posted locally for overseas, disclosed that a considerable number of letters were short-paid. Briefly, the letter- postage rate is as follows:—To all British countries and Egypt, IJd each half ounce (Australia is excepted from this increase until the trans-Tasman air service operates); to all foreign countries, including the United States of America, 2|d for the first ounce and lid for each succeeding ounce. When letters are short-paid it is the universal practice of the Post Office to tax them double the deficiency; and it is suggested that embarrassment to correspondents would be avoided by the public acquainting themselves with the correct postage rates mentioned above. Maori Pa for U.S.A. Exhibition. The collecting of material for Maori pa for the New Zealand court at the San Francisco Golden Gate International Exposition is proceeding at Rotorua. The New Zealand exhibit will include a building 52ft by 33ft, with the front facade depicting a Maori meeting house. Surrounding the Dominion’s area will be erected a palisade of manuka, while provision has also been made for the construction of a patuku,’ or Maori storehouse. For some years a collection of Maori carvings of all descriptions has been accumulated in Rotorua by the Tourist Department for use in similar displays. At the present time certain of these carvings are being used at the Empire Exhibition in Glasgow. Others were forwarded from Rotorua to Wellington on Tuesday for despatch to the New York World Fair. At the close of these two exhibitions the New Zealand carvings and exhibits will be forwarded to San Francisco to form part of the display there. I