LOCAL AND GENERAL

Wairarapa Times-Age, 7 October 1938, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Contract Shearing Price. The contract shearing price decided on at a meeting of the Hawke’s Bay Shearing Contractors Association at Hastings was 66s per hundred, not 36s as previously stated. Marching Practice. In order to give the younger players experience in marching, the Masterton Municipal Band, held a practice on the Park Oval last evening. The conductor,. Mr G. W. Hutchinson, stated this morning, that the band hoped to attend a contest which is to be held at Feeding on Labour Day. Playing at the contest would be excellent experience for the members of the band. Concrete in Colours. Considerable interest is being taken in the unusual colour scheme used in the concrete floor of Messrs Fagan Motors Ltd. new building in Bannister Street. The material used is a coloured cement. The colouring material is burnt into the cement in England and is claimed to be of a permanent nature. It is certainly unusual to see a concrete floor adorned with at least half a dozen shades of colour and the effect is quite pleasing. The Scout Jamboree. A hundred Boy Scouts are expected to spend the weekend at Heretaunga, preparing the site for the New Zealand Centennial Jamboree to be held there in December, 1939, and January, 1940. Every weekend, when weather permits, scouts and rovers visit the site, carrying out the difficult task of clearing it of gorse and preparing plans for the layout of the camp. The site comprises 100 acres of land skirting the hill on the east side of the railway line at Heretaunga, practically opposite the station. Billiards Championship. The first games in the first round of the Y.M.C.A. billiards championship played last night, resulted as follow:— G. Coleman beat P. Watson, S. Onion beat W. Clarke; J. Nicholls beat F. Bodie; A. McWhinnie beat E. Jaspers. The remaining games in the first round will be played next Tuesday night, commencing at 7 o’clock. All who have not already played their game, or who still intend to enter, are requested to attend. Bridge Party. A most enjoyable Bridge Party was held in the Parish Hall last evening, under the auspices of the St Matthew’s Ladies’ Guild, the proceeds to be donated to the Mission Leper Fund. Several donations were made to the fund. There were 10 tables and the winners were: Ladies, Mrs E. Jones; men, Mr A. Palmer; consolation, ladies, Mrs H. Wilmhurst; men, Mrs B. Bannister; hidden number, Mrs McPherson.Mr W. Winhall, on behalf of the committee, thanked those present for their attendance. On his motion a vote of thanks was passed to the Ladies’ Committee. Curious Figure in Wood.

A short macrocarpa branch in which the figure of a man was clearly outlined formed a remarkable curiosity exhibited in Auckland recently. The figure had resulted from the action of another branch rubbing against the mark and wearing it completely away, so that the edges formed the figure of a man against the wood. About 4in long, the figure was. particularly lifelike about the head and shoulders, eyes, a moustache and well-parted hair being easily distinguished. A Visitor’s Impressions.

“New Zealand has a charm all of its own and you are a very fortunate people out here,” said the Rev Dr Capra, an Italian priest and scientist, passed through Auckland recently on the Niagara. “Although it is 30 years since I was in New Zealand, I remember that there is one respect in which the Dominion resembles my country. I was born near alpine country and was struck by the resemblance between the Franz Josef) Glacier and a big glacier on Monte Bianco in Brenua, where I did a considerable amount of alpining when I was a young man.”

Nazi Racial Imperialism. That the Nazi doctrine of racial imperialism had as its aim the ultimate creation of a great central European state in which the Nordic, Germanic people would be banded together, was contended by Mr H. Winston Rhodes in his Ensom Bequest Lecture, given to members of the Workers’ Educational Association at Christchurch. “Germany is thus not merely concerned with treaty revision,” Mr Rhodes added, “for in many European states there are German minorities which were not included in the German nation before the war. The Versailles Treaty has in fact been used as little more than a catch cry by the Nazi Party propagandists.” Exhibition Site.

Spectacular progress is being made on the New Zealand Exhibition site at Rongotai, and almost every week the aspect of the rising structures changes and improves. The roof is now being placed on the main Government court, and in a very few weeks it will be possible for members of the public to gain an impression of what the main buildings will look like —without, of course, being able to visualise the impressive magnitude of the entire 15acre building, dominated by the lofty tower which is to be the principal architectural feature of the exhibition. The four great wooden columns of the towers have now been set up on their solid concrete foundations, and stand about forty feet high.

Passenger Traffic. Indications are that passengei’ traffic between New Zealand and Great Britain will be just as great in the coming season as it was in the last. Last week prospects were altogether different. There were then many cancellations of passages, and for several days almost an absolute lack of inquiries by intending passengers. There was also a big drop in passport applications; but once the agreement with Germany was announced, shipping and associated offices immediately became busy again. It was stated by Mr A. Thompson, manager of Thomas Cook and Sons, Ltd., in Auckland, that the best accommodation has already been taken in many instances on steamers leaving in February, March and April next. American steamers are well booked up to May. His office has been advised of a substantial number of small groups of passengers to New Zealand from Africa, India, America, England and Australia. A feature of this season would be the large number of Western Australians who will visit New Zealand.