LOCAL AND GENERAL

Wairarapa Times-Age, 5 December 1938, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Hare Hits Motor-Car. While driving along the Waiorongo-mai-Te Aroha West highway, Mr G. C. Jackson, of Te Aroha, had an unusual experience when a hare leaped from the side growth over the bonnet of his motor-car and struck the supporting standard of the windscreen. The glass was unbroken, while the hare, which was exceptionally large, was killed.

Street Work on Sunday. Owing to the heavy volume of traffic which passes through the bottle-neck of Broadway, Newmarket, on week days, the repaving of the street has had to be carried out on Sundays. The work was started some time ago. Apart from the fact that fine, loose metal was inclined to be scattered by the tyres of motor cars, the work was carried out with little inconvenience to traffic.

Week-end Imprisonment Plan. “It may be a Gilbertian idea, but I think it would be very effective,” said Mr C. A. Deuxberry, who presided at a luncheon meeting of the Auckland Creditmen’s Club, in discussing the proposal to introduce weekend imprisonment in New Zealand for drunken motorists. “I am quite sure that some of the motorists would only want one weekend in gaol, and that would be the finish of their offences,” he added.

Bicycles for Motorists? “The time is coming when it will be necessary to have bicycles attached to our cars to enable us to ride to our offices from where we can find a parking place,” said Mr W. J. Mountjoy, with a smile at a sitting of the Conciliation Council in Wellington. “Recently my son went away in a boat for Sydney from the Queen’s wharf and asked me to bring him to town. We came in and I hunted the nearby streets for a parking place. Eventually I had to leave the car in Bowen Street and take a taxi to the wharf. Later I had to catch a, tram back to Bowen street to pick up the car.”

Encouraging Tourists. New Zealand should follow the example of Italy, ’ encouraging tourists from overseas by allowing them to travel on the railways at reduced rates, according to an Italian journalist, Signor Ghiglione, who is visiting Christchurch. “Every tourist visiting Italy gets a 50 per cent cut on his railway fares,” he said. “The Tourist Department should make the same reduction here.” He added that the loss of railway revenues would be more than made up by the money spent by tourists in other directions. New Potatoes on West Coast. The mildness of the climate at the township of Punakaiki, halfway between Greymouth and Westport, on the coastal road, and its suitability for market gardening, may be gathered from the experience of a resident. In the week of the Cup meeting at Christchurch this year he began to dig out a crop of new potatoes, a work which he finished on Thursday. From just more than an eighth of an acre of land he lifted two tons of potatoes, for which he received £36 a ton. Beautiful Garden. Threatening weather affected the attendance of the public at the garden of Mr E. G. Norman, Cole Street, which was thrown open for inspection yesterday in aid of the funds of the Maslerton Beautifying Society. About a hundred people had sufficient confidence to take a risk and enjoyed the many treasures of the garden, which is in excellent order and presents a splendid range of colourful blooms of great variety. A collection was taken up in aid of the Beautifying Society’s funds. Rail Car does 70 miles an hour. On its first distance test since it was completed at the Hutt workshops recently, the new railcar Tokomaru arrived at Auckland from Wellington on Friday night with the General Manager of Railways, Mr G. H. Mackley, and departmental officers as passengers. The test was described by Mr Mackley as satisfactory in every respect. Wellington was left on Friday morning at 8 o’clock and the car drew into the Auckland station at 7.40 p.m. Many stops were made on. the way, but the actual running time was 10 hours 20 minutes, an average of nearly 41 miles an hour. On several flat sections of the line the car reached 70 miles an hour, and no difficulty was experienced in maintaining 60 miles an hour over comparatively long stretches. A School Jubilee. The diamond jubilee celebrations of the Marist Brothers' School, Napier, which extended over the past week, concluded yesterday morning, when thanksgiving mass was celebrated in St Patrick’s Church, Napier, by the Rev Father L. Spring, S.M. The preacher was the Rev Father C. W. Casey, S.M. who subject was Catholic education. After mass 300 old boys, parents and friends marched to the cenotaph, where a wreath was laid in memory of old boys. The last post was sounded by Mr A. Lightband. The jubilee banquet, which proved the most successful reunion of old boys in the school’s history was held on Saturday night in St Patrick’s Hall, Napier. Mr E. Casey, Wellington, presided over an attendance of about 200 old boys, including many from outside districts and 14 who had attended the school on its opening day. One of these, Mr M. Mahoney, Gisborne, who was described as the oldest old boy, was given the honour of cutting a huge two-tier birthday cake.

New Zealand Publicity in U.S.A. “While there is an immensely keen interest taken in New Zealand by Americans, they cannot easily obtain tourist literature about it. and many tourists are lost,” said Mr C. G. Parish, an accountant who has returned to Christchurch after studying business methods in the United States. Only California had a service which was adequate, he said, and this represented only four million people. Almost all the rest of the United States was unprovided for, and inquirers were advised to communicate with the New Zealand representative at Toronto. “Of course you know how Americans would be about sending to Canada,” said Mr Parish. He himself had distributed much literature, and there were six Americans either here or on their way through his activity. He suggested that a representative posted in New York would do good work. There were many Americans who would come to New Zealand for its summer during the northern winter, and they were keen enough, they had told him, to put up with discomforts to see New Zealand rather than go to Europe.