LOCAL AND GENERAL

Wairarapa Times-Age, 17 January 1939, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Sheep for Feilding. A large number of sheep have been taken this week to Feilding where they will bo offered al the sale there. Weekly Swim Postponed. Owing to the adverse weather conditions the weekly swim of the Masterton Swimming Club has been postponed from tonight until next Thursday evening, weather permitting. Small Cricket Score.

One of the lowest totals on record was scored in the junior cricket competition in South Canterbury on Saturday, Lauriston disposing of Coldstream for 3 runs in less than 40 minutes. One man scored two and another one. 11. Adams took eight wickets for one run. and W. Ashworth took the other wickets. Radio Licenses. Of the 39,000 radio licences which expired in the Wellington metropolitan area on December 31 last. 22,000 have not yet been renewed. Though this number is much higher than for other quarters of the year, it is not usually high for the December quarter, which is looked on, as a bad period by the radio inspectors because of the large number of persons who are on holiday.

Young Man Found Shot. A single man, whose name is understood to be Clem Bond, aged 25, died at his home in the Ngahauranga Gorge shortly after 7 p.m. yesterday from a wound inflicted by a bullet from a .22 rifle. It is stated that he had finished tea and was in the kitchen when his father heard a shot. Police and the Free Ambulance were notified, but Mr Bond was found to be dead.

Little Damage Reported. Surprisingly little damage has been reported as the result of the gales which have swept the Wairarapa during the past few days. ' Only minor line faults were reported by the Wairarapa Electric Power Board and the Post and Telegraph Department. At times motorists have been alarmed by the severity of the wind on exposed sections of highways. Yesterday, it is stated, an Auckland motorist had his caravan blown over on the Mount Bruce road, blocking traffic for a time.

Record Passenger Total. A record total of 663 passengers was on board the Awatea when she arrived at Auckland from Sydney yesterday afternoon. The number included 244 Boy Scouts who were returning from the recent jamboree in Sydney. With officers and crew totalling 243, the liner had 906 persons on board. The liner’s previous passenger record was established last month, 632 passengers being on board when she left Auckland for Sydney on December 20. This number included the same scout party. A total of 585 passengers left Wellington for Sydney by the ship on December 27. Wind in Taranaki.

Causing minor damage, a high wind swept practically the whole of Taranaki on Sunday from a north-westerly direction. The wind was bitter and temperatures were low throughout the province, snow again falling on Mt Egmont early on Sunday morning. About 10 o’clock the lights in the Stratford borough failed and the fault was traced to a broken cable. The readings of the barometer at North Egmont were the lowest in his experience of the mountain, said the manager of the hostel. All day there was a terrific wind. On Saturday there was a slight sprinkling of snow on the higher slopes, starting at about 6000 feet.

Vocational Training. Seventy-two Territorial Special Reservists who have been in camp in Trentham since last August have completed their military training and yesterday 55 began vocational training under army arrangements. The remaining 17 have chosen vocations for which training facilities are not yet available and in. the meantime will continue military training. The 55 reservists who began training yesterday chose vocations as follows: Carpentry, 29; cooking, 9; clerical work, 4; painting, 4; fitting and turning, 3; welding, 2; electrical engineering, 2; motor engineering, 1; armoury, 1. Three of the cooks have gone to Narrow Neck camp, Auckland, and the others are in Fort Dorset. All other training is being done in the ordnance workshop in Trentham under the guidance of Lieutenant S. B. Wallace, 8.E., N.Z.A.O.C.

Deaths by Drowning. The fortunately small number of deaths by drowning on the beaches of the Dominion during the Christmas holidays was mentioned by the Minister of Internal Affairs, Mr Parry, in paying a compliment yesterday to the work of the men of the life-saving societies. "Always on guard and ready for action the moment a danger signal is given, the life-saving people resemble fire-brigadesmen in several ways, and they merit in their work full public support,” the Minister said. "It is the readiness of these men, their fine physique and the unostentatious way in which they do their work on the beaches that draws one’s admiration and praise. The self-reliance of the men or their societies in, to a large extent, spending their own money to equip themselves is a splendid feature calling for all support and congratulation. If the grants made to the life-saving organisations by the Government were doubled it would not be recompensing the men for either time spent or the value of the work done for the public." Flats for Pensioners.

The greatest interest is being taken in the Christchurch City Council’s experiment in the construction of homes for old age pensioners. The first three blocks of these flats arc now well advanced in construction, and their building has so enhanced the interest in the scheme that so far the council has had applications for them totalling 300 The scheme, at its present stage, involves the construction of homes for 50 aged poor, so that it appears that already the extension of the' scheme might have to be envisaged. The first block of flats is being erected in Johnson Street, immediately behind Sydenham Park, and the row of flats has the advantage of an outlook right on to the peaceful view of the park, through a row of oak trees. Three blocks of four flats each are being constructed, and it is expected that the average cost a flat will work out at about £490. Each flat is entirely self-contained, with a living room measuring 14ft. by 10ft., a bedroom capable of holding two single beds or one double bed, a kitchenette, with hot water and servery, a separate bathroom for each flat, and a small coal and wood room at the rear. The rent of each flat will be 8s Cd a week.