French Merchant Ship.

Wairarapa Times-Age, 15 February 1939, Page 4

French Merchant Ship.

The first French merchant ship to visit Auckland for some years, the motor-ship Pierre L.D., arrived .from Ghent with a cargo of basic slag. The Pierre L.D., of 5795 tons gross, was built at Dunkirk in 1935 and is owned by Louis-Dreyfus and Company, of Paris, a line which has a number of cargo vessels in the trade between Australia and the Continent.

Market for German Cars. The founder of. the Auto Union Motor Corporation in Germany seven years ago. Baron K. von Gertzen, arrived at Auckland by the Mariposa from Sydney on a visit to New Zealand. He is general export manager, of the Auto Union and will discuss with agents in Wellington the prospects of introducing the cars to the New Zealand market in view of the satisfactory result of exporting the cars to Australia. Patea Ironsands. A statement that the significance of the ironsands was not lost sight of was contained in a letter from the Government Iron and Steel Department, received by the Patea Harbour Board. The letter asked for permission for a drill crew to take samples of Patea ironsand. “It has been generally recognised that a systematic examination of New Zealand’s reserve of ironsands in regard to both quality and quantity is a desirable work,” stated the letter, “and the Iron and Steel Department has decided to begin a survey.” “Lack of Respect for Tradition.” “There is in both Australia and New Zealand, especially among the younger generation, a very noticeable lack of respect for historical places, old buildings, and their importance in building up an historical sense,” said Mr D. Hope Johnston, founder and former president of the Australasian Pioneers' Club, Sydney, who has suggested the formation of a New Zealand Founders' Society. National traditions and sentiments, he said, appeared to have been overlooked in the teaching of history in their schools, where the value of sentiment and tradition in the character of a nation was, judging by results, very inadequate.

Five Nonagenarians. Five aged women, all of 90 years or over, whose united ages total 456 years, are among lhe inmates of the Salvation Army Eventide Home in View Road, Mount Eden. There were six nonagenarians in the home the previous week, but the death of Mrs Priscilla Jones, aged 92. reduced the number. Mrs Jones was one of the institution’s oldest members, having entered in 1927, not long after it was opened. Of the remaining quintet, only one is hard 'of hearing, and all are mentally alert. None of the nonagenarians was born in New Zealand, and. with one exception, all came to New Zealand in the sailing ship days.

Physical Fitness and Food. “If the average man is lacking in the knowledge of anything he is colossally ignorant of what constitutes good food.” said Dr R. G. Shackleton, when proposals for Physical Fitness Week were being considered at a public meeting at Waimate. It was Dr Shackleton’s opinion that in arranging displays of sports and physical exercise the meeting was "starting at the wrong end.” Before persons could participate in sport they had to have healthy bodies, he said, and by far the most important factor in that was food. Just as clean drains and pure water were now established facts in everyday life, so people would have to be taught the value of nutrition.

Tourists and Roads. The conviction that in time the touring industry would become one of New Zealand’s principal sources of income, and that a good reading system was essential to bring about that end was expressed by Mr M. H. Wynyard, motorists’ representative on the Main Highways Board, when speaking at a conference in Dunedin. Increasingly large numbers of tourists were coming to New Zealand each year, Mr Wynyard said, and it was his opinion that the time would come when they would nearly support the country. Tributes were paid by members of ' the Automobile Association to the work done on the Highways Board by Mr Wynyard. who is the only original member of the board who still retains his scat on that body. Shipment of Donkeys.

A cargo of an unusual type even for the port of Auckland arrived recently when a shipment of 15 donkeys from Ponui Island was landed by the motor-vessel Baroona. Numbers of donkeys abound in practically a wild state at Ponui. which is in the Tamaki Strait, near Waiheke Island, but they arc only rarely sent to the mainland. Numbers from a consignment about a year ago went to the Auckland Zoo as attractions for children. The task of catching the donkeys invariably results in exciting exhibitions of wrestling at Ponui Island as the animals, which become tame very quickly, are at first very restive. The 15 donkeys brought by the Baroona had quietened by the time the vessel was berthed and were loaded into railway trucks for the journey to Woodville. It is expected that two or three cargoes of the animals will be brought from Ponui in the ' near future, the exports resulting in the bulk of the donkeys being cleared from the island.