LOCAL AND GENERAL

Wairarapa Times-Age, 25 July 1939, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Frost in Masterton. A frost of 4.6 degrees was registered in Mastertoil this morning.

Automobile Association Membership. An addition of 90 members was reported at the meeting of the Automobile Association (Manawatu) last evening. The total now stands at 3414. Motorists and Vapour Lights.

That motorists proceeding up and down Fitzherbert Avenue, Palmerston North, at night would • get more advantage from the sodium vapour lights if car headlights were dimmed, was the opinion voiced by Cr W. B. Tennent at last evening’s meeting of the Palmerston North City Council. Infectious Diseases.

For the week ended yesterday, 24 cases of infectious disease and seven deaths—five irom pulmonary tuberculosis, one from fulminant influenza and one from lethargic encephalitis —were reported to the Wellington office of the Health Department from the central Wellington area. The cases were as follows:—Diphtheria 8, pulmonary tuberculosis 7, erysipelas 3, scarlet fever 2, puerperal fever 2, poliomyelis 1, fulminant influenza 1. Observation of Mars.

A remarkably clear view of the socalled canals on Mars has been obtained by the public who have visited the Carter Observatory at Wellington during the last few nights. The southern polar cap has melted somewhat and the area described as a sea, which adjoins the cap, is now a very prominent feature on the planet’s surface. Minor changes in the planet are observed each night, both changes from day to day and also changes since the planet was last in opposition two years ago.

A Tour Cancelled. As the result of advice in Australia about the difficulties of taking money out of New Zealand, the projected tour of the Dominion by the boy violinist, Grisha Goluboff, to whom Mr Henry Ford recently presented a violin valued at £30,000, has been cancelled. The boy’s manager, Mr I. M. Nobel, said the decision also affected John Crown, a leading United States pianist, who was Goluboff’s accompanist as well as being a soloist. The party arrived at Auckland by the Mariposa from Sydney on its way back to the United States.

Clerks’ Union Ballot. The return of the full ticket presented by the retiring executive, which is opposed to Trades Hall affiliations, was made in the postal ballot for the new executive for the Canterbury Clerks, Cashiers and Office Employees’ Union. Mr G. Gillespie was re-elect-ed president, this being his second term of office. He was elected with 519 votes, Mr L. K. Scott securing 437. The only “opposition” representative on the union’s executive is Mr S. W. Ayres, who was elected vice-president unopposed, after the withdrawal from the ballot of Mr L. K. Jones, who was vice-president in the last year.

“Magic-Eye” Controls Lights. The street lights of Lyttelton are now switched on at dusk and switched off in the mornings by a “magic eye,” a small apparatus operated by a photoelectric cell. As the daylight begins to fade, the cell puts into operation a series of relays which close the circuit to light the lamps, the procedure being reversed in the mornings as soon as the daylight is sufficiently strong. Once adjusted, the apparatus is quite independent of the human element and will, for instance, turn the lights on earlier when the afternoon is dull and heavily overcast than when the sky is clear. It is believed to be the first of its kind in New Zealand.

Old Homestead Being Pulled Down. One of the oldest buildings in the Wellington province, the well-known Barton homestead in Heretaunga, Hutt Valley, is being pulled down by boy scouts who will use the wood and iron for buildings of the Centennial Jamboree. The homestead was begun within a year or two of the foundation of Wellington by Mr Richard Barton, who arrived in 1840, and was one of the first settlers in the Hutt Valley. It took some time to construct, and on account of its size was a place of some note in the young colony —a house of 22 rooms, at a time when Government House was no more than a 5-roomed cottage. Two peculiar features were the solid wooden roof gutters, carved out by an adze from totara and four standing totara trees, which, with their tops removed, were used as pillars for the house. A small ship’s cannon stood before the door in the early days of trouble with the Maoris. The gun is still in existence; only recently it was taken by Mr Wilfred Barton to his place in the Wairarapa, a treasured heirloom.