LOCAL AND GENERAL

Wairarapa Times-Age, 14 December 1939, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Exhibition Attendance. The attendance at the Centennial Exhibition yesterday reached 10,864. The total has now reached 441 916. and the daily average 14,25 a. Motor Registrations. At the end of September this year the number of motor vehicles licensed in New Zealand was 285,586. an increase of 12,479 on the figures at September 30, 1938. Of the total number 203,543 were cars. Gift to Workers. As a special gift to mark the Centenary of New Zealand the managing director of a largo Dunedin retail store has handed a cheque for £6OO to the secretary of the company to be distributed pro rata to every member of the staff, including those in the workrooms. New State Building.

The foundation-stone of the large departmental building under construction in Stout Street (Wellington) will be laid tomorrow afternoon by the Minister of Public Works, Mr Semple. The Mayor of Wellington, Mr Hislop, will preside, .and addresses will be given by the Minister, the mayor, and Mr Chapman, M.P., in whose electorate the building is situated.

The Toll of the Motor Car. Between April 1 and October 31, 1939, states the Abstract of Statistics, motor vehicle accidents in New Zealand numbered 2426, 2156 of which were collisions of one sort or another. These accidents involved the deaths of 137 persons, while 1249 suffered serious injuries and 1876 minor injuries. Roughly speaking, therefore, one motor vehicle in every 140 during those seven months was involved in an accident of some sort.

Army Officers’ Reserve. The Minister of Defence, Mr Jones, stated yesterday that letters had been received in the War Office, London, from persons in New Zealand, who previously had registered their names in the Army Officers’ Emergency Reserve. asking whether they should return to the United Kingdom. The Army Council desired it to be known that such persons should not return to the United Kingdom to serve, unless they were specially called with a view to being offered military employment.

Killing by Magpies. A complaint about raiding on young birds by magpies was made by Mr A. G. Winstone in a letter received by the council of the Wellington Acclimatisation Society at a meeting last night. Mr Winstone said that the magpies waited round the nests for young birds to leave and then swooped down and killed them. Fortunately the magpie was too awkward to perch on the slender branches, where the small fantails and riroriros built. Mr Winstone said a large outside aviary containing mostly foreign finches at his place was a source of interest to magpies. Maori Court at Exhibition.

This afternoon the great Maori Court at the Centennial Exhibition will be opened with elaborate Maori ceremony such as has rarely been witnessed in Wellington. The event will be the most important at the Exhibition since opening day. A very large attendance is expected, and Maoris from far parts of New Zealand are gathering in Wellington for the occasion. The Prime Minister, Mr Savage, will perform the actual opening ceremony. Official visitors will include lhe Acting-Minister of Native Affairs. Mr Langstone, the Minister of Industries and Commerce, Mr Sullivan, who is also president of the Exhibition, and the Minister of Internal Affairs Mr Parry. Communists Condemned. At a meeting of the Maraekakaho branch of the New Zealand National Party, a resolution was adopted expressing hearty approval of Mr R. Semple’s public condemnation of the actions and utterances of Communists in the Dominion, but urging that the Government show a more united front in the matter. “We feel also that something more than words is called for to further the ends and ideals we are supposed to be helping the Homeland to achieve,” stated the resolution. “We are of the opinion that the Government should stamp out at once any attempt by these Communist enemies of the democratic Empire to hinder us in the undertaking we have on hand.”

Loss on Manawatu Show. A decision to restrict the spring shows to two days in future and to make them more truly agricultural by eliminating expensive vaudeville attractions was made by the general committee of the Manawatu and West Coast Agricultural and Pastoral Association yesterday. A statement submitted to the committee showed a loss of £B7 on the recent spring show. A sub-committoe set up to consider the future policy recommended that the spring show be held on Wednesday and Thursday; that it be as far as possible a true agricultural show, embracing stock, produce and home industries, and that efforts be made to persuade Palmerston North and Feilding shops to close for a halfday on the second day (people's day). The report was adopted.

Sports Coaching Scheme. The first shot in the campaign instituted by the Physical Welfare Branch for assistance to the sports bodies in promoting coaching activities was fired recently when Mr Roy Howe, the present Wellington Easter tennis champion loured the Wairarapa in company with the Wellington Recreation Office)' of the branch. The co-operation of the the Wairarapa Lawn Tennis Association, and the individual clubs made this venture so successful that in five day Mr Howe coached 300 juniors and 50 seniors, gave eight demonstration talks, and played two exhibition matches with P. Hawksworth. the North Island champion. The same idea will be extended elsewhere. Already there is promise of considerable activity in the way of golf coaching during the coming golfing season. Mr Sutton, the Secretary of the New Zealand Golf Council, which lias a scheme for providing its golf coaches to clubs, was interviewed recently by an officer of the Physical Welfare Branch, and said that if the Area Officers of the branch by personal contacts with the clubs increased the demand for these professionals, this would be of inestimable value to lhe sport, and if necessary, (lie council would no doubt make further arrangements to cope with the increased demand