LOCAL AND GENERAL

Wairarapa Times-Age, 8 June 1940, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Frost in Masterton. A frost of 10.9 degrees was registered in Masterton this morning.

Plunket Society Meeting. The annual meeting of the Masterton Branch of the Plunket Society will be held on Wednesday next, June 12. The Mayor, Mr T. Jordan, will preside and the speaker will be Mrs Peter Fraser, wife of the Prime Minister. Sick and Wounded Fund.

A total of £225,000 had been collected for the Sick, Wounded and Distress Fund up to yesterday, leaving £25,000 to be obtained before the required £250,000 is reached. It is expected by the organisers that the £250,000 mark will be passed by a substantial amount.

Shortage of Wool. Speaking at the Wairarapa section of the N.Z.P. and T. Employees’ annual re-union last night, Mr J. Robertson, M.P., stated that 268,000 pairs of socks had already oeen knitted and supplied to the troops. He stated that if wool could not be procured in shops people should realise that it was being utilised for rhe soldiers.

Greek Community Gesture. To assist the Hawke’s Bay provincial patriotic funds, members of the Greek community in Napier are to give one day’s shop takings, according to a decision made yesterday, when Napier was visited by the vice-consul for Greece in Wellington, Mr S. N. Garland, the president of the Greek Educational Association, Mr A. Janis, and the president of the Greek Association, Mr C. Christie. Souvenir Issue. The golden jubilee of the New Zealand P. and T. Employees’ Association, which is being celebrated throughout the Dominion has been marked by the issue of an excellent souvenir number of the “Katipo,” the association’s journal. The issue contains 75 pages of interesting historical articles and photographs, which give a faithful review of the affairs of the Association during the past five decades. A New Award.

An increase of Id an hour to hourly workers, bringing their earnings to £4 11s 8d a week, and of 3s 4d a week to weekly workers, bringing their earnings to £4 13s 4d has been granted in the new award for local body labourers (rural section) issued by the Court of Arbitration. The memorandum of Mr Justice Tyndall states that the matters settled by the Court relate to wages, definitions of country y/ork and the term of the award. Ini other respects the award embodies the recommendations reached at the conciliation proceedings.

Recruiting Figures. The latest recruiting figures for New Zealand, which are those for last week, show that 40,804 men have enlisted, of whom 22,918 have been posted to camp and 2971 await medical examination. Of those already medically examined, 27,916 were classed fit, 5757 permanently unfit, and 1868 were in reserved occupations. Last week’s enlistments were the best since the initial call for men, recruiting for wnich opened on September 12, 1939, and this week, for which figures are not yet available, there have been large numbers coming forward. St. Matthew’s Ladies’ Guild.

An enjoyable social was held yesterday in the Common Room of the Parish Hall by St Matthew’s Ladies Guild. Mrs Rich welcomed the guests on behalf of the Guild. Musical items were rendered by Mesdames Burke and Snowsill accompanied by Mrs Miller Hope and Mrs Jaine gave several elocutionary items. Mrs R. Miller provided a most interesting talk on “My Tour Through Europe,” which was thoroughly enjoyed by all present. Afternoon tea was served by the members of the Guild. Influenza Epidemic.

The epidemic of influenza at Papakura' camp is described by the army authorities as being no worse than it has been and it is hoped that the arrangement made for evacuating patients to the Ellerslie racecourse will quickly make itself noticeable in a reduction of cases. Yesterday’s total in hospital and at camp was 283. In Auckland hospital aqd the Epsom infirmary there were 140 soldiers. At Ellerslie, there were 61 and at the camp there were 82, all of whom are expected to be evacuated to Ellerslie today. The epidemic at Burnham is reported to be definitely on the wane.

New Hospital Building. Receipt of a statement from the Minister of Health, Mr Armstrong, that the Government had decided that the greater part of the Pukeora Reserve is to be vested in the board in trust as a hospital, site for Rotorua was acknowledged at a meeting of the Waikato Hospital Board. It was decided to instruct the board’s architect, Mr J. H. Edgecumbe, to prepare plans for the new hospital it is proposed to build on the site, but that no money be spent till the necessary legislation giving effect to the transfer of the site had been passed. It was decided to remove the present X-ray plant at the Waikato Hospital to the Rotorua Hospital, and to purchase a larger plant for the Waikato Hospital. The cost of the new plant was £2500. Von Luckner a Spy.

Official confirmation has been obtained in Canberra that Count Felix von Luckner, in his sea-roving visits to New Zealand and Australia a couple of years ago, was on a spying mission. The information was given after a speech in Melbourne by Senator Major-General C. H. Brand. “Count von Luckner, though a courageous seamen and a fine gentleman at times, was really a Nazi spy,” said Senator Brand. “His dinner parties at Darlinghurst and King’s Cross were very interesting, so interesting that intelligence officers got the names and addresses of all who attended. Most of those people are now in concentration camps.” Senator Brand said that the Intelligence Service, acting on tht> advice of Britain, kept a strict watch on von Luckner’s movements while he was in Australia. The only people in Australia closely associated with von Luckner during his stay there were German nationals.