LOCAL AND GENERAL

Wairarapa Times-Age, 9 December 1940, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Otago Marathon Title. There were seven starters in the Marathon championship of 26 miles and 385 yards held at Mosgiel on Saturday, but only two finished. The result is as follows: —G. L. Austin, 2 hours 58 minutes 10 seconds, 1; F. Crooke, 3 hours 14 minutes 43 seconds, 3. “Hawaii Sings.” There was a fair house at the concluding performance of “Hawaii Sings” present by Aloha Lincoln on the Masterton Opera House on Saturday night. The items all received an excellent, hearing and the entertainment was most enjoyable in every way. Mission For Men. A mission for men, which has been conducted by the Rev. Father Cheeseman, S.M., of Wellington, at St. Patrick’s Church, Masterton, was brought to a successful conclusion last night, when there was a large congregation. Heavy Rail Bookings.

The rush to reserve seats in trains leaving Hawke’s Bay at Christmas and New Year has now begun in earnest, dnd some of the expresses are already almost booked up. While it is too early to see what effect the petrol restrictions will have, it seems likely that they will result in an increased demand for railway accommodation.

Boring for Oil. ■ At the present rate of progress the Morere bore of the New Zealand Petroleum Company in the next fortnight should set a new record for depth drilled in New Zealand. In the past two weeks the Morere well has been sunk an additional 350 ft. to a depth of 5450 ft., which compares with the record depth of 5700 ft. reached by the Totangi bore before operations were suspended in November last year, after being in progress over 13 months.

N.Z. Bowling Tournament. Entries which are a record as far as the South Island is concerned, and which have only once been exceeded in the Dominion, have been received for the New Zealand bowling championships, which will start in Christchurch on January 8. A total of 856 entries has been received, compared with 640 at the last championships in Christchurch in 1936 and 726 for the Centennial championships in Wellington last January. The total has only been bettered at Auckland, in 1939, when they were exactly 1000. Money for Soldiers.

Support was given by the Auckland Chamber of Commerce at a meeting to a resolution requesting that authority to transmit larger, sums of money to members of the New Zealand forces overseas should be granted by the Government. “There is no doubt,” the motion stated, “that it is the commercial community’s desire that all possible should be done by the Government for the comfort of the New Zealand forces overseas, even at some prejudice to the amounts available for imports into' New Zealand.” After a suggeston that remittances up to £5O a year should be permitted to each soldier, it was pointed out that the money sent was always shared with those who did not receive so much.

Increase in Freight Tariffs. Increases in the road transport tariff schedule have been announced by the No. 2 Transport Licensing Authority, Mr. P. Skoglund. Mr. Skoglund recently forecast that there would be increases but said the amounts of the increases had not been decided. The increase of 31 per cent, granted as from January 1, 1940, has been cancelled, and as from December 1 the following increases are granted in its place:— Five per cent, on all classes of store sheep, 5 per cent, on fertiliser and lime, 7J- per cent, on all other classes of freight, 5 per cent, on the hire of trucks. The discount for backloading is to be 331 per cent, over the whole district. The decision does not affect payment for work for the Public Works Department, and the amendment does not apply to the Poverty Bay area.