LOCAL AND GENERAL

Wairarapa Times-Age, 26 December 1941, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL

December Building Permits.

In December the Masterton Borough Council issued four permits for an estimated value of £167, as compared with three permits for a value of £278 in the corresponding month last year.

Juvenile Enterprise. “Dig your trench for half-a-crown madam?” Four boys eager* to collect Christmas pocket money, with shovels and spades, are making the rounds of a New Plymouth suburb soliciting business and getting plenty of it.

Death of Meningitis Suspect. When she was being brought by launch from Waiheke Island to Auckland the death occurred of a 16-year-old girl. She was suspected to be suffering from cerebro-spinal meningitis and was being taken to Auckland Hospital.

Cyclist Dies from Injuries. Found lying by his cycle at 11.45 p.m. on Wednesday, Leonard John Christensen, 391 Jackson Street, Petone, was admitted to the Wellington hospital in a serious condition, suffering from head injuries, and he died at 10.30 a.m. yesterday.

Impressment of Cars. The Auckland vehicle controller, Mr A. E. Ford, has urgently appealed to owners of three makes of cars to register them for immediate impressment and purchase by the Government. • He said that unless response was made voluntarily cars would be selected from the registration lists.

46-year-old Bicycle. A bicycle 46 years old is still being used by a Masterton resident. It is claimed to be one of the first six pneu-matic-tired safety bicycles imported into New Zealand in 1895, in which year it was purchased by its owner. Until the recent enforcement of petrol restrictions, for - a period of about 20 years, it had been laid aside, but to meet the present emergency it has again been pressed into service. Art Union Winner. Though she has held tickets in art unions for a number of years, Mrs F. Hill, Portage Road, New Lynn, Auckland, winner of the first prize of £2OOO in the “Our Xmas Holiday” art union, previously never won a prize. First news of her good fortune reached her over the radio as she was washing the breakfast dishes. Mrs Hill, who is the mother of five children, all of whom are married, has at present made no plans to use the money, except to pay off the amount remaining owing on her home. Trains Held Up. As the result of a mishap to an electric locomotive near Paekakariki yesterday morning the two south-bound expresses from Auckland to Wellington, scheduled to arrive at 7 a.m. and' 9.30 a.m. respectively, were held up. The electric locomotive broke an axle and damaged the permanent way in various places. Because of the derailment of a tank wagon near Mercer, the Limited express from Auckland was 11 hours late on Wednesday, and did not reach Wellington till 8.30 p.m. The line was not seriously damaged, but the replacement of the wagon on the rails was difficult.

Railway Traffic Light. Passenger traffic was reported to be light at the Masterton railway station during the Christmas holiday, largely on account of the restrictions on travel.

Drunkenness Charges. i Charged with having been drunk in Queen Street, on Christmas Eve, two statutory first offenders were convicted and discharged by Mr W. H. Saunders, J.P., in the Masterton Magistrate’s Court ■ this morning. Both men were cautioned regarding their future behaviour.

Not an Evacuation Centre. In the event of the war coming to New Zealand, the Mayor of Palmerston North (Mr A. E. Mansford) told, a meeing of ladies that Palmerston North would not be regarded as an evacuation centre, as originally intended, in view of the taking over of schools and other buildings by the military.

Sports Fixtures Postponed.

The Possibles v Probables cricket match, under the auspices of the Wairarapa Cricket Association, which was to have commenced at the Park Oval this morning, was postponed on account' of the wet weather. If the weathei* improves play will commence at 11 o’clock tomorrow morning. A bowling tournament which was to have commenced at the Park greens has also been postponed until tomorrow. The Masterton Club will hold a tournament this afternoon, weather permitting.

Restricted Tourist Traffic. But for the outbreak of war in the Far East, tourist traffic within New Zealand over the holiday period would t probably have been a record. Up to the first week of December, the bookings at the central railway booking office, Wellington, showed an increase of approximately 25 per cent on last year. The restrictions subsequently imposed on travel have resulted in large-scale cancellations, and refunds paid out have totalled many thousands, of pounds.

High Price for Cherries. As evidence of the extremely high prices people have been asked to pay for fruit this Christmas season, a report from the Allen Street markets, Wellington, states that' cherries from Blenheim ranged up to 45s per 101 b box on Tuesday. This is believed to be a record for Wellington. Prices on Wednesday (Christmas Eve) were not so high as on Monday and Tuesday, and there was not a great deal of fruit in the markets.

Battledress Issue. Arrangements have been made to supply a fairly large number of battledress uniforms to the Territorials. Making this statement the Minister of Defence, Mr Jones, said this would release a large number of ser-vice-dress uniforms, which, after being renovated and cleaned, would be issued to Home Guards. It should be possible" to make the first issues to the Home Guard units within the next few weeks. A certain number of servicedress uniforms had been made available from stock to members of Home Guard units engaged on duties in the fortress areas of the Central Military District, which included Wellington.