LOCAL AND GENERAL

Wairarapa Times-Age, 28 July 1942, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Women Join Up. Within an hour of the launching of the recruiting week for women in Wellington yesterday, 50 women had signed up for service with the- home forces in branches of work where women are urgently needed. Pukerua Bay Slip. The slip which has held up traffic on the Main Trunk railway line at Pukerua Bay is described as the worst which has ever occurred in this locality, from the point of view of its general effect. The ground, of wet sand and clay, kept soft by springs, is very unstable. The position became worse during Sunday night, and the proposal to put in a temporary line had to be abandoned. The permanent way is being moved back 40 or 50 feet from its previous location. Boarding House Charges. No increases in boarding-house charges in Wellington had been authorised by the Price Tribunal, stated an officer of the tribunal yesterday, and action had been taken in one case where a reduced service was being given for the same price. When it was pointed out that there was a- tendency for proprietors to increase prices or reduce the number of meals without altering the tariff in compensation, the officer replied that the public was expected. to co-operate by reporting such cases to the tribunal. Street Lighting in Wellington. A partial restoration of street lighting, to the extent of 85 per cent, is now effective in Wellington, and it is expected that later it will be possible to switch on all the lights again. At present those lamps visible from the harbour are not allowed to function, but special tinplate shades to screen them completely from distant view are to be fitted. This work will take weeks, but when it is completed these lights will be available again, it is stated. However, their illumination will not be .spread as much as formerly. Broken Railway Crockery. Train passengers are becoming increasingly aware of the difficulties the Railways Department is experiencing in replacing crockery broken at refreshment rooms on the various lines. It is a common experience to drink tea from a cup without a handle, and sometimes saucers are not obtainable. Notices are being displayed asking passengers not to take crockery in the train, but to leave it at the station where the refreshment was obtained. Girls from the refreshment rooms have adopted the practice of retrieving crockery from the trains so they can keep pace with the orders received. Supply of Barley. A statement that the Internal Marketing Division had been successful in securing from Australia a considerable quantity of specially-clipped barley for use by poultry farmers was made yesterday by the Minister of Marketing, Mr Barclay. “As the result of the purchase being made on very favourable terms,” said the Minister, “this barley (which will be obtainable through the customary merchant distributary channels) will be available to poultry farmers at the reduced price of 4s 8d a bushel, sacks in, ex wharf at Auckland, Wellington and New Plymouth, on the usual cash terms for quantities of 10 sacks and upward. These supplies will be available very shortly, and it is hoped that the substantial reduction in price will prove of considerable assistance to poultry farmers.”

Home Guard Parade. A special parade of all Masterton town units of the Home Guard will be held at the Municipal Hall on Thursday next, at 7 o'clock. The attendance of every Home Guardsman of the town units (except petrol guards) is essential. Property Damaged. Considerable damage to property in Miriam and Casel streets, Masterton, was caused on Saturday night by a party of hooligans. Gates were pulled from their hinges, letter boxes wrenched from their fastenings and portion of a fence was pulled down. In at least one case, the damage was between £5 and £lO. The gates and letter boxes were thrown far and wide. Although these depredations were carried out with considerable noise the police wbre not notified until the following morning. Price of Eggs. The Wellington Egg Marketing Committee and the Internal Marketing Division, working in conjunction with the Price Tribunal, have arranged for decreases in the wholesale prices of eggs. The new prices, which were effective as from yesterday, are as follows, with previous prices shown in parentheses:—-Heavy, 2s 9d (3s); standard, 2s 7d (2s lOd); medium, 2s 5d (2s 8d); pullett, 2s 2d (2s‘4d); large duck, 2s 7d (2s 10d);. small duck, 2s 5d (2s 8d). Authorised receiving depots will pay 2s 51d a dozen for ungraded eggs. Fair Supply of Oranges. Australian navel and island oranges were' placed on the Wellington market yesterday in fair supply, after a fortnight’s dearth. Last year Wellington received only island oranges for the greater part of the season, the supplies from Australia going to the South Island. On this occasion_.Wellington is being given a fair share of consignments both from the Commonwealth and the islands. The wholesale fixed prices (at the markets) ranged from 25s to 36s a case, according to count, for Australian navel oranges, and island oranges were obtainable from 19s 6d to 24s 6d a case. The report was that on the whole the condition of the oranges was good. St. Matthew’s Organ. One of the things salvaged from St. Matthew’s Church, Masterton, after last month’s earthquake, was the two manual organ, made by Hobday, of Wellington, in 1912. Mr H. A. Tustin, the Wellington organ expert, who was in Masterton on the night of the earthquake, says that the only damage seemed to be the injury to the pipes that were thrown out of position and on to the floor by the violence of the disturbance. Some thirty of the zinc pipes were dented by the force of the impact. These will have to be reconditioned, work which could be done in New Zealand. Mr Tustin, who attends to the maintenance of the grand organ in the Wellington Town Hall, said that no damage was done to the instrument itself by the earthquake. Two of the stays, however, which help to keep the big 32ft. pipes in position, were strained. It was fortunate they did not give way, as these pipes weigh three-quar-ters of a ton each, and had they fallen forward, would probably have crashed through the chair seats and platform.