LOCAL AND GENERAL

Wairarapa Times-Age, 16 September 1942, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Death from Injuries. Mr George Wilson, a miner, married, aged 58, died in the Southland Hospital as the result of injuries received through a fall of coal when he was working in the Wairaki mine.

Smash and Grab Burglary. A smash and grab burglary occurred some time during the early hours of yesterday morning, when the window of the jeweller’s shop of F. W. Huthnance in Devon Street, New Plymouth, was broken and nearly £7O worth of goods were taken. Pest Office Tower Demolished.

The massive tower of the Wellington General Post Office has disappeared into dust. Workers in khaki have been hard at the demolition of this tower for the past three or four weeks, and, having completed the task, are now dispensing with the heavy parapets which surrounded the old part of the structure. Levy on Hides.

The following alterations to the rate of export levy on hides are announced by the Hides Committee: —Oxhides reduced to lid per lb. Cowhides reduced to l-gd per lb. Calfskins (other than freezers) reduced to 3d per lb. Bullhides increased to id per lb. Yearlings unchanged. These rates are to operate for all hides purchased in accordance with the Hides Emergency Regulations, 1940, No. 2, and becoming free for export on and after September 16, 1942.

Social Security Staff. Service enlistments had greatly lessened the trained personnel of the Social Security Department, said the Minister of Internal Affairs, Mr Parry, in Auckland yesterday. Normally there were between 1100 and 1200 employees throughout New Zealand, but today the number of fully trained men was hardly sufficient to instruct the new officers, who were mostly young women. However, there had been little delay in dealing with new applicants and paying out over £12,900,000 to some 220,500 beneficiaries and pensioners.

Missing Trampers. The search for the missing mountaineers, Messrs. A. D. Jackson and F. Tozer. Timaru, who are considerably overdue on a climbing trip in the Cass Valley, Mackenzie Country, has temporarily been abandoned. There is little hope of the men being alive. The search parties found tracks on an unnamed peak, but no other sign. Bad weather hampered the search, and new snow finally forced the searchers to give up. Mr. Jackson was a science master at the boys’ high school, and Mr. Tozer a student at Canterbury Training College. \ Boarders Evicted. To provide accommodation for 15 members of the Emergency Fire Service, a number of boarders, most of them elderly women who have given up their homes while their sons are on active service, have been given notice to leave a boarding-house in Wellington. They are faced with the problem of finding, accommodation which is now at a premium. This is at least the eighth accommodation house similarly affected in Wellington since the beginning of July, and the number of people evicted is estimated at more than 200. Two licensed hotels are among those affected; one in Lambton Quay has been completely taken over by American servicemen and its licence suspended under emergency regulations, and one in Tinakori Road is almost completely occupied by members of the E.F.S. Two of the houses from which boarders have been evicted are still partly available for the travelling public or for permanent boarders, but at least four have been taken over completely.