LOCAL AND GENERAL

Wairarapa Times-Age, 21 December 1942, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Earthquake Damaged Chimneys. It is proposed to hold a meeting in Masterton early in the New Year to dsicuss matters in connection with the re-erection of chimneys damaged in the recent earthquake.

Boring for Oil. New Zealand Petroleum reports that the depth of the Devon well has been advanced to 9090 feet, in grey banded mudstone. This represents an advance of 1000 feet in the past month. Flooded Rivers and Slips.

Heavy rain in the early hours of . Saturday was responsible for flooded rivers and slips on roads in the Buller district. In the Buller Gorge traffic was held up and there were also blockages on the Karamea" Road and the coastal road. Clearances were made except on the Karamea Road, on which traffic was held up till last night.

Swimming Club Events. The following events will be held by the Masterton Swimming Club at the Dixon Street baths tonight:—2s yards junior girls freestyle, 25 yardf junior boys’ race, 25 yards intermediate girls’ freestyle, 50 yards intermediate boys’ freestyle, 25 yards ladies’ freestyle, 50 yards men’s freestyle, 100 yards relay race, 25 yards dash, dives for all grades.

Extra Coupons for Miners . Because their employment entails exceptionally hard wear on working clothes, the members of the miners’ unions at Waihi and Huntly applied for and have been granted 15 extra clothing coupons, which will have the currency of one year. Each working member of the unions is also to receive a quarterly allowance of half a pound of tea and two and a half pounds- of sugar by means of permits to purchase. The secretary of the Northern Miners’ Union, Mr T. Hall, stated when speaking of the extra issue of tea and sugar that it was the custom of the men to take cold tea into the mines with ■ them. It was thought they would use more tea and sugar than an ordinary person.

Wrong Diagnosis Made. At an inquest at Dunedin into the death of Alexander Halford, aged 49, a soldier, the evidence disclosed that a wrong diagnosis was made on his admission to hospital after jamming his hand between the frame of a lorry in which he was riding and a gatepost. The coroner, Mr W. H. Bundle, returned a verdict that death was due to tetanus. It was possible, he said, that death might not have occurred if Halford had received treatment other than he did. Dr. P. W. S. Riley, an experienced surgeon, had unfortunately made a wrong diagnosis, but, apart from that, there seemed to be no question thdt death would not have occurred had anti-tetanus serum been administered when Halford first attended the outpatients’ department of the hospital. There was little else the Court could say on the matter, but it was as well in the interests of medical practitioners themselves and of the public in general I that it should have been publicly venI tilated.

Cartage of Wool. The Railways Department, Masterton, advises that acting on advice received from the Wool Brokers’ Association no wool for transit by rail to Wellington will be accepted after today until December 31. Masterton’s Christmas Rush. In Masterton this morning* there were all the signs which, indicated the usual rush associated with Christmas week. Shops were doing, a thriving trade and in the Post Office, particularly in the postal and savings bank sections, there were long queues. Admitted to Hospital. A boy aged 13 years, Te Owi Karaitiana of Te Ore Ore, was admitted to the Masterton Hospital yesterday afternoon with a cut on a leg which he received when he fell on a drain pipe at the hospital. He was visiting his mother, who is at present a patient m the hospital. Odd Fellows Dance. A dance held by the Masterton Odd Fellows Lodge in the Masonic Hall, Masterton, on Saturday night was a great success. The hall was packed to the doors and those present spent a pleasant time in dancing to music provided by Mr J. Barnes’s orchestra. Extras were played by Mr H. Hood. Bro. B. J. Seddon was an efficient M.C. A Monte Carlo waltz was won by Miss E. Paaske and Mr R. McKenzie. Supper was served by a ladies committee. The lodge will hold another dance on Saturday night. Bcbby Calf Pools. In a statement to its 65 associated bobby calf pools throughout the North and south Islands the New Zealand Cooperative Pig Marketing Association advise that for the current season a total of 310,000 calves were handled representing an increase of 7,000 calves on the previous season. Turnover is stated at £212,800 compared with £171,000 for the previous year, of which increase £25,000 represents the payment of Is 9d. on passed calves secured by the industry for the export of boby veal. Advance payments were made to suppliers during the season amountng to £4,300 leavng a surplus of £115,000 for distribution in final settlement of the season’s collections. Travel by Rail. A statement that no section of the general community, miners or anyone else, had an unrestricted right of travel on the railways in the North Island, was made on Saturday by the Minister of Railways, Mr Semple, when referring to a report from Auckland that miners may be favoured during the holiday period. He said that the idea that miners or any other section of workers had such a right was absolutely fantastic and untrue. In the South Islaid, said the Minister, there were no restrictions, but it had been necessary to impose the restrictions in the North Island because of the necessary movement of troops. It was imperative that they should receive preference. This involved a strain on rolling stock that was unprecedented, and the plain fact was that the number of passengers that could be carried was governed by the equipment available. The rest of the community had to take its chance.