Auckland Notes

Radio Record, Volume VI, Issue 17, 4 November 1932, Page 10

Auckland Notes

By

Neutron

NH bright spot in 1YA’s programme . ‘last week was the first cruise of *Old Wire Whiskers," from the AuckJand station. It was great stuff from end to end, no boasting about it, but it had the tang of the sea in every Byllabie. It was a stirring story very well told, the best thing of its sort I’ve heard over the air and along with many more, I look forward keenly to the next "Lie from a Skipper’s Log." The "Kathleen Hilda," a new Zealand barque with an all New Zealand crew was loading in New York, Every man for’ard later held his master’s ticket: some later commanded large steamers and one is now an Anglican parson in the Dominion. mee, 2. ¥e * UT it wasn’t of the "Hilda" the lecturer dealt. He was in the fo’e’sle of a Yankee ship with a driving Down-Hast skipper and German and Scandinavian Yanks as bucko. mates. The Yank challenged the ‘Hilda’ torace from Sandy Hook to New ZeaJand, and a silk hat was made the stake. The Yank’s crew, mostly drunk or doped were put aboard by the erimps and with boot and belaying pin soup those mates started ’em moving. There were Greeks, Belgians, Turks, Spaniards, and Bulgars, half the races under heaven in fact, but as the "Old Man" said they must beat that "old Bluenose Maori" at all costs. The mates soon knocked some sort of ship’s. English into them. She became a *"blood-ship," but the mates had taken the sound precaution to grind the points off all the sheath knives of the crew. However things went wrong. The Old Man’s dog committed deliberate suicide, and they saw a mirage of a dismasted ship, which all hands deemed unlucky. They cracked on, 10 or 41 knots through the S.E. Trades and with the ship wet as a halt-tide rock and two men at the wheel, did 14 r..ning the Easting down in the Roaring Forties. There the two mates, one holding, the other booting, smashed in three of the speaker’s ribs and made a holy mess of his face. He vowed to break even with the pair, and even when the skipper heard of it , later. said he would "butter his own bread." Carrying on in a heavy squall and in pitch darkness, the rndder broke adrift and 40 feet of the mizzen mast crashed on deck, while sails thundered and split loose. Two-thirds of the spars were broken or damaged and the ship quite out of control. They drifted helpless down .10 628, . before the ship could be brought round, then still with no rudder, sailed north for 1500 miles. There in ealm seas, they rigged a jury rudder and limped into Mauritius 180 days out from New York. The lecturer (with some others of the hardly used crew) went into hospital there to mend his ribs. When he came out he found the second had been fired and, ashore, paid half his debt with interest. »At sea again they lost a royal yard in a hurricane and took another 90 days to sight Port Chalmers, a total of 307 to the "Kathleen Hilda’s" 98. (There the debt with the remaining mate was paid in full.) Both vessels finally ended their days in Auckland harbour. As it was told that race half round the world made an epic story. * * ® AUCKLAND'S City Engineer, Mr. J. Tyler, an Auckland boy, who has eltmbed to the top of the tree in his own home town, in his initial appear-

ance before a 1YA microphone, told listeners of the wealth of data required in a town-planning survey which he described as a civic stock-taking. Among many benefits that would follow such a survey he contended that land yalues would be stabilised by effective zoning. a % HIS last ‘week musical items of real merit were again as scarce as oysters -in midsummer. At one time Wednesday used to be band night at, 1YA, and this rule was revived when the Congress Ilall Band provided last

Wednesday’s programme. The band is not the best in Auckland, but it was a pleasant evening to which Mr. M , T. Schrodev’s’ fine baritone contributed its full share. 2 Fy 2 yy R. G. OWALL@RAN took us far back into the Dark Ages when he spoke of "The Art of the ‘Troubadours" from 1YA, to the period when intellectual night had fallen over 11th Century Europe. As Latin decayed, a new language of romance typ? took form in French Province, and while the rest of Europe was almost barbarian, here literally, thousands of wandering poets sang their lyrics or retailed their epic verses of these latter some, said the speaker were a§ much novels as "Vanity Fair’ or "Tom Jones." The "best-sellers" of this Provencal period .were not remarkable for their morality, but we of this cinema age can hardly be censori-ous-as the censor isn’t. One of the interesting things about this great output of poetry and minstrelsy is that it took place in this limited area while, for instance, Ethelred of Hngland was massaecring his Danish metrcenaries so that other Danes could show what a real massacre could be, while the balance of Murope was about equally intellectual. * Me * (CAPTAIN FALCON continues to furnish us with light and shade on India’s North-West Frontier. First

he told how Angelina was added to the strength of the British Army. A Pathan came to his office and asked what he’q give for a new recruit, and was told the usual 5 rupees. The visitor produced a tiny snow-leopard cub, Angelina, who at once upset a full inkwell over the Sahib’s official papers, scared seven bells out of a police officer and, later, enthusiastically seratched an irate Colonel behind his knees. So Angelina was put in a zoo and chained on account of her fierceness. Six months later the captain saw her, called in Pushtu and the

sweet young thing came to him. He explained to an amazed = attendant that he had a way with wild animals, but declined the suggestion to enter the cage of a truculent tiger on the ground that he only did these things once each day. Captain Faleon communded a Pathan Territorial Battalion and most of his men were potential] rifle thieves and robbers. ‘The police once rang up to say: "Did you know that Abdul Something or Other, the well-known dacoit and all his gang are in your battallion?’ Abdul, sent for. proved to be a pleasant little man sneaking excellent English, who said he was formerly a clerk but found riflepushing far more interesting than penpushing. A bargain was struck that Abdul and Co. should vamoose and steal no more British rifles. Abdul even offered to go round tke camp with the Sahib and show how and where an expert such as he could collect. many rifles, despite all existing precautions. It was interesting to learn that his checkmate ideas on rifling rifles are in the Indian Army regulations of today. Finally the Captain told of company sports when eight men aside held the tug-o'-war rope. More and ‘more spectators joined in till finally those who could not pull or the rope pulled out their knives. British troops present had a busy time getting the Pathans to their tents with a promise that any tribesman who put his head outsida the canvas would have it filled with lead. Eyen 2. sports meeting. has pos-

sibilities on the North Western Frontier, ° = x ? "THURSDAY,, as a change, 1YA broad- * east the final debate for the Athenaeum Cup between teams representing St. John’s Ccllege and the Papatoetoe Debating Club. "That Britain and the U.S.A. Lave a commen destiny" was opposed by the Collegians, with Mr. M. Sullivan able chief spokesman. Both sides. called the citizens of the U.S.A. the American people, which they. aren’t-yet. There ‘may seem something offensive about the term Yankee, still our orators should not connive at the biggest steal in his-tory-the theft of two continents. To a point the debate was interesting then interest. flagged. There’s no doubt these whole evening discussions, howeyer good, do tend to drag. . But don’r. let's be. hypercritical: at least it was an effort at variety, something of which 1YA is far too seldom guilty. By the way, the cup for which the orators debated was lost some time ago, so St. John’s, the winners, get a scroll to say they’ve won the Cup. * * et YA has discovered a new humorist with possibilities, Bert Hall, c§pable of providing his own material. .sAs the simple country lad (a pretty rare bird by the way) with some sense to his nonsense, he was clever, and reminded of Sandy of 2FC, but his finale with rhyme, but no reason was tiresome rather than funny, Still he’s 2 discovery and worth watching. ¥ = . Ld [TX her final talk, on "Maori Weaving," Miss lL. M. Cranwell, was as interesting as ever last Thursday from 1YA. Among other things she mentioned that old Maori flax yielded 15 per cent. of fibre against the 2 per cent. of Manilla. The Maoris brought paper mulberry and other isiands plants tv provide material for weaving, but these gradually died out, and they were forced back on the products of the local forest. That they succeeded so wonderfully in producing articles of beauty and utility for wearing or other use and generally in adapting themselves to the new conditions in their adopted country, suggests. that here a race ws evolved superior in msny ways to the Polynesians of the Islands. Did you know too, that the intricate and often beautiful patterns on cloaks and mats were close tribal secrets, and it Was a deadly insult for a stranger to inspect these too closely.