Early settler centenarian dies

Mrs Ann Watson, who reached her hundredth birthday in March last, died yesterday afternoon at the Auckland Infirmary, where she was admitted on the 2nd of this month. Born on March 18, 1826, at Shoreditch, London, Mrs Watson came out to Australia with her parents, and, after a brief stay there, the family came on to New Zealand, arriving some time prior to January 29, 1840, for on that day Mrs Watson saw Governor Hobson land at the Bay of Islands. Mrs Watson and mother and stepfather (Mr Johnston) first landed at Whangaroa, and then moved down to the Bay of Islands. To show how few Europeans there were at the Bay in those times Mrs Watson could recall the fact that her mother, when she arrived, made the sixth white woman resident in the little township that formed the first capital of New Zealand.

Sheltering men

The Salvation Army has secured the use of a building suitable for a men’s shelter. Such an institution has been regarded as one of the urgent needs of this city in view of the number of men who sleep out at nights and lack the means to secure a meal.

Golf club’s cup runneth over

The Wakatipu Golf Club is truly in luck, no less than three fine trophies having come its way during the week. 

Major L.M. Browne, a retired army officer resident in Queenstown, has presented the ladies’ section of the club with a beautiful silver cup, leaving it entirely to the executive to say how it should be played for.

Six matches will be played, and the aggregate of the five best cards put in by an individual player will decide the winner. Major Browne has also donated a silver miniature cup for competition among the men. The Men’s Committee has yet to frame conditions governing the competition. In addition to this good fortune, another cup has been promised the club by a well-known firm of whisky distillers. This trophy will be put up for competition annually.

Down job market

The unemployed — there are two sorts, those who cannot get a job of any kind, and those who cannot get a job to their liking. In the case of the first, plainly the community must come to the rescue; Mr Coates tells us that he is awake to this duty. — by ‘Civis’

Spawn of salmon

Quinnat salmon are spreading naturally all over New Zealand, but the natural process is not being left unaided by the Chief Inspector of Fisheries (Mr L.F. Ayson), who has just returned from supervising the hatching of 400,000 quinnat salmon eggs at the Maori Creek hatchery, Marlborough. 

Over 1,000,000 quinnat eggs were secured at the hatchery, and the M department has bad a sufficient supply. 

Mr C. Ayson (manager, Hakataramea Hatchery), is at present making an inspection of the Upper Clutha River, to see what fish have reached the many fine, clear, shingled rivers that join to form the Clutha. 

Guided performance

A very enjoyable concert and interesting display by the Girl Guides was given at Burns Hall last evening before an attendance that nearly filled the building. The programme opened with a display of physical drill by the Bishopscourt Guide Company, which was heartily applauded.  Club swinging by eight girls of the South Dunedin Company was gone through with great precision, and a signalling display by the 1st Dunedin Company proved interesting. One of the most entertaining items on the programme was a military ballet by eight young girls in uniform.

The 1st Roslyn Company presented an ambulance display consisting of stretcher and other work.

The entertainment terminated with a well-conceived tableau by the Musselburgh Company entitled "Guides of All Nations”, clearly carried out, and the singing of the National Anthem.

Makes me feel so insignificant

It takes you about one-fifth of a second to snap your fingers. In one earthly year you could snap your fingers, if your strength held out, some six hundred million times. But if the atomic year is taken as one revolution of the flying atomic planes round the centre of the atom, just as it is for the earth, then more than a million billions or these atomic years would elapse while you snapped your fingers once. 

This, too, is not one of the slowest of the atoms. Some are more than a hundred times faster. — ODT, 19.6.1926