Johnnies teacher off to Oxford
The John McGlashan College pupils and staff, and Mr James Begg, representing the Board of Governors, assembled in the dining hall after school yesterday afternoon to say good-bye to Mr J.A. Dunning, the 1925 Rhodes Scholar, who is leaving the staff to proceed to England. Mr Gilray, the head master, spoke of the great honour Mr Dunning had won and of the great experience he would have at Oxford. He recounted his successes in the Honours Degree Examination, and in cricket and hockey, in both of which he had represented Otago.
On behalf of the pupils, P. McSkimming, the head prefect, presented Mr Dunning with a writing case, and Mr Gilray handed him a silver cigarette case, engraved with the college arms, the gift of the staff.
Mr Begg spoke of the great honour the college had in having two Rhodes scholars on its staff, and said he looked forward to the time when it would boast of Rhodes scholars of its own.
Dunedin’s modern wharf
Improvements have been made on the waterfront in several directions. A further 200 feet of the Rattray St wharf has been completed, thus providing another berth for oversea steamers with a low water depth of 25ft.
The timber for the remaining 400ft is in hand. The total length of the wharf when finished will be 1630ft. The new concrete storage shed at Kitchener St wharf is nearing completion. The asbestos roofing is nearly all in place, and the doors are ready to be placed in position. The concrete floor is finished and provides an area of 156ft by 82ft.
Taonga may be used for swaps
The Otago Museum has been fortunate to receive as a presentation from Mr D. Teviotdale his whole collection from the Shag River mouth with the exception of his greenstone and stone shanks of composite fish hooks. This is the most valuable collection from a single locality, existing in New Zealand, many of the old Māori weapons and remains of weapons belonging to a very early period. The majority of the remainder probably belonged to the same period, but that is not quite certain. Much of the material is on display, but a great amount of duplicable material is stored in the basement and Mr Teviotdale has given his consent to the Museum authorities to use duplicates for exchange purposes. Already it has been possible to add material to the European bronze age collection through these exchanges. A handle of a schist patu, found at Waiau Forks, South Canterbury, has been presented to the Museum by Mr T. Thomas Pashby, of Morven. It is the handle of a weapon in stone, limited in distribution to Canterbury and Otago, but it is closely allied with patus found at the Chatham Islands. Mr I. De Beer has presented to the Otago Museum a fine collection consisting of classical vases, ethnographic articles (the larger part being from the Western Pacific), material from Santa Cruz, and valuable material of other descriptions.
League cracks code in venue war
At the Caledonian Society of Otago, two tenders were received for the use of the society’s ground for the football season for the next five years — 1926 to 1930 (inclusive). The Otago Rugby League offered £525 per season for the five seasons, and the Otago Rugby Union £300 per season, plus 25% of the takings from First Grade flag matches. The committee decided to accept the Rugby League’s tender. — ODT, 7.8.1925
Compiled by Peter Dowden
