Hillside rolls out new locos
Some time ago an order for 10 locomotives was placed with the Hillside Workshops and the sixth of these has just been completed. It is of the W.S. type, and its many sections, totalling in weight no less than 71 tons, have been loaded on to trucks and conveyed to the Birch street wharf for shipment to Auckland. These engines are of the combination tank type, and are for use on the Auckland section of the railway. Two are already working on the Main Trunk line, and a third was shipped to Auckland on the Wingatui some two months ago. The body of the engine just completed occupied almost the whole of one truck, the tank another one, and the remaining parts filled two more trucks. It will be taken to Auckland by the Wingatui and assembled at the Newmarket workshops. It is expected that the seventh locomotive, which is now under construction at Hillside, will be completed early in the new year. This one will be assembled and given a trial over the steep Mihiwaka grade before it is sent to Auckland.
A fortuitous bump
At least one man in Dunedin who intended to visit the Hickson Healing Mission will probably be absent. Many years ago, when quite a lad, he lost the sight of one eye as a result of the stone-throwing propensities of a companion, and a few years since a cataract developed on the other eye. His sight was impaired to such an extent that he had to be accompanied to and from work. About three weeks ago he bumped his nose against a door as a result of his poor sight, which then became so bad that he could not see his hand in front of him. On Saturday morning his eye flicked, and all of a sudden he could see things clearly. A visit to a doctor yesterday disclosed the fact that the cataract had fallen from his eye, and he is now able to tell the time on the clock at a distance of yards and to read the paper with the aid of spectacles.
Allowances for amputees
The clothing allowance granted under the new pensions legislation to ex-soldiers who had legs amputated is being paid out by way of monthly increases to the pensions of the applicants. Per annum the allowance is £6 for those whose leg was amputated below the knee and £8 for those whose leg was amputated above the knee. These allowances are not paid out automatically, but only on application. About 30 applications have been sent in to date by the secretary of the local R.S.A. (Mr A. C. Laing).
Turnip pests
Mr D. Miller, Government entomologist, returned to Dunedin last night after a visit to various parts of Southland and to the Stirling-Inchclutha district investigating the ravages of the so-called "turnip fly." This pest has been causing very heavy damage to turnip crops throughout the country for a number of years past, and takes a heavy toll as soon as the leaves come through the ground. An idea of the extent of the damage may be gathered from the fact that competent authorities have estimated the loss alone in Southland at £50,000. The prevalent idea is that the trouble is caused by the turnip fly but as a matter of fact it is due to another insect altogether. Mr Miller found the Southland crops very severely damaged, the early ones being the heaviest sufferers. He is of opinion that the problem of control will eventually prove to be a comparatively simple one.
— ODT, 27.11.1923
