People in power visit Waipori

At the invitation of the City Council the members of the Otago Power Board were taken for a visit of inspection to the hydro-electric works at Waipori yesterday. Mr J.B. Shacklock (chairman of the electric power and lighting committee) and Mr M.C. Henderson (city electric engineer) were the guides of the party. The members saw with interest the commencement of a new lake in Otago, the water of which was within two feet of the edge of the dam and stretching out of sight beyond the hills. The members of the board were also greatly interested in the extension of the power house, at which additions were being made to the plant, and from which it is expected to draw power supply for the country in the near future.

Lack of housing in city

A problem which is causing some concern to the city fathers is that of the shortage of houses in Dunedin. The Mayor (Mr H.L. Tapley) stated yesterday that he had received repeated applications from people wanting houses. Only that morning a man with a family of seven told him that he had been ordered out of a condemned house at Laurel Bank, and that he had nowhere to go. 

There was another case of a woman with several children, whose husband had been removed to a sanatorium, and she had had to vacate the house and could not find another. The Mayor further stated that something should be done to provide accommodation for these people, pending the arrangement of some house-building scheme. 

US reaction to Lenin’s death

A White House spokesman said that Mr Coolidge hopes that M. Lenin's work will somehow benefit Russia and civilisation. The President forsees no change in Russian policy towards the United States as the result of M. Lenin’s death; therefore the policy of the United States will be unchanged. However, officialdom in Washington unanimously regrets M. Lenin’s passing, believing that Russia will probably revere the man for his innate honesty and sincerity, which are similar to that of America’s Lincoln tradition.

Pukehiwitahi cairn discussed

The cairn in memory of the late Sir John McKenzie, which was a conspicuous landmark in the Palmerston district for many years, has for some time failed to catch the eye, being now but a heap of stones on the hillside. When a deputation waited on the Hon Downie Stewart yesterday in connection with its re-erection, the Minister asked if there was no possibility of getting assistance in the way of money or cartage from the people of the district. He recalled that when the cairn was erected in 1901 feeling ran high when those in the district who had been among the late politician's admirers but who differed from him politically were not allowed to contribute. "I have spoken to a number of people up there whom I know," replied Dr Macdonald, "Some of them ‘hummed and haa’d’, others said they would do nothing." The Minister remarked that this was to be regretted. To bring the cost of the work within the scope of the available money it might be necessary to make the height 51ft — 10 feet less than formerly. In reply, the Minister stated that the Government quite recognised the propriety of restoring the monument to so famous a man as Sir John McKenzie. — ODT, 25.1.1924

Compiled by Peter Dowden