Lyttelton Times, of Wednesday August 27, 1873

MINOR MYSTERY DAY FROM PAST PAPER 68 YEARS OLD WRAPPING FOR VEGETABLES Life is full of minor mysteries and none the worse for it. One has cropped up this week in Auckland. It began with the entry of a small boy into a Chinese fruiterer's shop at Newmarket. Acting upon instructions received, the lad bought some vegetables and took them home neatly wrapped in newspaper. To-day, in Auckland, as everybody knows, there is something of a housing shortage. Being of a helpful turn of mind, the youngster scanned the paper as thoroughly as was possible without losing the vegetables on the road home. To his excitement, he ran across an advertisement which seemed to be the very thing. A five-roomed house and land, and cheap enough bv all.standards. He showed It to ms parents, Mr. and Mrs. S. A. Bond, of Remuera, who were also interested. Then came the catch. The agent's name was unfamiliar and no address was given A glance at the top of the sheet, however, brought enlightenment. The paper was a copy of the Lyttelton Times, of Wednesday August 27, 1873. With regret, the family decided that the house was in all probability no longer vacant This copy of one of the Dominion's pioneer newspapers does not seem to have been the only one supplied with a couple of cauliflowers or six penn'orth of carrots. Several other cases have been reported, some of the dates going back even further. Oriental Philosophy A visit to the shop by a Star reporter proved fruitless in more ways than one. On the counter there was a huge pile of newspapers for wrapping purposes, but although nearly every other New Zealand news sheet seemed to be represented there were no more copies of the Lyttelton Times. The Chinese shop assistant knew nothing of the matter. With Oriental philosophy he saw nothing unusual in wrapping vegetables grown this spring in papers which were first read 70 years ago. The papers were clean and in a good state of preservation— an amazing state of preservation, in fact—and that was all he was concerned about. The only explanation that seems to fit is that the dealer handling the papers must have received a bundle of old Times from some household which had treasured them for over half a century. First printed on the beach at Lyttelton a few days after the arrival of the first four ships, the paper was incorporated with the Christchurch Star-Sun about seven years ago. And what were the worthy Christchurch colonists concerned with on Wednesday, August 27, 1873? In the first place, to judge by an august yet somewhat irate leading article they were more than a little concerned over the New Zealand University question. At that time there seems to have been a danger that Canterbury College would go out of existence in favour of a scheme which involved colleges in Auckland and Otago only. The Otago centre in particular suffered under the pen of a leader writer evidently carried away with righteous wrath. Sailing Ships Fill Port According to the shipping news, the harbour was full at the time but out of the 22 ships in port only one was a steamship. The activities of the port in those days were of vital interest to the community— even the mails between the main centres were carried by water—and this is reflected in the amount of publicity given to the movements of boats. Under the heading of "Telegrams" (per Anglo-Australasian Press Telegraph Agency; is an interesting item to the effect that an old man poisoned himself in Auckland with strychnine. "It is said that he took it, continues the report, "believing it to be carbonate of soda. He had been drinking heavily." News of far and near is grouped under the single heading of "Town and Country." Taking pride of place at the top of the column is an announcement that a special entertainment would be given at Akaroa on Thursday night. An advertisement elsewhere referring to the performance states: "The Star Polygraphic Company will present their pleasing entertainment to-morrow evening in the Akaroa Hall. This company comprises the following star artistes:— Mrs. Towers, Miss Rosa Towers Signor Ferrari and his highly trained Brazilian monkeys (the wonder of the age)." The only other entertainment offering appeared to be a presentation in Christchurch of "Orpheus and Eurydice," "the most sparkling production of the present day, written by Henry Byron, the comic writer of Europe." The paper's dramatic critic, incidentally, was not impressed by the latter show, commenting on one unfortunate actor: "Beyond his make-up there is nothing to commend in the part of Proserpine taken by Mr. The railway in those days was moving very slowly outward from Christchurch, and tenders are called in an announcement for the construction of the line from Ashley to Amberley. Nelson Iron Ore Industry A lengthy article from the Melbourne Herald is reprinted in which the writer excitedly urges the establishment of an iron ore industry in Nelson and condemns out of hand all inhabitants of the district for their lack of initiative—"That such a marvellously rich field, lying as it does almost at the back doors of the Nelson people has hitherto received no attention naturally excites wonder in the minds of us Victorians, but to anyone who knows the apathy of the Nelsonians, the wonder will be but shortlived." Another short but interesting article is a discourse on perambulators, commencing: "I don't like children, and -that is why I do have such an attachment for perambulators. They kill off more of the infant population in the same time than were the number of slain in the Franco-Prussian war," Local body meetings and the Legislative Council are meticulously reported almost word for word. Bills read a second time on August 26 included the Auckland Supreme Court Site Bill and the Wanganui River Foreshore Grant Bill. As might "be expected in a young farming community, advertisements for stock sales and agricultural ishows take, up the greater proportion of advertising space. A notification of a cattle sale at Lake Ellesmere contains the inducement that "The excellent flavour of Lake Ellesmere beef is notorious!" Other advertisements include an announcement that a coach service was shortly to be commenced between Rakaia and Ashburton, and a lengthy statement by a sauce manufacturer concerning certain dealers who had applied his trade name "to their own inferior products." And so out of four nand-set pages of small type arises a day from the past. It would be easy to be superior and laugh at much of it were it not than 70 years hence the modern newspaper of to-day may appear somewhat stale if used as wrapping paper for fresh vegetables! Auckland Star, Volume LXXII, Issue 239, 9 October 1941, Page 10