One toheroa count made How school children tested pens

The Marine Department has made a preliminary inspection of toheroa stocks on the Ninety Mile Beach and another one is expected some time this month.

Visits had already been made to Muriwai and Dargaville, the other toheroa beaches.

The inspector, Mr. Greenway, planted marked toheroas at several places on the Ninety Mile Beach to study their movement, but it is an open question whether he will be able to find any now.

It is reported that toheroa are scattered and not plentiful anywhere.

Though the Minister of Marine, Mr. Scott, said that members of the public would be welcome to join in the investigations, none of the Kaitaia men who are interested in the beach appear to have been approached.

June 11, 1965 The Consumers’ Institute has had many offers of help in its work to improve the quality and standard of household and other products and services. Such assistance was offered recently by a small country school to check children’s fountain pens.

The June issue of Consumer reports how Maori and European children, through their headmaster, undertook to try out and report on a selection of pens.

The Consumers’ Institute received letters from the headmaster and from about 20 of his pupils, stating that the school seemed to be having great difficulty in finding a fountain pen suitable for school use and as a class project had been trying to find out which was the best pen.

A survey was first carried out in Wellington by the Consumers’ Institute to check on pens that could be bought for less than one pound. From these, 18 pens were selected for testing and two of each were bought. The pens were then marked with code numbers and sent to the children.

Seven groups, each of five children, did the testing. Each child completed a simple questionnaire on the merits and demerits of each pen and reported on how easily it wrote or on any trouble found.

June 8, 1965