N.Z. PUBLICITY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXXI, Issue 224, 20 September 1940, Page 5

N.Z. PUBLICITY.

IMPROVEMENT URGED. OBSERVATIONS IN LONDON. The opinion that New - Zealand's publicity in regard to the country's war effort should be ■ "much -more lively," was expressed by Mr. Michael Terry, the Australian explorer and author, in Auckland to-day. Mr. Terry and his wife are on.their way back to Australia, where he expects to be concerned with general writing and with articles on the war efforts and the other Dominions. For 4 the past two years he has been in English journalism, and latterly has been closely associated with the publicity officers of the Dominions in. writing .articles on the Empire war effort.

Mr. Terry said he had had close relations with the publicity officers of the Dominions and. had observed . the material afforded them for publicity. He thought the New Zealand officers were not provided with either sufficient photographs, or with prints of high enough quality to do this Dominion justice in the matter of its war effort. As a result New Zealand was apt to suffer by comparison with' other Dominions in.the eyes-of British people. More; and better, photographs -.were wanted of this country's fine war effort. It was , much more difficult .for English journalists to get full information and pictorial background of New Zealand's war effort than it was to get the same information . about Canada, Australia, South Africa and India.

"After the war there will be a migration to the New World," said Mr. Terry, "and New Zealand is doing such a particularly fine job of work, having regard to her small population, that it would be a pity if she did not share equally with the other Dominions in the migration. The publicity improvement mentioned could be made at such a comparatively low cost, too."

' When he left England early in August the country was subject to frequent email bombing raids, Mr.

Terry added. The people, took it as a matter of course. A seaport town was bombed three times a day for the "week he was there. He and his wife were out in a boat on a lake on one occasion when a 'plane went over and dropped a couple of bombs; the incident left them with a vivid feeling. of bareness. There was some rationing in Britain, but only for conservation purposes, as there was no hunger or shortage of food of any sort. Like most others who have been for a period in England,/ Mr. J Terry remarked on the pleasurable feeling of getting from the black-out, area into the sunshine of "this part of the world.