NORFOLK ISLAND.

Press, Volume LX, Issue 18219, 1 November 1924, Page 4

NORFOLK ISLAND.

AN IDEAL RETREAT. ("FROM ova • OXVX CCR2ESI>CXDEXT.) SYDNEY, October 23. Yet another•devotee to the charms of . Island, where "far from the madding crowd's ignoble strife"—

in other words, where motor ears are not alifl peace and lavish beauty and human content are —has been found in Mr James Moorhouse, an octogenarian, who for many years was secretary of the Tattersall's Racing Club in Adelaide. Mr Moorhouse has already spent' 'IS months oh' the Island, and declares that for the man who has grown tired of the frantic rush of modern life there is no spot 011 the face of the earth that can offer more 1 delightful sanctuary, and to it he in- ; tends' to return the' Very moment that > his medical advisers will permit him. 1 "Norfolk Island is an ideal place to \ live in,'' Mr Moorhouse says. "The I climate is salubrious, seldom enervatI ing, and all the grass is always green. ! The island may really be described as | a gigantic mound, three by five miles i in area, with numerous gullies running from the crown to the sea, with the slopes covered in vegetation, and tiny rivulets trickling down to the ocean. There are no metal roads, and horse 3 and sulkies can be hired very cheaply for a runabout. According to the weather the boats can find anchorage on either of two sides of the island, and fishing provides entertaining sport for visitors and profitable occupation for others- The native inhabitants are mainly descendants of the Pitcairn Islanders, but, of course, there have been other additions. There are no blackfellows and 110 colour question. Inhabitants, among other things, grow ordinary and sweet potatoes, bananas, oranges, and other citrus fruits, including lemons, the juice of which is exported. Peaches and pears thrive, but the rosella parrot is too fond of i thm.

"There are no serious indigenous pests, unless you count the caterpillar, which sometimes appears in marauding thousands. Only a few months ago I saw the caterpillars in great numbers, and they mowed down the grass almost as clean as if it had been cut with a scythe. The pest was so numerous that within a few minutes I filled a kerosene tin with them without moving from my seat. "Then a hrode of starlings appeared, and within two days the caterpillars were cleaned up. Whaling could be made lucrative, but has not been followed with enterprise. Barrels of oil are still hold in store awaiting sale, and when I asked why the industry was not pushed on an islander calmly remarked that available barrels were filled with last year's catch, and —with a shrug of the shoulders—there is plenty of time after that. "Intoxicating liquors are taboo on the island, as far as free consumption is concerned. Supplies are held on hand by the Customs officer, and to obtain, say, a bottle of whisky, an order must be procured from the resident medical officer. But in any ease not more than one bottle can be secured in a week- It is asserted, whether rightly or wrongly I cannot say, that quite a number of patients have a firm belief in the virtues of alcohol for the alleviation of bodily ailments. Anyhow, I .saw no drunkenness on the island, and no abuses of that kind-"