NOTES BY AN EXCURSIONIST.

Evening Star, Issue 2810, 20 February 1872, Page 2

NOTES BY AN EXCURSIONIST.

By our Wandering Jfpflorfep, I have just returned from a little trip ■ ‘ up North.” As I think that an account of the other towns of New Zealand, by a person who has kept his eyes tolerably wide open during the said trip, may not bg altogether uninteresting to those Dunedinites who have never travelled north of that pity, X have just jotted down, for their information and amusement, a few rough notes about what I heard, saw, and smelt on my journey. As it ig altogether unnecessary to say why the journey to Auck and and back wap made by mo, what steamer I went by, whether I was sea-sick or not, what amount of honorarium —(that is the correct word to use in this colony, is it not ?) the steward received, and so forth—l shall leave your readers entirely in the dark about those matters, and, plunging at once in medias re a, shall begin with a Jew observations about Auckland, taking the ■other in the order in which they are reached by a coming to Dunedin from Auckland.

Auckland faces the beautiful Waitemata, an inlet of the sea studded with islands. It is said to be one of the safest, as it is carjtainjysue of the most beautiful, harbours in ;the -world. A p-ho has seen the Waitetnata just at 'sunset : dn > a ' fine evening, need not expect to see anythiug superibr do it in jts own way, as it would be 'cliJiiciilt even to

imagine a more charming scene—calm clear sea, soft blue and slightly hazy sky, gently undulating land, without a single ragged feature, and very distant range* of mountains, just visible above the horizon, form a picture which Claude would have delighted to paint and Milton to describe. At the back of the town is Mount Eden, a volcano, extinct of course. This mountain looks as if its sides had been cut into terraces by the band of man, and it is difficult to believe that this is not the case. From the top of the Mourn one gets a capital view of Auckland) and its suburbs,’ which gives a most favorable impression of the same—an impression which subsequent explorations altogether fail to confirm. At the foot of the hill is the Mount Eden Stockade, a plac provided with all suitable appliances by Government for such persons as are in the habit of periodically retiring from the pleasures, cares, and turmoil of this troublesome world, to live a rational and temperate life for a longer or shorter period. These philosophers, I observed, spend a considerable portion of the day in study—the favorite subject seems to be geology, practical, as it appeared to me, rather than theoretical. This is wise, no doubt, as such a course furnishes both mind and body with gentle exercise. It struck me, however, that in endeavoring to avoid mere superficial acquaintance with the subject studied, the opposite error had been fallen into, and that the curriculum was unduly narrowed Basalt or Milestone is an important rock, no doubt; but it seems a pity that so many minds and bands should be engaged on it alone. The establishment appeared to be very well conducted, and it is, as it should be, outside of the town. On leaving Mount Eden we come to the “Kyber” Pass, the top of the slope on which Auckland is situated. Here there are many beautiful villas, with neat gardens containing well-grown trees of different kinds, conspicuous among which is the beautiful Norfolk Island pine, which forms a marked feature in all the views about Auckland. Just below the Pass are the various cemeteries—for here, as elsewhere, the dead are not suffered to lie together. With folly and presumption unspeakable, we wretched mortals dare to attempt to thrust our paltry religious differences and sectarian squabbles as far as we may within the confines of the world to come. The cemeteries are not neat—they have a neglected appearance rather, and are in my opinion remarkably full of tenants, considering the age and size of the town. As 1 said before, Auckland lies on a slope, and there is consequently every facility for draining the town. Nevertheless, Auckland is probably one of the filthiest towns on earth ; the attempts, such as they are, that have been made to drain it, have only made matters worse : a filthy, wide, open sewer runs through tho middle of the town, andas this has many closets erected on its banks, and numerous affluents from the upper parts of the town, the effect is something indescribable. In short, the foul odours in Auckland are so numerous and so exquisite, that I think the Board of Works of that city would be quite justified in altering its name to Bromopolis, i.e , the city of smells, par excellence, for in its way it is quite unapproachable Besides all this, almost every tenant of a house that is not close to the open sewer, makes up for that disadvantage by having a cesspool of his own on the premises ; close to this, as Auckland has no water supply, there is . generally found “ ft wpjl,” as its owner calls it, but which certainly might far bettep be calli d “ an ill.” Under ibeke Circumstances one feels little difficulty in believing that the people of Auckland are not in good health, as a rule, just now, that diarrhoea and dysentery are frightfully prevail nt there, and that the children, almost without exception, ijaye $ wqn apd sallow appearance which it is punful to gee. I arp. afr% 4» top, thq.t the only remedy for thjg shocking state qf affairs will be a pestilence of soipe kind or another, for tho people have had enough said to them on the subject, if talking or writing could stir them up to look after the public health, to cause them to have the cleanest town in the colony 5 and the newspapers of Auckland have had enough leading articles, and good ones too, on the subject to accomplish all that can be done in this way* with almost no result as yet. For all this, however, the town is very pretty. Queen street is, in my opinion, the finest, though not the longest street in New ZeaQa Saturday nights jt has a very gay and animated ‘ wpich ' very strongly reminds ope of Bqprke street qr Elizabeth street ip Melbourne. TFhg side streets, however, ara of po great importance, and to see Queen street is to see ihe business part of Auckland, always excepting Shortlaml crescent, where the quartz speculators, jobbers, and Ippatjcs tpq'tly congregate—a place Which I ayoj’ded ag'mucb fts j psj.il goipe ready money with me. The Auckland Wharf is a fine structure qf the kind j it is very Iftng pud Very bfoad, ajid is a favourite Sunday evening promenade fop ypung pepplp, A little off Queen-street, on the east side, are the barracks. These are situated on a bill, and surrounded by a strong stone wall. This place could, if necessary, be held against any number of Maories, and, if properly garrisoned, against a strong body of more skilled opponents. One of the buildings in the enclosure, which appears to have been a gaol, is now used as the Auckland Grammar School. This institution is spoken highly of, but -a morq unwritable place for holding a school ! lfi could hardly be found. Two of the ’churchrs ip Audldand’are worth visiting, an 4 St. 'Matthew’s, ’though tho buildings apo rickety. Tlje preapbifig an.d tl)e sjngiqg jn 'bqth ?eenjed to be vepy satisfactory, pup in bptli the odious practice of t,%u4in'g FQund the bag (why not a hat ?) obtains. It is p pify tipis custom cannot be abolished. It js appeals, uot to que’s sense of duty and religious feel ipg, but to tiie sepse pf f-baiae. When a man buudg a bag to m« tpget my 9 mtribiition, hg says in effect, ‘‘Now. look here my good fellow, you must put something in, for if y»U don't, all the people round about will think that you are but a shabby fellow !” I did not visit the other churches, so can say noth ng about them. At the east and south-east of of Auckland is the very pretty sphyrh of Parnell, which is the West End pf Auckland; vary many of those who can afford it have villas hero to which to re trait from the closeness and impurities of Auckland. The handsomest buildings in Auckland are, I should think, the Bank of New Zealand and * the Union Bank ; the Post-office and the Northern Club are very good in their restyles. Tho people of Auckland seem to be very nice people indeed, hospitable and pleasant, with very Ijttlg exclusiveness ; if they have a fault, it is that they are somewhat languid, and are not easily roused into activity of any kind (except in the matter of quartz), but this is priibably owing to the enervating character

of the climate: the weather, during our stay there at least, was most oppressiveOn the whole, my answer to persons who ask me if I like xuckland. is most emphatically. “No I don’t,” it might be made a most delightful place—at present it is a most disagreeable one.