WONDERFUL RECEPTION

Evening Star, Issue 19785, 8 February 1928, Page 5

WONDERFUL RECEPTION

MISS NEW ZEALAND IN HOLLYWOOD Miss Dalo Austen, of Dunedin, ( who is making her bid for fame as Miss New Zealand, 1927,” has arrived at Hollywood, California, and according to a cablegram received by her mother, Mrs H. E.' Austen, the beautiful Otago girl has been accorded a wonderful reception in America. Mr Barrie Marschel, general manager for New Zealand of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer productions, who is at present in Dunedin, stated to-day that Miss Austen and her chaperone, Mrs Beatrice Vernon, had arrived at Culver City, Hollywood, on January 27, where they had met with a great welcome. 'lhe mayor of Los Angeles was among those present at her reception, and a notable gathering included the whole of the executive of Metro-Goldwyn-Mnycr, together with such famous stars as Lon Chaney, Sally O’Neill, and a host of others. Miss Austen has commenced work on the lot where that wonderful picture, ‘ Ben Hur,’ was made, and at the outset screen tests are to be made. She will be taken with all sorts of cameras at all sorts of angles, and upon the results no doubt will depend her future success. Her engagement at a salary of £25 a week is to last ten weeks. Miss Austen had a wonder!ul trip from New Zealand to America, and in a letter she describes the enchantment of an evening at Honolulu. There her party decided to have a real Honolulu dinner, and on the way to the hotel every second person met was either a Japanese or a Chinese. At the hotel everything seemed strange and picturesque. A Japanese girl in a kimono kept them supplied with piping _ hot rolls while a non-committal Chinese waited on them at table. What quaint dishes! Stuffed green pepper, sweet succotash, and all the time a supply of salted peanuts. Smart American girls with close-fitting hats and very short skirts dined with their men folk, and fascinating looking Japanese girls, dressed in the latet st American fashion, were there too. The Paradise Heights at Honolulu reminded Miss Austen of Wellington, but the bungalows were prettier, peeping from their gardens of _ flowering hibiscus, poinciana, blossoming native pine, and waving palms. Then past the beautiful Government buildings, the palace of the last Hawaiian king, and on to Waikiki, where the new Royal Hawaiian Hotel, built in elaborate Spanish style, was much admired. What a wonderful place! Rich vivid color schemes, with jade predominating, brilliant mosaic floors, and magnificent pottery. At the bottom of the garden is Waikiki Beach and the surf-lined sea. “ I am so anxious to represent New Zealand worthily and succeed in this great opportunity,” is how Miss New Zealand concludes. “ I can only do my best, hut that I will do, and may Dame Fortune smile upon mo for your sakes as well as my own.”