CHARMS OF N.Z.

Hokitika Guardian, 19 September 1932, Page 3

CHARMS OF N.Z.

SIR WILLIAM ELLIS IMPRESSED. PRAISE OF DOMINION. / ‘‘The first impression of a visitor -on arrival in New Zealand is the wholehearted welcome and hospitality that hereceives -oa all sides, and he at dneej. realises the intense i loyalty to the 'Hid; Goahtry of the Settlers there” and ; the great interest they, take in our welfare at Home,”. writes Sir WiliiamEllis, managing-director of the firm of' iohn Brown and Company, of -Sheffield and Glasgow, -who gave his impressionsof a recent visit ’to New -Zealand in the Sheffield. “Da%, Telegraph” of August sth. *. . /‘The early who settled in New Zealand took with them ' the inspiration to found a second ; honfo in that country which should be worthy of the Old Country, and this l'eelin.tis still evident throughout’ NeW/'/Zealand, 'and -is doing much to maintaii’ a high ethical and social standard amongst all classes .of the qihhabitants. England has been • fortunate in its choice of Governors for NOW Zealand; constant -reference is still m/ide to the influence of both Sir Charles Fergusson and -Lord . JeWcoe. The pfoseiit Governor., his yExcellency, Lord Bledrloe is deservedly ’ popular, and is doing good -work out there, being trusted by politicians on both sides, and fortunately bringing’with him a knowledge of’-agriculture; which enables him- to understand the problems of t></ -New. Zealand, farmer. '■ . • ‘ i

“PRAISE FOR FERRY SERVICE.’’’

“The interests-of the two Islands art; somewhat different,, .and-,I wifi ‘peak oi the South Island first. A-s the finers now go direct to /Wellington, which is, at the extreme south of the North; Island, -this is a gr-eat convenience, at; it lessens very considerably the ariioun-. of travelling involved. A very/ 'fin/ ‘ferry-boat,’ as it is still called, •the Rangatira, of 6000 .tous,-’ built by Messrs Vickers at Bavrow, ’takes th<. visitor at 20. knots ,iq. everycomfort; down to (Lyttelton, which is the port; for Christchurch, which is reached' ir.i three-quarters of - an hour by an ' excellent electric train service. • For promptness and speed this is certa-inly. thb best ferry service I 'have 1 - expeai--. enced, the transhipping of 500 or ' mofepassengers with luggage fi'oin boitt- •to train, at Lyttelton, in .less- than “ 2!. minutes being , certainly a. ereditabu, performance, v. .. . . i.‘Christchprch, ; reminds the' ‘visitor o afi English/ Catheduah ■ city;with it- ‘ university, cathedral 1 services, public, school, and all the- amenities of modern civilisation. The houses all have t-heu own gardens, and ; open spaces for sports and playgrounds are arranged to meet; the; requirements of the inhabitants of the various neighbourhoods. There - isl'W qdharrMfi^ !? ‘ /Her running l -•right through the town abounding in trOut,/ with - weeping willows very rtruch -like -the;‘backs’ at Oambrkige. -I should -like to-'say- more "in appreciation of Christchurch, as I '-was very much' 1 i“pr'essed with everything T" met'“ihclii“ ing the excellence df their newspapei's well printed on ghofl papei'J arid” glvInh • any* visitor useful and .'i-m“artial information about their various political and domestic affairs, '-‘i- ■'

AMONG THE MOUNTAINS, “A visit to the New-. Zealand fiAlp’ - in the South Island- is. a -charming experience, and 1 was most' welC6ni<>' : tc myself in view of my acquaintance with the Swiss Alps. ' A long rangp. of . mountains extend .from north to south in tile middle of the South Island, -. the Hermitage being the headquarters'* for visitors on; the east side, -and a hote on the Franz Josef Glacier ;on the -w st side. The important diff el ’ enc e■ betweer the Swiss Alps and those in New Zealand is that the .glaciers in the latter case come down withia 'a few; huhdrei feet of the sea .level, and consequently are very much rougher and broken on' their surface. If he view of 'Mount Coo]from the Hermitage,- with; the Ta-ma'rl and other glaciers; is probably d'oeub/f the most beautiful sights in the worm; It Is, however, distant from any-'head-;: quarters, and although , its height- i:: Only 1 12,500 feet; with •" nearly; .15,000 feet in' the case of both' the. •Matterhorn and the Weisshorn: in Swit- f zerland,. it has not yet been ascended; uftder 21 hours, whereas the two Swiss' giants referred to ‘go’ quite comfortably in 15 to 17 hours, , : .r.".-''-“On the west coast the striking 'feature of the mountain scenery is the semi-tropical vegetation represented bj flowers and shrubs. Tmmens e tree ferns. 'SO or 60 'feet high, in many case-', are growing alongside the glaciers, ..thereby representing a most unusual form of beauty. The bush on the West- Coast W, to a large extent, still primeval;*, and, while I was there, an expedition had just made the ascent of One of the little known peaks and eleven days ot cutting a trail through, the >;bu*h was necessary before the ■ party could even commence the ascient. ' ('t

excellent tourist facjlit:ks “A visit to the New Zealand Ai'ps involves long journeys by motor-car, .a.nd any visitor must appreciate very warmly the excellent facilities which the ' Government Tourist Agency affords in the service cars available for his me. I It i- really wonderful the way in which ; this service is conducted, considering | the condition of many of their roads, and the almost total absence ,of either accidents or breakdowns. A pleasant; way to return to Wellington, in the v "-th Island, is by the i&eryic„ t from lPie'ton, where the visitor arrives by motor-rat, the steamer parsing down the' Queen Charlotte Sound, .reseffiblin!?. with «s hundreds of piifes.of ,fiord'. V ■■ • - -

tn e scenery on the We©t 'Coast of Norway

(5/ ‘'‘Although interesting in many ways 1 suppose most visitors- w r i!l regard the slight of th t . various geysers.. and hotsprings as being of the greatest interetii-. and here again the visit- is very much facilitated by the excel.ent • motor service cars. ■ I cho&e Wairakei and Ro ,o-ua as the most suitable places • visit At the former we saw a b'o. hole about nine inche- in’ diameter fror. Which -hot steam at about .800 degree has been issuing regularly for 400 years a power, if hairnetssable, sufficier to supply in light, heat, and energy a that is required in-both is’ands. Forte nrtely for the development of indiv try this somewhat complicated engine/: mg ta>k has not yet been attempt(/• x\t Wairakei one visits a. wonder!’ valley, with every variety of .hoW-prin bubbling po-ris. and intermittent bo ’ in--- waterfalls- surrounding th© vifitu ard y-et there appears to be no pcsiorvail danger, as clay by day mW; appear to act with regu.a-inty •

ROTORUA AND THE MAORIS. “At .Rotorua the geysers land nm, springs are even more extensive am there is an added mterevt- in the few that this place is to a large extent the home of- the Maoris. This irac e r people, who originallyOcathe from, tin Polynesian Islands, did not appreciate in early days the advent of the Brit './•s'i settbrs* but- all feel mg of tbi> sort has long passed- away, ".and. the. .(have by their' education, and character 'deservedly earned the friendsh'p . ar ‘ ecuality of- th e white prople.” 1 me’ several of them and-found them chnrning -people '.personally. They gave u a ’beautiful -exhibition of their cu tuu a concert at Rotorua, and they have, as a race, assimilated mOder’ civilisation without- saeiificing a gi’ea* deal of the charm of their nativ. customs. - ,