BACK FROM QUEENSLAND.

Manawatu Herald, Volume L, Issue 40021, 9 November 1929, Page 2

BACK FROM QUEENSLAND.

Mr. and Mrs. Reid returned to i’oxton this week from Australia .after linking'' completed a. 30,000 miles motor tour through Queensland. Mr. Reid was ahead of the St. Leon’s circus .combination. He left New Zealand last July in mild weather and the initial journey from Sydney by rail over the Blue Mountains, he said, was one of the coldest journeys he has ever experienced. The passengers, owing to the inadequate and primitive heating of the compartments, were literally freezing and snow and hard frosts wejre experienced in that region. Full camp 'equipment was carried, and this was used extensively throughout the J rip. “We experienced no winter —except for the cold snap before mentioned in New South Wales,” said Mr. Reid to our representative;" “Beyond the towns there were no formed roads, just beaten tracks in places through bamboo grass which grows as high as the car. For- this rea - son night travelling had to be abandonee! as one was apt to lose the trail. Black snakes were plentiful and one had to he careful to avoid .their (tails-, otherwise they were apt to lurch into-the car. In avoiding one reptile it- le.pt- for the wheel and entwined itself round the speikes. In one area the death adder abounded and sheltered neath the prickly pears. Every town out west had a splendidly equipped ambulance service, manned by trained men. These ambulances travelled great distances into the interior when required. At one town visited .there was an aerial fish ' service from the Gulf of Carpentaria and the fish found a ready market. Wild turkeys abounded and' these, said Mr. Reid, made a very appetising diet. Some of the people out west lived a very primitive existence. One middle-aged lady' informed him that she* had only recently seen a .railway and had yet l<> view the ocean. Rain fell at very rare intervals, Mosqiiitoes and sand flies were a great pest and fires had to be lit bv settlers to provide smoke in order to protect ! lie animals against them. On one or two occasions Mr. Reid’s neck was raw from the bites of these, insects. Hotel tariff was 12/- per day and beer —wav back—was 1/.citlicr for a “pony” or “handle.” Very little had been done by the authorities in connection with highways formation in these wide, open, and barren' stretches of country. Motoring in such country was'anything hut comfortable. Mg. and Mrs. Reid were glad to get hack to Now Zealand and intend to subsequently take up their residence in Wellington. At present they are staying with their son, Mr. H. Reid.