RABAUL AND FUJIYAMA.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVII, Issue 183, 6 July 1937, Page 9

RABAUL AND FUJIYAMA.

A VISITOR’S IMPRESSIONS. JAPAN’S FAMOUS MOUNTAIN. For half an hour yesterday Mr 15. H. Low, 8.A., 15.5 c., of Palmerston North, entertained the members of the Rotary Club with a travel talk, taking two phases of a world tour of a year and nine months, from which he returned not long ago. Mr Low was for a number of years, prior to his retirement, headmaster of the Timaru Main School. In opening his address, Mr Low described his tour, first through tbe Fast, and from there by way of Singapore, the Red Sea, Jaffa, Haifa and Genoa, among other ports, to Holland, the vessel being a Dutch tramp ship. He illustrated bis trip with a map and also used a blackboard to amplify his talk.

Speaking of Rabaul and New Britain, Mr Low said the land formation was very volcanic. In passing the coast be bad seen, near Ivokopo, the gigantic masts, now no longer used, of one of the radio stations with which the Germans had planned, before the "War, to encircle the world. Ho described the places where the recent volcanic activity had wrought havoc, showing their situation by means of the blackboard. Native workmen had been seen building boats and nets, and the speaker had left New Britain with a great deal of respect for the natives’ craftsmanship. Another interesting sight had been a group of prisoners doing labouring work, there being no attendant present. Rabaul appeared small at first sight, but under large tropical trees was the town, very well laid out. Rabaul was a place where, a few months ago, the speaker would have said one could live a “lotus-eater’s” life. It was situated just under the equator and the mean average temperature was 80 degrees, with a rainfall of about 80iu annually. One did not have to do any work, as black boys could be engaged cheaply. There was no income tax and no politics. A native boy was paid 6s a month and every week lie was given 101 b of rice, a tin of bully beef, and tobacco. The money was not paid immediately, but was kept as a nest-egg for the boy when he would return to his native village; also, every month the employer gave the boy a new lavalava or loin-cloth.

In Japan the speaker had climbed Fujiyama, the great mountain. tbe track being dotted with rest-houses. His party had been fortunate in striking the only time of the year suitable for climbing the cone. The Japanese gave the climbing of tbe mountain once in a life-time almost a religious significance. and they looked on it as a duty. Because it was the best time of year for the climb there were crowds of people on the tracks either going up or down. On one day a year previously there had been 10,000 persons on the various tracks. The party stayed at the seventh of ten -rest houses for the night. The buildings were made of blocks of scoria and all fuel had to be carried up as the seventh rest house was at a height of 10,000 feet, there being very little growth of any kind at that height. Water had to be obtained from snow remaining in the deeper depressions on the mountainside. When the sun rose the members of the speaker’s party were near the top of the mountain and as the sun came over the horizon all the Japanese climbers stopped and paid homage to it. The summit was reached about 7 a.m., and a walk enjoyed round the crater, which measured about 500 yards across. The return trip was made that day and the party arrived at the bottom of the mountain in the evening. The thanks of the company were expressed to Mr Low by Mr J. Murray. The chair was taken by Mr A. A. Langley, the vice-president, in the unavoidable absence of the president, Mr G. G. Priest. The visitors welcomed were Rev. B. Gina (Solomon Islands Mission) and Dr. J. S. Yeates (Massey College).