NEW YEAR'S DAY

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 1, Issue 108, 29 December 1931, Page 6

NEW YEAR'S DAY

UNIQUE ACQUATIC CARNIVAL IN BEAUTIFUL NATURAL SURROUNMNGS PAGE FROM MAORI PAST As a grand finale to a v/eek of fes- 1 tivity will come the great carnival at Cockrane Park, at Ohau, on New Year's Day. The Park will be open to the public from 8 a.m. and though the ( programme is not scheduled to commence until the afternoon it is prac- j tically impossible to spend a dull mo- | ment on the stretch of white sand at the entrance to the beautiful Ohau Channel. Decorated alcoves have been set aside for picniekers; sun bathers will be able to take advantage of the wide sandy beach and the -more energetic will have the diving board and from twenty to thirty feet of clear, ; deep water at their disposal. Speedboat racing, acquaplaning, launch racing, steer riding will be introduced to the Rotorua public on this day. One of the features, if not the main feature, of the programme will be the parade of bathing beauties from all parts of the district. Huia, the Maori maid, who typifies all the traditional grace and charm of Maoriland, will stage her spectacular dive into the deep translucent waters of the channel, and after remaining for an unbelieveable time under water will rise to the surface having captured one or even two of those tricky creatures — the koura. Haka and poi competitions will lend an added toueh of native charm surpassed only by the now unusual sight

of a genuine old Maori war canoe, maned by stalwart braves in full war paint, bearing down the winding channel a bevy of singing, «dancing poigirls.