A VISIT TO SYDNEY.

Shannon News, 11 June 1926, Page 3

A VISIT TO SYDNEY.

LEVIN LADY’S IMPRESSIONS. Some interesting comments were made by Miss Elsie Broadbelt yesterday to a “Chronicle” reporter, ,ais a result of her recent holiday visit to New South Wales. While the smaller towns of New Zealand are all progressdng, the back-country towns in New South Wales seemed to; be at a standstill. In Sydney, however, the volume of building construction in city and suburb is considerable, and the class of structure, commercial or domestic, is of a very substantial nature. Business premises going up in the main streets of the capital are from 10 to 13 storeys above the pavement with, in a number of instances,' two' further floors in the basement,

No traveller should leave the. country until he has viewed the glories of the Blue Mountais, even though . the approach to a number of the more beautiful panoramas may entail walking a considerable distance. The magnificence of the. scenery amply repays, one for any energy spent in arriving at the spot. Jemolan Caves, another wonderful spectacle, provides- a pleasurable three days’ sojourn among scenery that is ever-changing, and of whichthe sightseer does not weary. The whole surroundings are as ideal as one could desire. ,

The Tourist Department liberally caters for the visitor, and arranges trips to* various points of interest, the charges .ranging from 10s for half a day to five days at £7 15s. What strikes one most on the motor trips is the lack of bridges throughout the country and on the 100-mile run- to Newcastle not-one of the larger rivers is -bridged, crossing being effected by means of a punt. The City streets are constructed of , concrete, but little headway has been made with any main' highway scheme and while some of the Shire Councils have their main roads in good order, many others are in a wretched cpndtion. Fruit is both plentiful and cheap, and one feature. in particular which strikes the New Zealander is the quantity of tropical (Queensland) fruit on sale. Vegetables, on the -contrary, are •extremely scarce arid, consequenly are very high in price. The poor quality of Australian meat accounts, perhaps, for its ■- cheapness. In the majority of cases stock is two days or, more in transit from -the western plains, and a .further day in the stockyards before it is sold. Obviously, this must detract from its quality,’ resulting in a table joint that is very lean and dry. Unemployment is rife, 'and, as ulus- 1 trated by cable news of the. last six months or more, there is always a strike or ’some sort or other. The engineers’ strike has already thrown some 30,000 men out of employment, and with .the shortage of coal, unemployment .in other industries is likely to. follow. Ferry services to the various suburbs of Sydney are excellent, and one of the finest sights it would be possible to imagine is the busy scene of Circular Quay between-5 p.m and 6pm A similar rush occurs a,t the railway station, from whence leave suburban trains at intervals of a few minutes. , ■ , • The work of constructing the underground railway system is progressing fast, and it is anticipated that trains will be running /some time m September' -Tot a. larga extent ttiis wm largely assist in 'relieving the present congestion in the principal thoroughfares. '.. \ w „ : Work lias conimeiiced on too bridge which is to span the harbour from Dawes Point o the 'City side, to Milson’s Point on the North Shore side. This, when completed, will carry railway, tramway, vehicular and pedestrian traffic and will effect a saving of 18 miles on the raiiway journey to Horsby and stations’ northward of that township. __ At the present time the cliihate is an 'extremely mild one and equivalentto spring or autumb in New Zealand.' Th© only frost encourtered was very slight in character, and experienced at the Blue Mountains on one morning. only, when about 4000 feet above sea level.