WESTERN AUSTRALIA.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XXIII, Issue 215, 18 September 1901, Page 2

WESTERN AUSTRALIA.

LBOTUEK BY BEV. T. TBIESTKASX. \ Therk was a fair audience at the Whiteley Hall on Tuesday evening, when the Rev. T. Trestrail gave a lecture on his experiences of life od the West Australian Galdfields. His description of travelling from Perth to ( Coolgardin in the early days was full of , amusing incidents, but withal gave his hearer 3 a very good idea of the difficul- j ties whioh beset the traveller in those stirring times, Mr. Trestrail then . treated of life and doings on the , fields, and the audience were kept ' fully interested throughout. The lecturer was the first minister on the fields, and the story of his experiences among the rough-and-ready miners was one that could not fail to enlist

the keenest appreciation of his hearers. But the recital had also a pathetic side, and the stories of men cut off in the bloom of life—for, as Mr. Trestrail explained, there were few there under 17 or 18 years of oge, or over 40 or 45 in that land, far from home and kindred, at times caused a deep impression on the listeners. Above all, however, he showed that the hand of God was working for good among the men acd women gathered from all corners of the earth into that far-away spot amid the burning samls of Western Austritralia. Men who had not thought of anything beyond striving for riches, which, more often than not, did not come to them, welcomed the Minister of God in a sincare and earnest manner, which was most encouraging, and to which the listener could not fail to recall the words of the poet; If then some grave and pious man appear, They hnsh their voice, and lend a listening ear. At the close Mr, Asher moved a hearty vote of thanks to the lecturer, i which was seconded by Mr, Herbert White. At the invitation of the chair- j man (Rev. S, J. Serpell) the audience evinced their approval by standing in silence as b. ing more in unison with the stories of sidness with which the] lecture had closed.