A VIEW FROM AFAR.

Taranaki Daily News, 7 October 1915, Page 6

A VIEW FROM AFAR.

NEW PLYMOUTH AND THE SOUTH ISLAND TOWNS CONTRASTED.

Writes a former New Plymouth resident, now residing in the South Island, to the chairman of the New Plymouth Expansion and Tourist League:— Congratulations on the work of the League, as shown by the annual report. I hope you will be able to get the seaside hostel going. I should be glad to distribute folders, etc., during my travels, with a view to further directing attention to New Plymouth as a holiday resort. With all their talk of Caroline Bay at Tiraani—and I don't want to belittle the work done there—the Tiraani district has nothing else, while, to my mind, the beach at New Plymouth is quite a minor attraction. At the same time, my trip round the Island has impressed on nie that it is high time to rebuild the greater part of the Devon Street premises. There's a fine solidity about the architecture in most of the towns, the West Coast being a painfully outstanding exception. The road to Recfton is just a succession of abandoned works and housos, their battened-up windows reminding one of sightless eyes staring across the valleys. "Greymouth is a surprisingly busy port. It is nothing unusual to see eight, ten, or twelve steamers loading coal and timber at once. While T was there one vessel took a way a million feet of timber for Australia, and another boat half a million, completing her loading at Kaipara. The special coal trains from the mines to the ships' side, and the rapid loading, wore all of interest. Greymouth has its croakers, too. There are many people advocating the construction of a deep sea harbor just south of tlie river mouth and right in front of the town, the change being urged on account of the bar, which sometimes interferes with navigation for days and days together. Then there is another scheme to make a deep sea harbor at Point Elizabeth, some nine miles away. I somehow fancy that tlie smith harbor is a red-herring across the Point Elizabeth .<wnt. for the latter scheme if brought to fulfilment, would spell ruin to the present town of Grevniouth. Stories are told of men who have, though deeply interested in the town, done their best to keep trade away from the purl; so you see that New Plymouth hasn't a monopoly of the species. By tlie way, Greymouth, a town of 5000 people, lias 20 hotels, and there are pubs, galore right along the road. How about a few of these superfluous licenses for the King Cuiin(rv?