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Wairarapa Times-Age, 28 February 1940, Page 3

Last year, during a visit to Dublin, where he represented New Zealand al a congress of architects, Mr J. M. Dawson, president of the Now Zealand Institute of Architects, was introduced io Mr de Valera. “I found him surprisingly well-informed on New Zealand affairs, and, he expressed a particular interest in some of tiic recent legislation of this country.” said Mr Dawson, at the annual meeting of ihe institute in Wellington recently. “This was in strong contrast to my experience on a previous visit to England when many of those to whom New Zealand was not merely a name had a vague idea that it was a state or town in Australia. J had one rather embarrassing experience. In a hotel lounge I was holding forth to a party of acquaintances on the beauty and grandeur of Swiss scenery, when one of the party remarked that he did not see why I should enthuse when I had equally good and infinitely more varied scenery in my own country. He mentioned names of places from the North Cape to Bluff, and I had 1o admit that he was belter acquainted with my country than I was.”