A RUN THROUGH NEW ZEALAND.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXIV, Issue 2751, 1 March 1890, Page 6 (Supplement)

A RUN THROUGH NEW ZEALAND.

V 4 . [ContinuedJ. Lf-AVXNct 'Wanganuiat about three in the afternoon, we arrived at Wellington a little, before ten. The latter part,of the journey, on the Manawatu Company's i line, was mostly through dense bush — the property of the company—which is gradually getting cleared and settled ,«pon., Clearings, are to be seen at inter-' vals all along the line, which promise to become in time thriving towns, and already show signs of industry and progress. At Palmerston, where they had been.,, having races, our already crowded train received a large addition of excursionists, returning to Wellington in rather low spirits, owing to their day's outing having spoiled by a continuous downpour of raiti and hail, accompanied by thunder and lightning. As I had up my seat to a lady, I made myself comfortable for a short time in tho guard's van, until I was crowded out of here also and forced to travel the rest of the distance on the platform, which would liave been more pleasant but for the fact that we had to pass through abont thirteen tunnels jtist before reaching Wellington. At Wellington we were met by some friends \yho had arrived by an earlier train, and whose kindly assistance in finding accommodation was especially acceptable, arriving, as we did. so late in the evening. ' Next morning we sallied forth to view the wonders of the Empire City. Port Nicholson is a perfectly land-locked., harbour, surrouuded by steep hills on every side, so as to leave little room for the expansion of the city. Wellinaton is situated on '.he West side of the harbour and seems to consist chiefly of one long winding, street with short ones branching: off on either side towards the hills, which are inaccessible except by zifirzag paths. Ascending one of these hills we got a good panoramic view of both city and harbour. Wo failed to find any domain or recreation trround worthy of note except a paddock very similar to Sydney Square, at Hamilton, but honoured by the more lemarkable name of the Ba»in Reserve. This is the great assembly ground for Wellington out-door entertainments. Several thousands had been orowded into it tho day before to witness the Caledonian sports, and it wis again crowded with upwards of ten thousand people on the occasion of the Jubilee. At the northern extremity of the town, a pier-wall and embankment has heen found along the western share of the harbour. It is furnished with a bandstand, and a number of garden seats for persons who visit toenjoy musicand ozone at the same time. The seats, I noticed, have been presented by Sir H. Atkinson; and other personages of honourable mention. Were this promenade planted with a few trees, it would form a very pleasant rendezvous for quiet recreation. Wellington boosts of some very fine buildings. The Government House and Parliament buildings at Thorndon are pleasantly situated, peeping out from the surronnding foliage like flowers in a bouquet. The treasury and other offices form a massive block on tho opposite side of the road, being the largest wooden building I have seen. Ir seems but the other day that the Wellington Post-office was burnt down, but it lias already sprung from its ashes in the form of a handsome brick buildinir. faced with cement, and surmounted by a clock tower, which rings out the chimes every quarter of an hour, but not in very good tune. These re-

minded mo of "the tubular bells in the

tower of the Auckland Free Library, which, to me, seemed to make more noise

than music. No substitute has yet heen found for the genuine old-fashioned bell, marie of the proper metals. YVe found the streets rather busy, although it was a holiday. The shops were open in the morning, and at the wharves a great deal of business was going on. The great draw-back to. Wellington is the position of the railway stations. Though oue would amply supply the need 3 of the town, they have two—one belonging to the Government and the other to the

Manawatu Company. Both are situated quite outside the town, the latter at a distance of about a mile, far out of the region of hotels and traffic, and approachable only on foot or by cab. The trams, with the exception of one or two, do not go near it, as we found out to our cost. .Jumping into one that was running in that direction, we were put down at the moderate distance of about fifty yards beyond our starting point, for which the fare was, of course, threepence. Having done Wellington we again embarked on the T>ikapuna, and, with a very calm sea, made a quick passage to Lyttelton, where we arrived early next morning. We immediately took the trnin to Christchnrch. where we spent four hours before catching the express to 'Vmedin. Being thus limited, I made very good use of the time, as I managed to explore the greater part of the Domain, and the windings of the Avon, as well as some of the principal streets, and a'so to attend the morning service at the Cathedral. The fact is, in sauntering along the shady hanks of the stream I got completely lost, and, aftsr traversing the vistas of the Domain in all directions, and crossing the river several times, found my way out by following the direction of the Cathedral bell. In spite of the general flatness of the country. Christchurch is a very beautiful city, and its domain is quite a garden of delight. The cool, shady avenues and quiet nooks form a delicious retreat, both from the noise of the town and the heat of the midday sun. The beautiful winding Avon, with its mossy bed, and its overhanging willows, " That shew their hoar leases in the glassy stream," calls up vividly hefore the memory the scenarv of Old England, and throws one's thoughts back to the days of " Auld Lang Syne." Indeed, the aspact of the whole city is much more English than ether parts of New Zealand. The number of deciduous trees seems quite a relief to oves accustomed to the monotony of the pine and blue-gum. Though my mind rebels against the n,b"iird mimicry of English names so prevalent amongst us, I cannot but admit that, the Canterbury people are more than justified in giving l such a decidedly English name to their beautiful little river. Sitting on its bank and rpgalinsr myself with red and white currant* (unknown luxuries to Aucklanders), I allowed my thoughts to wander back to old scenes and old fanes as loner as I dare with the limitpd time at my disposal. The streets ol : Christohurch are broad and regular, and, with l .he exception of tho chief business thoroughfares, are planted with trees. The shop verandahs are mostly made of glass, as I presume the light, is not bo glaring thpre as here. The different parts of the town anfi nuVmrVn are connected by Bfeam8 f eam tram" which run noisily through the streets. The most itrikinsj ohject, of course, if th» Cathedral, whinh, owin'7 to the surrounding fl itnei" of the surface, is almost the only building visiblp from various parts of the citv. It is rendered even move conspicuous by th» delapidated appanrxnce it presents from the results of the late earthqutk". attempt has yet been made at repair*, but I believe tbo top of the steeple i» shortly to he restored, though not to such a height ax formerly. A- it h'is, during it» short existence, been damaged by earthquakes, itn future immunity i* a matter of conjecture. By means of a winding stair and a series of ladders, visitor-* are enabled to ascend right to the ton, which is closed in tem porarily with an iron roof. This is »t a height of about 150 feet, the remaining portion having been thrown down by the earthquake. A splendid view is obtainable from the balconies and loophole* of the tower and steeple: all the commercial arteries of the city with their I busy humanitv hurrying to and fro, He stretched out below, small by reason of the distance, yet full of life, like the picture in a namera-ob-cura. Close at hand you notico some stately buildings standing out conspicuously from the rest; beyond these house* and buildings intermingled with treps, covering the wide pluiu for some cliata&ce bll arouud, It is i

literally a bird's-eye view of Christchuveh. In the upper part of the atoeple rhe walls'are very ranch disfigured, Br is generally the case, by, the scribbltngK of portion a anxious to render their names notorious. The bell* were renting in gloomy silence, and I noticed there is an apparatus by which all of them can be properly chimed by one man. I should like to have heard them, but I was unable to spend aSuuday there eitbergoing or coming'. The private charges for ringing' seemed to me to be rather high, being at the rate of a guinea "per bell. Thus to celobrnte your wedding by having all the bells on - the swing would mean a small matter of ten guineas. The wholo appearance ■of the Cathedral is quite in keeping with the Anglican metropolis of the colony* The beauty of the interior seems to consist more in its proportions nnd general ap-, pearanne than in details of ornament, the whole being of a most chaste and substantial de.-criptinn. There are several stained windows and beneath theua running round the fiwulls, though not yet completed, is a kind of wainscot of arttyles, some of them serving the purpose of mural tablets. After the service, which was not of a very " high" nature, seeing that there was neither choir nor music, I had just time to hurry down to the station to cacoh the eleven o'olock express for Dunedin.