H.—2.

In the direct photographic field the Department's collection of whole-plate pictures has been added to by the inclusion of a number of new and striking subjects secured in various parts of the Dominion. Enlarged and hand-coloured, these photographs have earned high praise wherever they have been displayed, being particularly suitable for show-windows on behalf of travel agencies and for all manner of exhibition purposes. Hundreds of these enlargements have been produced during the year. The ordinary whole-plate prints are widely used for illustrations for magazines and newspapers in all parts of the world. Important visitors to New Zealand are frequently supplied with selections of the most interesting of these photographs to take back with them to their home-countries, where no doubt they are most valuable aids to oar general publicity compaign. Some thousands of these pictures have been made use of in this manner. The series of postcards produced from the whole-plate negatives are in keen demand, and find a ready sale among visitors and at the various resorts controlled by the Department. Several publishing firms have made use of our stocks of photographs for calendar illustrations and other purposes, and these indirectly are a further aid to making New Zealand known abroad. Lantern-slides continue to be most popular for lecture purposes in America and the United Kingdom particularly, and regular supplies, to the number of hundreds of sets of from sixty to eighty each, are despatched to agencies and to the office of the High Commissioner in London. The subjects covered include scenes of cities, farms, commerce, industries, and the natural beauties of the Dominion. An advertising campaign, covering both magazines and newspapers, was again carried out in the Commonwealth in advance of and during the tourist season. Advertising per medium of the big leading journals in other parts of the world would no doubt form a very valuable means of inducing travel to New Zealand, but would require the expenditure of a very large sum of money, and would need to be carefully planned. It is hoped that it may be possible to do something with this phase of the work later when more funds are available. Apart from exhibitions, where fairly comprehensive collections of all sorts of publicity materials are generally made use of, the ordinary window displays provided by shipping companies and bookingagents have provided opportunities during the year for a considerable amount of activity in this direction. In several of the largest centres in the United States very fine windows were made available, which were taken full advantage of by our agents and representatives. Reports from the High Commissioner's Office, London, advise that some of the displays have caused the authorities to complain of their effect of impeding pedestrian traffic, a decided compliment to the drawing-power of the material provided. Maori garments, weapons, and carved work, life-sized photographic cut-outs of figures with scenic backgrounds, sporting trophies, and various other devices all play their part in this work. The Canadian National Exhibition again offered an opportunity this year for bringing New Zealand prominently before the Canadian public, and this was taken full advantage of by the Trade and Tourist Commissioner in Toronto. Both trade and tourist interests were well represented, and the display was very favourably commented upon. Radio broadcasting has been made use of on a number of occasions in Australia and America. In the latter country a great deal has also been done by lectures supported by pictorial material by way of films and lantern-slides. Several authors of note who visited the Dominion during the year were supplied with sets of special photographs for illustration purposes in connection with their literary work, and in the case of Miss Rosemary Rees, who published a book on travel in New Zealand, virtually the whole of the series of pictures used was obtained from our collection. Miss Nelle Scanlan, whose bocks are now reaching a wide public in the United Kingdom and other countries, also selected a large number of prints from the Department's stocks. This should provide another most useful avenue of publicity. Every endeavour has been made to follow up new channels of distribution for publicity material, and a continuation of this policy must have an important bearing on our tourist traffic in the near future. In the case of the Melbourne Centenary Celebrations to take place in the coming spring and summer, plans have already been made to bring New Zealand's claims prominently before the many thousands of visitors who will attend. Departmental Activities within the Dominion. Notwithstanding the adverse economic conditions prevailing, the financial results at our leading resorts and in the passenger-booking branch show a pleasing improvement. The extensions to the grounds at Rotorua have been well maintained, and the result has been very satisfactory, especially in regard to the new golf-links in the Sanatorium grounds. The Blue Baths were virtually completed, and they have proved a wonderful attraction to the Rotorua district. The hydro-electric installation at the Chateau should effect a very considerable saving in expenses. The golf-links are in splendid condition, and reflect great credit on the management at the Chateau. The new mountain road has been made and metalled to within a short distance of the Lower Scoria Flat. Generally speaking, at every resort controlled by the Department an evidence of increased business is shown, and the prospects for the ensuing financial year are distinctly good.

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