THE DOMINION

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XLVII, Issue 10807, 30 December 1926, Page 2

THE DOMINION

AMERICANS SEEK INFORMATION. USE OF MOVING PICTURES. (Per Press Association). WELLINGTON, December 29. The people of the United States, says Dr. Brooke INttcolls, an Australian scientist who has lately been in California, and now is in Wellington on his way back to his home, are keenly interested in everything to do with Australia and New Zealand. They do not want to be told in lectures, dry facts and statistics. What they want is to hear about the natural history of the country, about moas and Maoris and strange creatures like the Australian duck-billed platypus. Statistics they can get, from various publications, and the growth of towns and business is not what they consider really interesting information about the country. The biggest advertisement New Zealand ever had in the United States, Dr. Nicolls declared to-day. was undoubtedly the visit of Mr Zane Grey; in fact, New Zealand was now better known to the average American than was Australia. He had nothing but praise for the propaganda work being done by the Publicity (Department dnd for the films'which were being sent to the United States for exhibition. There were many wrong impressions which could be counteracted by intelligently chosen films. Scare newspaper headlines about farmers being torn to pieces by packs of dingoes, or about “wild men’’ in the forests, too often created quite a. wrong impression of life in Australia. “ The Chinese have a proverb to the effect that one 'picture is worth ten thousand words/’ commented Dr. Brooke Njcolls. “ This the Americans realise in their educational activities, and the moving picture is being used as an aid to instruction on a very large scale. (Suitable films can be hired by schools and colleges, the majority of which have their own theatres. Yale University is engaged in making its own series of historical films. Sixteen out of some 30 or 40 are now finished.” In Californian universities and schools Dr. Brooke Nicolls lectured for some months on Australian and New Zealand topics, incidentally being able to correct many erroneous opinions that the' inhabitants of the United States hold concerning us in this corner of the world.