ADVERTISING THE COLONY.

Auckland Star, Volume XXX, Issue 5, 7 January 1899, Page 5

ADVERTISING THE COLONY.

(By Telegraph.—Own Correspondent.)

WELLINGTON, this day

In the course of an interview with an important official in the Lands and Survey Department this afternoon I referred to the alleged statement of the Governor as to negligence in making" the scenic and climatic attractions of Xew Zealand known to the world. Th* official emphatically denied the allegation, lie said that I since Mr Peeves assumed the office of Agent-General he had exhibited much enthusiasm, enterprise, and judgment in bringing the natural beauties and abundant resources of the colony under the notice of travellers and business men in London, Paris, Berlin, and many smaller cities. J A large sheet of yery fine photo- | graphs, mainly supplied by Burton Brothers, were tastefully arranged within a space of about ?>?, feet by 4, and very beautifully framed in the choicest' New Zealand woods. These photographs were hung in conspicuous places in leading English and foreign hotels, ocean going passenger steamers running to New Zealand and Australia, and in every locality where they w 7ere likely to come under the notice of travellers and others, whilst shoals of illustrated guide books, pamphlets, etc., etc., were distributed broadcast. These efforts are continued at the present time, and_ neither the Agent-General nor the Lands and Survey Department neglect any opportunity of advertising the picturesque beauties of the 'Land of the Moa.' Of course the Governor, if he made use of the language attributed to him by the correspondent, must have based his ideas from what he saw in the colony, but it is fair to assume that the people of New Zealand are sufficiently familiar with the attractions of their own count_*y r without becoming acrpiainted with them through the medium of advertising. 'One does not need to climb Mount Cook,' remarked my informant, 'in search of a highly-coloured advertisement. It is the people outside the colony who need object lessons as to the magnificence of our scenery and the marvellous curative properties of our sanatoriums, and of course these advertisements are not visible to people living in New Zealand, hence Lord Ranfurly's little mistake, and the correspondent's mare's nest.'