A READY NEW ZEALANDER.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXVII, Issue 115, 15 May 1906, Page 3

A READY NEW ZEALANDER.

Mr. T. E. Donne, the manager of the Xew Zealand Tourist Department, now visiting Sydney, has travelled 'mweh. and : is fond of telling traveller's tales. He relates that on a visit to Venice hej pauaeji one day at a bric-a-brac shop to price some of the wares, and finding his I available stock of Italian-sounding phrases, ,f ßen Trovato." "La Traviata." j of no avail, the buyer and seller were J both worked up into a state of mild I frenzy in their efforts to understand i each other. Then Mr. Donne thought j he would try Maori on the shopkeeper. j "Tena-koe! ,, he sternly said. 'TETaere mail Ivapai te totaral Tarawera eruption! Motu-whareraupo; Homai tou rrngaringa • HaeremaL haere-mai! Tena-j koe!" The Italian, instead of being: utterly bewildered, politely smiled, and, I I saying c- 'Si Signor,"' led forward an assis- i tant who came from Tiranrn, of all j places in the world, and was working for this merchant of Venice, who recognised from Mr. Donne's lips some of tae phras-es his young assistant had. often, used in describing for the benefit of the Italian his life and adventures ra fardistant New Zealand.