HIGH PRAISE.

Auckland Star, Volume LXV, Issue 69, 22 March 1934, Page 10

HIGH PRAISE.

DOMINION PROGRESS.

THROUGH AUSTRALIAN EYES

MINISTER FROM QUEENSLAND

High praise of the development of New Zealand during the last 20 or 30 years was given by the Hon. H. A. Bruce, Minister of Public Works in Queensland, in an interview in Christchurch with a representative of the "Press," following a tour through the Dominion. Mr. Bruce stated that he was in the Dominion last in 1900, and the changes lie had seen were remarkable. So far as he had been able to judge, the roads in New Zealand were of a very high standard. The South Island was particularly lucky in its supply of metal. He had travelled many hundreds of miles by railway and car, and in many cases there was a gravel pit almost on the side of the road, ready for immediate operation. In Australia they were handicapped by having huge areas of volcanic red soil, 1.1 to 30 feet deep, and the engineers ha dto go to the hills for metal. A heavy rainfall, measured in feet— not in inches —added to the difficulties and gave much trouble to road engineers. Improvements to Highways. The highways from Dunedin to Invercargill and Lake Te Anau, and round about Christchuprch, were perfect, and the motorist could speed his car up to 40 or 50 miles an hour with safety and comfort. The cost of metalling in some parts of New Zealand, he had been told, was 2/9 a yard—a price unheard of in any other part of the world. Mr. Bruce visited construction camps in different parts of the island, and gave particular attention to pasture lands, lie was greatly struck, he said, with the number of sheep to the acre and the close cultivation of crops. The method of handling sheep in New Zealand, he said, was almost individual. In Queensland the sheep were not so definitely marked and there were few shepherds of the New Zealand type. In fact, the sheep were seldom seen by their owners except at shearing time. The thousands of square miles of flat land in Queensland encouraged the breeding of crossbreds for overseas markets, and the Merino was the chief feature of sheep raising. In contrast with New Zealand, sheep were rarely seen on the main roads. The way the New Zealand dogs handled the flocks was a lesson to any Australian sheep farmer. Charm of Mount Cook. Mr. Bruce made his first visit to Mount Cook during the last few days, and his opinion is that if Australians were fully aware of the attractions that were offered there would be a great influx of visitors. He had been able to indulge in chamois shooting in a way almost impossible elsewhere. For entertainment, too, there was nothing lacking. He joined Mount Cook with Rotorua as a place of scenic intermit. On the way to Christchurch he visited Lake Coleridge, and was impressed with the efficiency of the hydro-electric station. In Queensland, he added, £1,250,000 was spent last year on public works, such as main roads, and it was expected that that sum would be exceeded this year.