NOT ON THE MAP.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVI, Issue 189, 12 August 1935, Page 6

NOT ON THE MAP.

(By DONALD COWIE.)

NEW ZEALAND AND WORLD

AMUSING IGNORANCE,

Suggesting that the words "New Zealand should 'be incorporated in the name A 1 Blacks," so that the Dominion should be advertised by the Rugby tour of Great Britain, mem'bers of the South Canterbuiy of Connnerce recently revived the old e plaint that New Zealand is still unknown territory to many people overseas, ihe lacetious suggestion of one of the members that the footballers should carry a map ot tne world on their backs was received unsympathetically. ~ However much broad-minded Neiv /.ealanders may feel that protests such as those of the South Canterbury business men proceed from ii morbid self-consciousness, and that t'hey arc unlikely to achieve their desired aim, it must be admitted that the protests are fnilv justified. A hobby of mine in the last year or two has been to collect authentic examples of overseas ignorance about New Zealand; and already my collection is_ indecently large. Also it is (from the point of view of New Zcalanders) most indecently

funny. Here is one of the gems, told by the Rev. E. Llywelyn Williams at a public function in Christchurch: "I was going to say that this function every year helps to put Wales on the map in New Zealand, but perhaps it is high time New Zealand put itself 011 the map brother countries. For instance, when I left to come to New Zealand it was announced in one of the American newspapers that I was coming to 'Tiinaroo, on one of the islands of the South Seas.'" Lest that one seems too good to be true, I will add an extract from a letter recently received by a local girl from a pen friend 111 Canada: "Do you wear European clothes in New Zealand or just native ones? I should like to see pictures of one or two of your buildings, for I have been told that these arc never built more than two storeys high, 011 account of the earthquakes. . . ." And the writer of this letter was a university graduate. Republican Tendencies.

Then a New Zealand business man, returning from a trip to the United States, stated that he had encountered a widespread belief there that New Zealand had very republican tendencies and was anxious to sever her connection with the British Crown. The fault, according to this observer, lay with the American newspapers, which were "all filled with sensation and domestic news—international information was neglected."

That, however, it is not only American newspapers which retail wrong ideas about New Zealand is shown by the following extract from the Birmingham "Post," which I had better quote in full:

A member of tho Duke of Gloucester's suite tel s a pood story of the recent Dominion tour. Jn New Zealand tho Royal visitor was taken to some outlandish corners in the Cook Range. There, in a country of volcanic formation, the party came now and then upon homesteads set in great natural bowls of earth in this rocky region. About these farms sheep are successfully reared on land where herbage suitable for grazing looked to be sparse. An inouiry was made of the guide about the origins of the men who make a livelihood in such spots. The answer was that, almost without exception, they were hardy Scots. Whereupon tho Royal guest, with a glance at the thistles which everywhere seemed to abound and to overgrow all e'se. reflected that these Scots seemed also to have brought their weeds with them. The following extracts were culle<l from nil interview given to the "Isle of Man Examiner" by an Englishman who visited New Zealand recently: "The country is overrun with insect pests, including house beetles, mosquitoes, stinging fleas nnd big caterpillars. . . . Italians anil Chinamen do the real work in the country. They build the houses and make the roads. . . . The newspapers contain notices of employment with 'No English need apply.'" Our Own Ignorance. These examples demonstrate conclusively that New Zealand is a terra incognita to many "educated" people in North America and Britain. If one girl university graduate in Canada believes that New Zealanders wear native clothes, then it is fairly certain that other educated Canadians are equally ignorant of conditions out here. If one English subeditor passes statements such as those made in the Isle of Man interview, neither is he alone in his ignorance. New Zealanders, however, will not be content with a statement of the facts. They will want to know the causes, and how to remove them. My personal opinion is that we can't blame the ignoramuses themselves. Nor will it avail us to thunder at educational authorities, publicity officers, newspapermen and other disseminators of information overseas. The trouble lies with New Zealand itself. I wonder how many New Zealanders could tell me where Esthonia is situated and what are its peculiar manners, customs and industries; or, for that matter, what is the appearance of an Annamitc, or the language of an inhabitant of Colombia. Vet Esthonia has a population roughly the same as New Zealand; Annam has nearly three times the population; nnd the population of Colombia is four times that of New Zealand. Do you see what J mean? Perhaps you will not care to see. for it is not exactly a pleasant thought; but you will probably understand, even if you do not admit the chastening implication. New Zealand has yet to make a place for itself on the map. As a nation New Zealand lias so far done nothing to advertise itself. I can hear the answering mutter that New Zealand has led the way in many social reforms; that her sons and daughters fill distinguished positions in all four corners of the eaitli; that it was a New Zealander who made practical the idea of industrial arbitration; that there are earthquakes in New Zealand; that the thermal regions and the trout fishings are alike unequalled. But these tilings are not enough. Little burnt-out Portugal, without any of New Zealand's promise, is still far better known to the citizens of the world than "God's Own Country."• And why' Because Portugal has a glorious past. She has made her mark; and everybody knows it New Zealand has yet to make her" mark-