AUSTRALIAN MEMOIRS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 193, 15 August 1936, Page 2

AUSTRALIAN MEMOIRS.

INFANCY OF THE WEST,

In "My Life's Adventure" (Eyre and Spottiswoode) Sir John Kirwan, President of the Legislative Council of TV est Australia, has set down the memoirs of

his long and interesting career in Australia. Immigrant, journalist, editor, politician and statesman, he has, since he landed in Brisbane 50 years ago, seen the Federation established and come of age. His early days were spent reporting for papers first in Queensland, then in Victoria and South Australia, and later in West Australia. The amazing stories of the original "strikes" at Kalgoorlie and C'oolgardie he tells at length in this book, and he also recounts many old West Australian, mining legends, such as that of the famous "Sacred Nugget," of which one Father Long was said alone to know the secret. This nugget, according to Father Long, weighed "between 951b and 1001b." Sir John gives an account of the famous meeting outside the hotel at Kanowna when Father Long had promised to reveal what lie knew of the nugget. Thousands and thousands of miners turned up, and a remarkable photograph used as an illustration by Sir John shows a section of the vast crowd. Although Father Long told the assembled miners what he could remember about the place where the nugget was found, no one ever found any more gold there, and the secret (if there was still a secret) of the nugget died with him.

Sir John is at his best when he tells tale? sncli as these —or when he tells of the notorious Kelly Gang, or of the discovery of mines such as the famous Bayley's Reward; hut when he leaves the bush and the desert and transports his readers to Britain or Italy ho does not command the same intersst. Perhaps the reason is that an Australian is in his best vein when he talks of Australia. There is a rude vigour in the Australian style which lends itself admirably to the description of Australian incidents, but which, when transplanted to describe the intricacies and half-tones of the European scene, becomes somewhat naive. And one is inclined to doubt Sir John's accuracy in his descriptions when he leaves his own country. His references to New Zealand, for instance, are few, but what there are of them are badly informed and inaccurate. He mis-spells three Maori place-names in one paragraph. A trifle, perhaps, to an Australian, but one is forced to wonder about his accuracy and perspective when he talks of other places even father away from his home than we are.