PRAISE FOR THE CITY

Press, Volume LXXI, Issue 21377, 21 January 1935, Page 11

PRAISE FOR THE CITY

—« — IMPRESSIONS AFTER 20 YEARS' ABSENCE

REV. D. HAULTAIN'S CAREER A tribute to the beauty of Christchurch and the nature of growth of the city in the last two decades was paid by the Rev. Donald Haultain, vicar of All Saints' Church, Nelson, who has returned temporarily to Christchurch after an absence of 20 years. During that period Mr Haultain has held charges in Australia and has engaged in missionary work in East Africa. He has made a holiday exchange with the Rev. H. T. York, of St. Peter's, Upper Riccarton. "I love Christchurch," said Mr Haultain. "I am proud of it and charmed with its beauty. It has gone ahead splendidly. Its well-laid-out streets, its excellent tramway system, and its beautiful parks, gardens, and river frontages are a credit to the v civic spirit. I can say, after 20 years' absence, that it seems to have gone ahead by leaps and bounds. I feel that all that was best in the ideals and outlook of the early pioneers have been fostered and preserved. The Art Gallery is a gem indeed, set in the midst of increasingly beautiful surroundings. I have noted with pleasure and deep appreciation the open friendliness of Christchurch people." Some criticism, however, was offered by Mr Haultain. He remarked that he had seen complaints in the newspapers about insufficient accommodation at New Brighton and Sumner in the' matter of bathing sheds. This complaint was in his opinion quite justified, for . the accommodation 30 years ago, as he remembered it. was better. The one advance which had been made, apart from the beautifying of the foreshore, was in the institution of life-saving clubs. In German East Africa Mr Haultain remarked that New Zealanders were great travellers, and were to be found in all parts of the earth. He gave as an example an incident in his own life, when he was chaplain to the East African expeditionary force in German East Africa in 1918. At Dax Es Sallam he fell a victim to pneumonic influenza, and later, when he recovered consciousness in hospital, he found that the beds on both sides of him were occupied by a doctor and a naval transport officer, both from Christchurch. They had never met before.

Mr Haultain recalled an interesting detail of the campaign in German East Africa, which he described as not so much a campaign of guerrilla warfare against the German troops, but a right against difficulties of transport and tropical diseases. So devastating were the latter that every man in the expeditionary force had to be replaced two and a half times. The German force had ample room in which to move, and their commander, General von Lettow, made the most of the circumstances to avoid the attempts at encirclement. The expeditionary force had several columns operating some distance in front of their headquarters. When the news of the signing of the armistice in Europe was received a dispatch rider was sent to General von Lettow, who suspected a trap and took no notice. Another messenger was then sent, and the German commander then recognised the correctness of the first information. Military operations, however, had in consequence, been prolonged two days after active warfare had ceased in Europe.

Life and Work Mr Haultain is the son of the late Mr P. C. Haultain, of Opawa, and grandson of the late Colonel T. M. Haultain, of Auckland, and of the late Mr S. S. Field, one of the early colonists of the first ships. He. was educated at the New Brighton School, then under the headmastership of Mr G. N. Bishop, at the Normal School, under Mr C. T. Aschman, and at the West Christchurch District High School. Early in 1911 he went to Sydney and entered the Moore Theological College. He was ordained by the Archbishop of Sydney, and after serving in a curacy in the Sydney diocese went out to the diocese of Mombasa, Eart Africa, under the Church Missionary Society. He enlisted as a chaplain and served with the East African expeditionary force in German East Africa, being mentioned in. dispatches. In 1919, at the invitation of the Bishop of Gippsland, he returned to Australia to become rector of Sale and canon-in-residence of St. Paul's Cathedral in that diocese. Later he became rector of Kyneton. and then dean of Bendigo. He returned to New Zealand after an absence of 16 years to become vicar of All Saints', Nelson.