N.Z. GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY

Press, Volume XCII, Issue 27735, 12 August 1955, Page 15

N.Z. GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY

TALK ON SWITZERLAND The Swiss would make excellent New Zealand immigrants, said Dr. J. L. Moffat in answer to a question at the close of an address to the Canterbury branch of the New Zealand Geographical Society. Switzerland was about the same size as Canterbury and had a population of 5,000,000 people. Swiss numbering nearly another 5,000,000 lived outside Switzerland, however, and there was already a considerable number of these hard-working people living in New Zealand, he said. “The cultural resources of Switzerland are outstanding,” said Dr. Moffat. “They have magnificent universities, art galleries,, libraries and museums For example, the Landesmuseum at .Zurich has complete rooms from various centuries, preserved in their entirety: walls, windows and furniture,” he explained. An Irish monk who got a blister while crossing the Swiss mountains in the seventh century changed his mind about continuing nis journey to see the Pope and remained instead in Switzerland, to found St. Gall, an institution now known as the oldest library in Europe. Unlike women in many other countries, Swiss women did not vote. “And they don’t want to vote,” said Dr. Moffat. “They would be insulted if they were offered a vote. ‘Do you think we need a vote to have influence in this country?”, was their reply to the inquirer, said Dr. Moffat. “Instead of raising children on the basis of raising calves as our Plunket Society has done, the Swiss let their children be themselves, realising that all humans differ,” he said.