Tourists Spend £15,000

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30947, 31 December 1965, Page 1

Tourists Spend £15,000

CV Z. Press Association)

WELLINGTON, Dec. 30. Nearly 5000 tourists spent an estimated £15.000 in Wellington today.

Three overseas passenger ships were in port. The Flotta Lauro liner Sydney arrived on Wednesday and the P. and OOrient liner Oronsay and the Sitmar line’s Fairsky arrived within hours of each other this morning. The passengers invaded the duty-free store in Woodward street and souvenir shops. Tourists queued 60 deep along the narrow street at times to order goods from the duty-free store. Extra saleswomen had to be

called in to assist customers. Six extra women, two on holidays, were called in to help serve crowds cramming the Disabled Servicemen’s shop in Willis street. Both stores and other Wellington souvenir shops reported brisk business.

The manageress of the Disabled Servicemen’s shop (Mrs M. E. Crone) said the store ran out of many lines. Maori Carvings, woodwork and paua 'shell were the most popular i items.

The store’s branch at the overseas terminal, where the Sydney and the Oronsay were berthed, also did brisk business and had to replenish its stock from the Willis street shop.

The City Council Transport Department ran out of buses

for sight-seeing tours of Wellington. The department used 10 extra buses to cater for the tourists.

Six chartered buses took 216 people on tours of Palmerston North and the Wairarapa. Rental car firms had to turn away about 100 requests for cars for a day because they had not been booked. It was the first time two ships had berthed at the terminal.

The assistant general manager of the Wellington Harbour Board, Mr R. R. Reeves, said today there was no congestion and everything went smoothly. The Sydney and Fairsky left Wellington today and the Oronsay will leave tomorrow morning.