New Zealand House beset by information-seekers

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32458, 19 November 1970, Page 21

New Zealand House beset by information-seekers

(By CAROLE O'DONOGHUE, of the London office of "The Press")

“Our rotten geography teecher reckons we have to do a progett on new Zealand. I doan no where the hell it is, but my mum says its somewhere in australia. Pleas giv us some pichures and maps.”

That letter, from a girl in Cumberland, is one of the ever-increasing number being received by the New Zealand High Commission in London every year. This year an estimated 16,000 will arrive, a steady increase over the last five years. The letters are varied, many demand hours of research, others are from '“cranks,” perhaps complainjing that their letter to the ‘New Zealand Government suggesting a tunnel under Cook Strait has not yet been [acted upon. The writing .in many of them is unintelligible, and of those that are legible many are filled with bad grammatical errors. They describe New Zealand as God’s country, an Australian off-shore island, or even as a colony. The letters come from all over the world. One from a boy in Poland read: “J am a schoolbooy. J like Poland. J am peisle in seconadry school and my hobby is collecting hotel lebels. J am asking you iweie kindly to send menu yf

it is possible please very much aire adresse of sam autther hotels ... J am thank you very much.” Requests for information come from teachers, students, old-age pensioners, children, Rugby fans, and prospective immigrants. The High Commission sends out made-up packs of information according to the information required; mainly fact-sheets on trade, geography, history, radio and television. The deputy Public Rela- ■ tions Officer at the High Commission (Mr Norman Morris) I is pleased with the growth in numbers, because he believes that all the inquirers are potential consumers of New Zealand produce. However: “The limiting factors are the number of staff available to cope with these requests, and the materials we have. These letters come in without any promotional work on our part; promotional activity would multiply this lot. It has become a very big thing with us.” All the informationmaterial is sent to a mailorder firm which pre-packs it in envelopes marked with a different colour-code, according to the intellectual level of the information. There are five basic packs, for intermediate pupils, secondary

pupils, students, studentteachers, and teachers. About 100 packs are sent out a day, but the demand tails off during the summer, when the British seem to forget their miseries of the previous winter. A large number of requests come from Girl Guides doing their Commonwealth Knowledge Badge, and a certain percentage from old-age pensioners who ask for New Zealand stamps. Frantic letters arrive every Rugby season from Welsh enthusiasts. Miss Maggie Smith, in the Public Relations Department, bears most of the responsibility for these letters, many, she says, “ask the most extraordinary things.” A letter from Africa bore out her point: “I have the honour most respectful of writting you this humble letter. It is good for me to hear something about your God words. I am seeking to leant something about Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Please I am to learn something of your Gospel Books ... we are twins, we pray always that may the Lord bless you and your ministry. Christ yours in . . Miss Smith said that as far as possible she tries to meet the individual requests, but

she was having problems with the letter from the African twins and their inquiry about God in New Zealand. Letters from farmers who have heard of New Zealand farming techniques are also frequent. Not many write to thank the High Commission staff for their efforts. But one did I arrive, from a five-year-old Igirl called Emma, who wrote: I “You sent me a picture, so I am sending you one.” I Enclosed was a crayon drawing of Captain Cook aboard the Endeavour, with i the captain: “Captain Cook made the first map of New Zealand."