A PALACE IN THE WILDERNESS.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 764, 12 March 1910, Page 14

A PALACE IN THE WILDERNESS.

•'••4s'Phbenit from.the' ashes•'flew. Triumphant and undying; So rose the Kiver Palace new, With flags all gaily flying. A Palace in the Wilderness— A Home away from Home; Haven of -'restful, cheerfulness, Where all may rest who roam. ' Not in ' the ' City s'crowded quays, 'Midst noise and strife unending;... But-there, where Man grand Nature - 'sees, , Beauty and Comfort'- blending; ■ Where towering hills stand verdure olad, . In rich primeval glory; And where the very birds are glad ■•Because of Nature's story. Yes, it is indeed the palace in the wilderness, this house which has arisen on the site;-yhioh in March . last was the soone of the • great; conflagration. The building which on ■; that occasion was reduoed to a' heap of smouldering ruins • was .a .credit to the courageous . enterprise of..tile pioneer., of river tourist traffic. It was large, commodious, comfortable. It, too, was, entitled to bo styled a palace' in the wilderness. But this new building, which nestles up there among the eternal hills, is something better, something bigger, some-; thing more nearly proportioned to the grandeur of ite natural surroundings. In fashion this fino new building may be said to , follow the style of the bungalow, '■ although that' style perhaps is not peculiar to palaces. But it is a giant of the type it represents. There is nothing-dwarfish-about it.'' If it may be called a bungalow then it must be called a king of bungalows, because of its royal proportions, and because there

is not another river house to ■ equal it in all the southern hemisphere. Perhaps when you see it, as you certainly ought to, you will quarrel with this designation of its stylo.., No matter. A layman cannot be blamed for an error in architectural definition, but you will not quarrel with the building, whatever you may choose'to call it architecturally. Its size will appeal to you as sufficient, its- appointments will strike' you as being ample, and of the very best, its artistio decorations' and embellishments .will please your sense.of harmony and good taste. Mr.' Hatrick knew what he wanted, and he wanted the best. That explains everything. ■ Messrs. Atkins and IS aeon, of "Wellington, designed a building in conformity with Mr. Hatrick's wishes, and the builders, decorators and furnishers did the rest. To-day it stands - completed—a' spectacle of pearly-whiteness;.set' inv.an.;amphitheatre of verdant loveliness. .Tho house bursts on your'.'view'' asthe stoaffler- : 'swings round the last bend, up or down, and you see at once that you are 1 coming to "a . home away . froip home."- But you must climb the hill and enter the portals before you begin to realise how good a home it really is. Then you begin to see what money and enterprise has done for you. Once on, ,the>-;, threshold, and you get your' first' impression of the tasteful. colour scheme, -the rich simplicity, ..which.. marks the whole interior. ; White and-': walnut, •■' spotless, spscklees white, relieved, dignified if you will;' by just' the requisite toucn of sombre brown. The. effect is delightful. Though you yourself be grimed with

NEW: PIPIRIKI HOUSE.

the dust of travel you feel that this indeed is the perfection of cleanliness and .comfort. It is the same everywhere—in the spacious diningroom, in the cosy lounge which forms an adjunct to the prettily-tiled hall, in your model bedroom, with its ..quaint combination duchess and its inviting wooden bod and snow-white counterpane. White and walnut everywhere, and no profusion of tints, however daintily blended, could add to the charm of those two simple colours. Ton hurry to your room—and wash. You must, for you feel you want to harmonise with • the ■ place in - which you. find yourself .'so pleasantly' located. You are in an atmosphere of quiet re- | finement and you want to make yourself "at home." Perhaps you • indulge in the. greater luxury of a bath, for there are plenty, of them,' plunge and shower with an abundance of water, hot and cold, in this well-appointed palace, and then, refreshed .and invigorated, you loqjc around to. find what else this prideof Pipiriki has to offer you. And you find what? Everything! Nothing: seems to be missing or ■ amiss. The chef, a pastmaster, the table excellent;, the accommodation admirable; tho appointments ' porfect; l . and a host and hostess who seem to know,, just what' you'want it'. You, the best hotel at which it has ever'been' your good fortune to put up, and you. start to make comparisons. The - hotel suffers in the prooess. Pipiriki 'House gives you all you had there, from electric light to luggage porter, fromthe best of spreads to the best of. beds, and it gives you something more. It.. gives

you a freedom, a sense of homeliness, which makes you feel that it is indeed very good to bo there. And' more even than this, though this is a gift worth having, it gives you -from- its splendid balcony and from its'spacious verandah an outlook truly magnificent—a view incomparable, of mighty' IHUa . to dim and distant skyline, foot-girdled by a river of fickle moods, here flowing in sweet and soft tranquility, and there dashing in the passionate turbulence of an angry rapid. A picture beautiful, eternal, yet ever changing as light and shade play hide and seek on hill tops and in valleys. The view is an inspire tion, and it is not surprising that such an inspiration • should bear fruit in" the house itself in the shape of a roofed-in winter garden.. This, indeed,- is some-.j thing new-in the equipment of colonial hostelries. Here, right'in/the" building;; and forming its premier drawing-room; the winter garden will provide an ideal retreat, cool in summer, , warm in winter, airid always delightful. Next , spring should see the winter garden in the perfection of its beauty—a : . veritable fairy dell, peopled. with great , pungas and glorious ferns of lesser growth,, and with sparkling . fountains playing on ;rugged fern-clad crockeries and -splash;ing in the. basinftl-which circle the- feet of the graceful pungas. The concrete floor mil be covered with cocoanut matting, the room—or- garden—will.,be amply furnished with comfort-giving wicker chairs and lounges, and every tree will be a cosy corner. This garden is. the finishing touch, the final stroke of : distinctive character which marks Kpiriki

House out- from tie rest of ite kind te the Dominion. Is it .any wonder, thea^, 1 that Mr. Hatrick should be .well pk*fvffidi with his new building, and thai Hz., and Mm Howard Ehould - it 4; pleasure and a privilege to be entrap? Ed . with the responsibility.. of. oommsmj.: ing -so fine a habitation? There en*! others,, too, to whom the new House,-is a source of . justifiable prida. The builders,' Messrs. Bussell and Biff... Nell, have established ?. somewhat of W record. In October last much of H»«i timber which has. gone into the btriH-' ing was . growing :'in.-the' forests 1 of thai' Waimarino. :It had to; .ba felled andj sawn, hanled fto. .ritej. ..stacked andj ■seasoned.. It' -was> all doiio svstemati-' cally and in ordor.a strong coEstnictrvO} force wiis organised, and: the work of) building was pushed od.. with- commend-, able expedition:' -• The '.;rteuit .was that' one large wing was ; "ready for occupa-i tion six-weeks ago, and that the whole i .structo® --yas., virtually...completed soma!, two weeks since, when the temporary 1 houseboat, the Manuwai,. was enabled! .to steam back to her moorings at th«i .Company's town wharf.' It was ..indeed! a smart piece of work, in which the sub-i contractors (Messrs. Hnghes, Allomas,. and-Tarrant, who did, the painting andj Tufnbull and] Jones, ! of Welliigton, .who installed th« electric lighting system) ably perfonnedl .their- respective parte. To-day all isi practically',finished,' and Mr.-and Mn,. Howard have everything: ■in readinesa* for the comfortable entertainment off 120 guests.