WHAT N.Z. WANTS

Greymouth Evening Star, 26 July 1923, Page 8

WHAT N.Z. WANTS

A SPIRIT OF PROGRESS. V man who has experience of both countries is admittedly a fairly reliable authority on the merits of either. Therefore the. opinion of Mr. William Kilgour of Greyinuuth, who lived for 40 years “on the other side” and who recently returned from a holiday visit there lasting some weeks, is to ue reckoned with. Questioned as to the impressions the trip had made on him, Mr. Kilgour said very emphatically that New Zealand has advantages far, far superior to any possessed by Australia. ' rmonly trouble,” he said, “is that tlio New Zealander will not put his shoulder to the wheel. This Dominion of ours, with a little more, population, would lick Australia out of sight if the people only would wakg up. Greymouth does not know it is alive. Greymouth itself, has wonderful advantages that would be the envy of towns of the same size on the. other side. But the townspeople will have to buck up and drop that ’don’t-care-a-darn spirit or they will get nowhere.” “What struck me most forcibly when in Sydney”, remarked Mr. Kilgour, speaking generally of his trip, "was the number of new buildings being erected. So much money was made by some of the firms during the war, that they are putting it into the erection of buildings, probably to evade the tax. All hands employed in shops and warehouses are receiving good wages, this evidently being considered by the firms as a better way to divert money than by paying taxes. Nevertheless, there is a terrible lot of urn employment, and some most distressing cases came under my notice.” Asked which country he would prefer to live in—Australia or New Zealand —Mr. Kilgour readily answered, “New Zealand every time! There is more social life in New Zealand, for one thing,” he said, “food is better here, hotels and restaurants not nearly so dear and the attendants ever so much more courteous. The prices of the hire of motors in Australia is most exorbitant in comparismi with the rates ruling throughout New Zealand, and the scenery is not nearly so charming as that which the West Coasters have at theiry very back doors. I have often heard people grumble at the state of some of the New Zealand reads, but the roads round such wellknown Australian districts as Arncliffe, Cogra, and Carlton, are infinitely worse. The theatres in Sydney are fine, but I have heard talent equally as good even in Greymouth. A lady who travelled with us from New Zealand had a voice whose quality was equal to anything a certain prima donna I heard in Sydney could do. Of course, the Sydney theatres have the great advantage of modern staging and scenic effects.” Some strong comments were, .made by Mr. Kilgour on the ferry service between Wellington and Nelson, which was the part of the route he took on the return journey to Greymouth. “VVe had an ideal trip from Sydney to Wellington, (everything possible being done for our comfort.” he remarked. “But the trip from Wellington to. Nelson was abominable. Some better arrangements should be made for passengers than exist at present on these vessels.” Mr. Kilgour concluded his remarks by saying that what most impressed him on his return froni Australia was that there were 4 ’worse places than Greymouth. Even in the cost of living this town had the advantage over any in Australia, as the only commodities that were cheaper were boots, in which there was a slump. All the towns of the same size as Greymouth that he had seen were not nearly so pretty or well kept as Greymouth, but they were flourishing, mainly because they had electric power installed. “We want power and light here badly,” he. declared, “and when it is introduced, the town cannot fail to go ahead.”