NEW ZEALAND IN PICTURE.

Hawera Star, Volume XLV, 19 October 1925, Page 9

NEW ZEALAND IN PICTURE.

WEEKLY PRESS XMAS NUMBER

It has become the' accepted tiling for visitors to New Zealand to remark on the general high standard reached and maintained by the newspapers of tlie Dominion.. As' often as not,' however, strangers in our midst either overlook or do not encounter a branch of the New Zealand Press, which will not merely bear comparison with, but really sets an example to, the rest of the world. That is the illustrated section of the metropolitan weeklies. • Regularly all the year round they combine the artistry of the camera man and the skilled craftsmanship of the master printer to a dgree that could not easily be excelled. And when the several staffs concerned make their special effort for the annual . Xmas number the result is indeed a triumph. We have received a copy of this year’s special issue of the Weekly Press '(Christchurch), which more than preserves the reputation this journal has established by the excellence of past Xmas issues. Naturally—;since the publication is designed primarily for circulation overseas —full advantage has been taken of the scenic beauties ot the Dominion in mountain, bush and lake, while an appeal to sportsmen is made through studies of deep-sea fishing and deer-stalking, and agriculture receives attention in a series of harvesting' views. But a feature of the issue is a spWidid selection of birdlife photographs from the collection of a prominent New Zealand naturalist, Mr E. F. Stead. Amateur photographers will appreciate the expenditure of patience that must have been necessary to secure these exposures, and will marvel at the results secured, while students of natural history will treasure the double-page sheet as if it were an old master.

Of the two supplements issued with the number, a panoramic photograph of Dunedin js hardly as clear as one could wish; but the reproduction in colours of a pastoral painting by the New Zealand artist, W. Menzies Gibb, is a credit both to the original and the publishers. As a seasonal reminder to New Zealanders in exile, or an invitation to those who do not know our country, this Christmas annual should fill its mission with satisfaction to all.