IN OTHER EYES

Hawera Star, Volume L, 25 August 1930, Page 8

IN OTHER EYES

A TALK ON NEW ZEALAND. "BY ONE WHO HAS NOT SEEN IT.” During the New Zealand farmers j touring party's visit to Australia, Mr. C. D. MTutosJi. of the staff of the New South Wales ‘‘Railway Journal,” gave an amusing address on New Zealand from the points of view of “one who has never seen it.” This talk was as follows: New Zealand consists of three islands discovered by Captain _ Cook sometime between the year 1728 in which he was born, and 1779, when lie died. This was prior to the formation of the New Zealand Fanners’ Touring Party. The islands are entirely surrounded by water, consequently people going to and from the Dominion generally travel by boat. It is expected that, after seeing the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the Farmers’ Touring Party will commence an agitation for the Tasman, or at east Cook Strait, to be similarly spanned. The North Island is so called because it is nearer to the North Pole than the South Island. Stewart Island owes its name to the fact that it produces large quantities of oysters and the people subsist mainly on oyster stew. Hence the name Stewart. New Zealand is owned by the landlords and run by the politicians. The population consists mostly of Maoris and Presbyterians. The chief industries are football, horse racing, the manufacture of waterproof clothing and goloshes and Kiwi farming. So much land is occupied by racecourses, sports grounds, picture shows and garages that very little is available for agricultural purposes, consequently farming is on the intensive or closeup system. The territory is so narrow that a proposal to have broad-guage railways had to be abandoned, and the 3ft. 6in. guage was adopted. The practice o£ dehorning cattle is general—this gives the animals more room. Immediately

after shearing the wool is exported so as to make room for the tourists who come in the summer. Architecture is mostly on the terrace plan. Owing to static in the wireless service it was believed in Australia that when the pink terraces were destroyed by an earthquake last year all the people living in them perished, and that New Zealand had to be restocked by importing some more Scotsmen.

New Zealand has what would be considered in Australia a wet climate. Fortunately, there are some exceptionally high mountains and in very wet seasons sheep are driven to the tops. This gives the peaks of Mt. Cook, Mt. Egrnoht and others a< white appearance, often mistaken by visitors for snow. Other parts, such as Invercargill, are exceedingly dry, so dry, in fact, that proud fathers have to travel long distances to wet their children’s heads, and the Presbyterians have to see the old year out and the new year in over cups of strong tea. Scientific farming methods are followed in New Zealand. The soil is scratched with an implement called a plough— a gadget, resembling a wheelbarrow with a bad attack of IXT.’s, The principal part of a plough is the shale, of which it may have one or more. This is called share-farming. No sugar is produced in New Zealand, but in the early days the Maoris often raised Cain when their land was filched by the- British.

The configuration of the capital city makes its streets very draughty, and it is colloquially known as windy ‘Wellington. This happy and easily-remem-bered way of naming towns has been adopted throughout the Dominion. Other well-known places are likely Lyttelton, rumbling Rotorua, charming Christchurch, orthodox Otago, gorsey Gore, awful Auckland, caunv Canterbury, dismal Dunedin, ’appv Ashburton, terrible Taranaki, Sunny Southland, and insufferable Invercargill. A small Maori settlement is called a pah; a large one is a grandpah. Most New Zealanders like to pretend that they can speak the native tongue. On important occasions, such as commencing a football battle, or farewelling a town, the Maori war-erv is given. It is like “Auld Lang Syne - ’—nobody ever knows the second verse.

At Rotorua and other places there are hot springs. The Railway Department runs cheap excursions to these, and the people, go there every summer to do their washing. Bad language is seldom used in New Zealand, except when speaking of taxes or some of the imported pests such as Communists, gorse, rabbits and big deer. The last-named are distinct from the little dears who serve in the saloon bars in the wet areas.

The trend of political thought is towards Conservatism. It is due to this that so much fodder is conserved. Much of the land is exceedingly fertile. Some of the richest racecourse flats carry as many as nineteen bookmakers to the acre. The inhabitants of New Zealand are verv even-tempered. The only time an Aucklander gets really wild is when asked if he comes from the South Island. In like manner, an Otago man gets mad when mistaken for a North Islander. The easiest way to insult a Maori is to ofter him money; hence the Maori expression, since adopted by the Presbyterians. “Hoot, away mon.”

New Zealanders are very hospitable at home and very tolerant in their Views when they travel abroad. Some who have visited Australia have been heard about it. Which is further evidence of. to speak in quite complimentary terms, their high standard of culture.