AN AUSTRALIAN ON TARANAKI.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LXIX, Issue LXIX, 24 May 1915, Page 6

AN AUSTRALIAN ON TARANAKI.

To the Editor. .

Sir, —Being an Australian, I some time ago took the pleasure of having a holiday through Taranald, anu some of my impressions might be of some little interest to your readers. I left Wellington and booked right through/by rail to New Plymouth. On arriving^ there, I set myself-out to see the surrounding district, and was more than surprised at _ the scenic beauty of this place, which, to my mind, is the one spot on earth where I would like to reside. The people Vere extremely kind to me, and showed me all it was in their power to do in the short time I had to spend with them. Their gardens are beautiful, and I'm sure that only to see them merits my brother Australians making a trip to ■see them. I was also shown over-the oil works and ironsand works-*-two wonderfuf industries, and feel sure that it will be only a very short time when they will go right to the front in competing with the world. Leaving there by motor car, I travejled through Stratford, Hawera, Ngaere, and that night got to a country village, Manutahi. There I stayed for the night at the Manutahi Hotel. The genial host (Mr Stuart Mills) afforded me the greatest assistance in driving nic round this beautiful dairying district and introducing me to the directors of the butter and cheese factory, which was an eye-opener, being replete with the modern conveniences. I don't want to natter them, but I feel .sure we have not a country factory in Australia that would compare with it.J Now, Sir, I have been connected with the temperance movement in Australia for years, and I've heard terrible reports of country hotels, but in everything I -like to be fair 2 so if my impressions go for anything, here they are. On landing at New Plymouth I stayed at the White-Hart Hotel, which was of the best. Of course one natur- | ally expscts this frpm a town hotel. Then, as I've mentioned before, I did not stop until I reached Manutahi. I had been told about country hotels here in your wonderful country as being terrible, but, in justice to Mr Mills and | his wife, let me here say that the way his house is conducted and kept is, in proportion, quite equal to the White Hart in New Plymouth, and if a few such houses were in the country districts of New Zealand- there would be enough satisfaction to us temperance people to feel sure that drink was created for a use and not an abuse; in fact, this applies to all the hotels I stayed at between New Plymouth and Wanganui. I found no signs whatever of the drunkenness or wild revelry that I'd heard -so much of; on the contrary, I found everything up-to-date to facilitate the comfort of travellers.

More than this, Sir, in every little country- town 1 visited I found the young men all enlisting to go to thfl front to help the Motherland in the struggle for right in this awful war. It is with feelings of* regret that J leave New Zealand's shores, and if spared I will not fail to enlighten my Australian brothers of the beauties of this land, and will try and bring a large party over next year to enjoy such a holiday as I've had now. W. DAVIDSON, Albert Park, Melbourne. Wellington, May 14, 1915.