Australia Through a New Zealander’s Eyes

Manawatu Times, Volume 60, Issue 30, 5 February 1935, Page 8

Australia Through a New Zealander’s Eyes

MR W. G. BLACK’S IMPRESSIONS “To the casual observer Australia may appear to be fairly prosperous and well along the road to recovery, but I venture to prophesy that New Zealand will he round the comer and again on a prosperous footing before Australia,” said Mr W. G. Black dur'ing the course of an interesting address to tho Palmerston North Rotary Cluh yesterday. Mr Black, who recently returned after an extended holiday spent in Australia, had many things to tell of his visit across the Tasman, but the time at his disposal was short and he was able to make only brief references of a number of ’matters which had proved of particular interest to hint while in Australia.

Mr Black was fortunate enough to be present on tho occasion of the dedication of tho Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, and he referred to the dedication as an amazing ceremony. The two minutes’ silence had been so aeuto that the singing of birds away up in the sky had been distinctly heard, despite the fact that the crowd had packed tho streets for miles. This shrine cost about a quarter of a million sterling and of particular interest to New Zealanders had been the action of tho authorities in specifying that Hawke’s Bay ryegrass should be planted iu the lawns surrounding the memorial. Mr Black also made mention of the display given in Melbourne by some 17,000 school children, and of tho floods which had done such extensive damago in Melbourne and the surrounding country. Ho contended that no ono not actually ou tho scene could conceive what these floods meant to tho district. Over 40 lives had been lost and tho damage had been estimated to amount to £2,500,000. In some of the suburbs of Melbourne tho water was up to 50 feet deep. Melbourne, however, had been fortunate in ono respect, in that they had been able to keep the supply of electric energy by using coal from a mine not usually operated.

Melbourne Cup Day Mr Black mentioned that he had gone out to Flcmington on Cup day and had seen Australia’s greatest race under conditions which had not been equalled for 70 years. The Cup had been won by Peter Pan and he classed the winner as one of the greatest horses of all time. In regard to Ffamington, ho held that this course was not to bo compared with Caulfield or with Ellerslie so far as 'appointments for tho comfort of the general public were concerned. The Air Race

Speaking of tho finish of the Centenary air race, Mr Black said: “I shall never forget the thrill I anu every other Britisher got when the crimson Comet piloted by Scott and Black flashed across the winning line.” Continuing, the speaker contended that though from a commercial point of view the greatest performance had been that of tho Dutch air liner, the most outstanding effort had been that of the Manawatu ’plane piloted by Squadron-Leader M. C. McGregor and Mr H. C. Walker, who, through not taking advantage of the “Safety First” condition, had lost first place in the handicap event. But for the dust storm the Miles Hawk would have won the race by a big margin, but if McGregor and Walker had turned back to the last official checking place when they realised it would bo foolish to go on through the storm, they would have saved sufficient time to havo still won the race with a margin of approximately three hours. Mr Black spoke of Canberra and of the Jcnolin Caves, and he went on to say that he had been struck by the poor nature of Australian towns other than tho big cities, his contention being that they were not to be compared with New Zealand towns or townships. Tho speaker then gave some interesting details in connection with transport matters in Australia, making special mention of the amazing restrictions placed on private enterprise. He added that some 275,000 people were transported by 1400 trains in Sydney each day, while Melbourne efficiently catered for 300,000, and during the

Duke’s visit had handled up to 900,000 people a day without apparent difficulty. Social Services Speaking of the social services of Australia Mr Black said they were generally very poor and not to be compared with those of New Zealand. He stated that the hospital service of Victoria was a disgrace, that tlio hospitals were overcrowded and depended .largely on public charity for their existence. In New South Wales money for hospital's was raised partly by revenue front State lotteries. Mr Black mentioned that Melbourno and Sydney each had extensive slum areas which were a disgrace to such lino cities. Iu the near future, however, unemployed were to be utilised in tho matter of eliminating the slums. Secondary Industries

The Broken Hill Proprietary appealed to Mr Black as a ‘ ‘Romance in iron and steel.” He mentioned that this company hud 5000 people employed in their iron works and another 5000 iu the mines. The wages bid for the Newcastle works averaged £5 per week per man, and over £IOO,OOO was paid out in wages each month. Another secondary industry which had impressed the Palmerstonian was the mo-tor-car industry, which, with other secondary industries, had dono much to improve the unemployment position. Referring to the cost of living, the speaker said that this was lower in Australia than in New Zealand. Though milk products might be dearer, bread, clothing and fruit were much cheaper. Concluding his address Mr Black said that though Australia was a great country with a wonderful future, New Zealanders, with conditions infinitely superior to those obtaining across the Tasman, had a great deal to be thankful for, though there was urgent need for closer co-operation between tho two countries —co-opera-tion and reciprocation designed for the common good. Tho voto of thanks to the speaker was proposed by Mr P. J. Nathan and carried enthusiastically.