Australian Tour; Mr. And Mrs. Brydon Back

Northern Advocate, 27 July 1938, Page 10

Australian Tour; Mr. And Mrs. Brydon Back

Having enjoyed a comprehensive and most interesting six weeks’ tour of Australia, Mr. and Mrs. W. J. Brydon resumed their place as host and hostess of the Kamo Hotel on Monday.

Taking their own car with them, they travelled 6923 miles in the course of five weeks actually on the road without hitch or puncture. The Australian highways they found to be splendid—wide flat stretches of bitumen, extending almost to the horizon, the standard being much superior to that of the main routes in New Zealand. With little hilly, wet country, formation work was comparatively easy. Hemi’s Sensational Kicking The first long trip undertaken by Mr. and Mrs. Brydon was as far North as the Hornibrook River, in QueensV.' land. While in Brisbane, they tookthe opportunity of witnessing the - - League matph between the Kiwis and Queensland. The best side in Aus- ° tralia this season, Queensland romped t home 33—8, New Zealand’s points all “ coming from Hemi’s boot. The kick ■ with which Hemi succeeded from ten yards inside his own half was the best Mr. Brydon had ever seen. Southern States and All Blacks The sugar cane plantations of Northern New South Wales and the wheatfields of Victoria were passed through •• as the tourists trekked across to South Australia. There they inspected the huge vineyards and crossed to Mildura, where the raisins come from. Following the Murray River into New South Wales, Sydney was reached in time to see the All Blacks annihilate New South Wales. The State team was definitely below par, according to Mr. I'Brydon, and the New Zealand team was never seriously challenged. Berghan was magnificent—the best fiveeighths they had had for years, while Saxton and Sullivan also made the road easy for Mitchell, whose tackling was very weak. While in Victoria, the visitors also took the opportunity of attending both days of the Grand National meeting.

Hotel Accommodation

Speaking of the accommodation which they sampled during their long trip, Mr. Brydon expressed the opinion that in rural hotels it was below the New Zealand standard. The cost of living was slightly higher, so far as the tourist was concerned, and whereas it was possible in this country to obtain bed and breakfast at a comfortable hotel for 12/6, the charge in Australia was at least 15/-. However, the hotel service was ahead of that given in New Zealand. t Service for Tourists A' point which was particularly impressive was the district publicity

everywhere so easily assessible in Australia. Every little hotel had in lounge and office a box crammed with pamphlets supplied by the State Federal tourist departments, supplying full information concerning the attractions of the district, the places worthy of a visit and how they could be reached. There would be a wealth of information, for instance, about a district like Whangarei, and visitors ' were encouraged to take the pamphlets, issued gratis, away with them. In the large centres of population, tourist offices were conducted on an elaborate basis. There were even hostesses who took a personal interest in your holiday and gave advice as to how the time could be most profitably spent and , where necessary services could best be obtained. “The tourist services must cost Australia a great deal,” Mr. Brydon commented today, “but it is a profitable investment, one would think. The visitor is enticed to do things and make purchases which otherwise he would probably neglect.” Bright Birds; Brown Sheep

According to Mrs. Brydon, one of the most memorable sights of the trip was the great number of highly coloured birds —cockatoos, parakeets, etc. —seen disporting themselves among the foliage of the gum trees. “Although we enjoyed ourselves immensely, we are glad to be back in New Zealand,” Mr. Brydon said. “Motoring from Wellington to Whangarei, it was a treat to see the green fields and the white sheep. Even in midwinter in Australia the sheep are brown, the colour of the burned pasture on which they graze.”