CANADIAN SCENERY

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXX, 21 May 1936, Page 8

CANADIAN SCENERY

AN ILLUSTRATED LECTURE

MANY REMARKABLE PHOTOGRAPHS

])R DAVID LANG'S VISIT

The beautiful photographs of Canadian scenery and wild-life were enthushustically received by a large audience, gathered in the School of Music last evening, to hear the lecture of Di David Lang, M.A., who recently arrived from Canada. The speaker was introduced by Mr \V. J. Moll'att, who brielly welcomed tlie visitor to Nelson. Before presenting the first series ot coloured slides, Dr Lang pointed out that Canada was the "hallway house between England and New Zealand. The diiliculty of close communication had been solved by the construction of the Canadian Pacific Kail way, and lie believed that in the near future, giant airliners would reduce the travelling time along Empire routes to days, instead of weeks. Many attempts had been made to a line! a north-west passage to China and the East, but all, until Amundsen discovered a tortuous passage, ice-free for only a small portion of the year met with tragedy and little success. The first slide, showing a map of Canada in relation to the rest of the Empire, revealed the fact that the Dominion was larger than the United States and Alaska combined, Australia and New Zealand.

Before the presenting of the first film, entitled, “Quebec and the Maritime'’ a message of goodwill from the Eight Honourable W. L-. Mackenzie' King, Prime Minister of Canada, was screened requesting Dr David Lang to convey on behalf of himself and the people of Canada, heartiest greetings and to emphasise the unity of the Empire and mutual interests in all the Dominoes in these troublous times; and to express the earnest desire, not only to augment the trade with New Zealand and Australia, but especially to see in Canada more of these people who belong to the same great British family of Nations —all of whom are whole-heartedly consecrated to the ideals of Liberty and Peace. This film showed various beauty spots in Montreal, the largest city in Canada with a population, mainly French, of one million. The Laurentians, the oldest hills in the world, were the summer resort of this city, and beautiful scenes of elaborate bathing pools, lakes, and rugged mountains illustrated its beauty. Fredericton, a small town in the vicinity, attracted tourists from all over North America, and thousands, including President Koosevelt, visit this famous resort annually.

An interesting feature in this film was the Reverse Falls, on the St. John river. For 12 hours, the water flowed out to sea, but at high water, the tide caused it to run inland for a short period. Coloured “stills” were shown of the chapel and statue erected in memory of Longfellow’s “Evangeline,” at Evangeline Park. A striking photograph revealed the H.AI.S. Hood, lying off the ramparts of Quebec. It was in this historic neighbourhood that the armies of Wolfe and Montcalm clashed on the Heights of Abraham in 1759. A replica of an old tapestry, depicting Quebec in 1720, showed the humble beginning of this important port of call along the St. Laurence waterway. Old cannons were much in evidence, and a. handsome statue of the French General occupied a prominent position in the city’s park. Just above Quebec is the largest bridge in Canada, completed at length eft or two disheartening failures. The centre portion of the bridge while under construction had given way on two occasions, invloving the deaths

of 150 workmen. An excellent reproduction of the Peace Tower at Ottawa brought out the impressive design of the building. Fifty-three bells wore installed within the "tower, and at the close of the Toronto Exhibition, played the hymn “Abide With Me.” accompanied by 400 bandsmen and an impromptu choir of 40,000. ' Near Toronto, a monument had been erected to. Hie memory of A. G. Bell, tlie famous Canadian inventor, whose iirst. experiments had been conducted in that vicinity. The Niagara Falls were then shown, as in the summer and in the winter cf 1935, when they were almost frozen solid. The next lilm, dealing with big game in Canada, was entitled, “Stalking Big Game in the Far West.” Remarkable photographs, obtained by the use of telescopic, lenses, showed mountain sheep and goats in their natural surroundings. The awkward antics of a seven day old moose caused considerable amusement, while snapshots ot caribou in the snow were watched with real interest. A grizzly bear was filmed making his way towards the hastilv erected camp, and the lilm concluded with a beautiful silhouette of riders against a typical Canadian background of rugged hills and lofty Douglas iirs.

A series of coloured slides, depicting Port Arthur, Fort Winnipeg, and grain elevators common to that portion of the country, followed, and concluded with scenes on the modern and extensive Princes of Wales Estate in Alberta. Photographs were shown of King Edward VIII learning to ride a bronco and assisting in general farm work. The King was extremely popular in Canada and the United States said Dr Lang. Interesting slides of multi-coloured Indians in full war paint were then shown, Mr Lang comparing these people with the Maori race. “GREY OWL’S NEIGHBOURS” The outstanding film of the evening was “Grey Owl’s Neighbours.” This remarkable film took ' the audience right into tile back of beyond, where the now-world famous Grey Owl holds the confidence of the animal kingdom. Amazing pictures showed this Indian calling moose with a hark trumpet on the edge of a lake, and feeding young animals while their parents looked on in silent approval. Intimate scenes were shown of beaver life on the river, and these untamed creatures actually approached and entered his canoe as he was crossing the lake. Touching scenes of birds feeding from the old man’s hands followed, and this splendid film concluded by proving how this solitary man’s kindness has established him within the hearts of the dwellers of the wild.

Delicately coloured plates showed to full advantage the wonderful scenery of the Rockies. The reproductions of trees, ravines, mist-clad mountains and lake-reflections can be described as nothing less than photographic masterpieces. A New Zealander has no conception of the massiveness and grandeur of the Rocky Mountains, in many parts well over 19,000 ft in height. Spiral tunnels through the hillsides showed how the railway engineers had overcome the apparently impossible task of putting through the lines. Scenes of Vancouver and Victoria impressed all with their outstanding beauty. The evenings’ entertainment concluded with the screening of sea lions, that are plentiful in the rocky islets of Queen Charlotte Sound, Northern British Columbia. A colony of seals was sighted, and a landing party procured interesting records of domestic life, such as a family quarrel, and mothers teaching their somewhat unwilling “pups” how to swim. Although weighing nearly a ton the gigantic males showed ' real diving ability as they took neat headers off projecting headlands. Needless to say, the spray created by the dive was enormous!

Amid sincere and prolonged applause the entertainment was brought to a conclusion, and short speeches of appreciation were given by Air Alolfatt, Professor Easterfield and the Dean of Nelson, the Very Rev. P. B. Haggitt.