SOUTH ISLAND INTERESTS

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXI, 13 January 1938, Page 2

SOUTH ISLAND INTERESTS

TRAVEL ASSOCIATION FIRST MEETING IN NELSON OF EXECUTIVE REPORTS OF PUBLICITY EFFORTS J The South Islands Travel Association j of New Zealand held its first executive meeting in Nelson to-day. Those pre- ' sent at the City Council Chamber this j morning were: Rev. E. T. Cox (president, Mayor of Dunedin) in the chair, J Messrs John Beanland (vice-president Mayor of Christchurch), William Begg (Dunedin City Council), R. T. McMillan (Lyttelton Harbour Board), C. H. Clibborn (hon. treasurer), G. H. Andrews (South Canterbury Chamber of Commerce), John Miller (Mayor of Invercargill and Bluff Harbour Board), E. C. Lawrence (Pelorus Sound Tourist Bureau), L. E. H. Baigent (Nelson Progress League), and J. S. Hawkes 1 (Automobile Association, Canterbury). ! Apologies wgre received from : Messrs F. Coop and P. R. Climie (Can- 1 terbury Progress League), M. Sullivan I (Fox Glacier), A. R. Thompson (Union j Steamship Company). Messrs F. I. Ledger (Nelson Progress League) and E .C. Lawrence \ (Pelorus) were added to the executive. Mr Baigent represented Mr Ledger. WELCOME BY MAYOR The Mayor of Nelson, Mr G. L. Page, ; extended a welcome to the executive on their first visit to Nelson. He remarked that there were three mayors present. The holding of the meeting in Nelson had given great satisfaction to the various local bodies as indicating that the association was interested in Nelson. The Nelson City Council was behind the association, and recognised the need for it. He hoped that all the members would be able to spend a few days in Nelson and see its attractions. “SOUTH ISLAND HAS THE GOODS" “It is a great pleasure for us to come to your historic city, and to your genial climate, which is renowned throughout not only the South Island, but the whole Dominion, and should draw visitors for holiday periods from all parts,” said the chairman in reply. “In the life of Sir Francis Bell just issued from the press from the pen of the Hon. W. Downie Stewart, I note that in 1851, when he was born in this city, you had been in existence about 10 years and had already attained a population of 5,000 people. At that time you must have been one of the leading cities in the colony and may I say that it is part of the mission of the South Islands Travel Association to assist you to regain that lost prestige. We are very conscious that the South island, which has such fine tourist attractions, such a variety of interests and pleasure grounds, has been caught in a back-wash and needs the united effort of all its centres to catch up on its Northern neighbour which has been forging ahead by leaps and bounds at our expense, for it has attracted from us not only our youth and young manhood. but also our money which should have been used to develop our own resources so that we might retain our own people in our provinces. “In this district you have some great stores of mineral wealth, which, if fully exploited, would add immeasurably to your wealth and population. The purpose of our meeting here to-day is to further the co-operation of all our centres in a great united effort to encourage the tourist traffic of the world to our shores. If we could increase the number of our overseas visitors by 10,000 we should add very greatly to our business interests and thus increase the wealth of our people. “We have the goods to display but we must sell them in the world s markets. Hitherto we have not gone far enough afield. This year we are trying to catch up on Canada and the Western areas of the U.S.A. by having our own representative on the ground. “Reverting to the life of Sir Francis Bell, the author mentions how many able public men your city has nurtured and in the course of its hitsory it has produced five prime ministers. May I hope that your records of the past 100 years in this respect will be repeated in the coming century.” The report of the director, Mr J. J. W Pollard, was then considered. An invitation to the executive to visit Invercargill in April was accepted. the date being left to the president and director. The chairman congratulated the director on his report, which was adopted.