PACIFIC TOUR

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 78, 25 November 1943, Page 4

PACIFIC TOUR

GOVERNOR-GENERAL MEETS N.Z. MEN CHEERFUL INFORMALITY (Official War Correspondent, N.Z.E.F.) South Pacific Base, Nov. 19. With his cheerful informality the Governor-General, Sir Cyril Newall, captured the imagination of every New Zealander whom his Excellency met on his Pacific tour. Wherever the familiar figure of a New Zealand sailor, soldier or airman was seen there Sir Cyril was to be found shaking hands with a grimy mechanic, chatting with men who prepared meals in stifling cookhouses, climbing on to an aeroplane’s fuselage to wish the pilot good luck, sitting with men in mess halls and waving to crowds of servicemen from the rickety seat of a bumping, jeep. “Yo.u‘ll all want to ask me when you are going home.” his Excellencw said at some of the camps he visited. "The answer is—l don’t know. The war is gong well. Wc have got to get on with it and we have got to stay here. I wish,” he added smilingly amid, a burst of laughter, “I could stay here with you but . . . .” His Excellency was quick to see through a "stage trick” at an air force station where a lad was painting a Rising Sun on the headquarters board ! to notify another success by a member | of a fighter squadron. It had been planned that the painting should be in progress when Sir Cyril stopped in front of headquarters, but twice during the morning the Governor passed by and the painter laboriously stretched out the time required to do the job. When, an hour later, his Excellency did stop and look at the board he asked the lad; "How long have you been painting this?” The embarrassed boy stuttered: "Er. quite a time, sir.” "Yes, I thought so,” replied his Excelency. "I saw you at it ages ago, didn’t I?” A patient at a convalescent depot was struggling with a bow and arrow and had landed his shafts anywhere but on the sacking target. “Here, let me have a try,” said His Excellency. “How do you work it?” But he aid not need to be told and hit the target at the first attempt. FRIENDLY WORDS TO NATIVES His Excellency’s friendly words to the island’s natives who had crowded to the New Zealand camps to see the Gover-nor-General brought smiles to warpainted faces. The chief of the Supato tribe was down at the beach with a native warrior to welcome the GovernorGeneral. ‘“Chief Johnny Cricket Cap,” he, has been nicknamed by the New Zealanders as he wears a Canterbury Cricket Club cap given him by a New Zealand missionary. To-day he had left his cap at home but had brought many of his tribe in for the occasion and Sir Cyril’s happy greetings to them were reciprocated with broad smiles of pleasure. His Excellency spoke for some time with those who could converse in English.