Gossip from Sydney.

Free Lance, Volume XV, Issue 801, 5 November 1915, Page 16

Gossip from Sydney.

Dear Chris tabel, — JUST now an Ideal Home Exhibition is drawing crowds of visitors to the Town Hall. The New South Wales Institute of Architects are the ©riginators of this ten days' display of modern bricks and mortar.

If the cave woman suffered many inconveniences in her primitive burrow in the forest, she was at least eparedthe toil that civilisation crowds oh the average housewife of moderate means. In a vague way this is beginning to be recognised. The question, "Is it worth while?" which Mrs. Suburbs, exhausted by a long morning's attack on dust and the commissariat department, asks kerself in the sweat of her brow, may yet be answered in the affirmative.

Electricity is the wizard of the age. In the architects' big show it is the force which is mainly used as a laborsaver. Unfortunately there is the first cost to consider. Necessarily, a landlord. is not a philanthropist, and the exnense of addine electric appliances is considerable. Some day it will become an invariable help in presumably hapoy homes, and Mother will (perhaps) merely press a button, and the dinner will 'be served. But the time is not yet.

The State Governor opened the Ideal Home Exhibition with a speech of the usual informative nature. His Excellency is essentially a student, and in mechanics of any kind he appears to revel. So he had a ' show to his liking in the electric contrivances in the basement of the Town Hall. Upstairs, _ the body of the hall had, as its centre-piece,

a model _ cottage. This was life-size. Though it was nicely fitted with many ingenious labour-saving devices, it suffered from the serious defects of a narrow hall and very little verandah.

The exhibition contains a varied show of miniature models and plans of villas already erected. But similar defects of small windows, and porticos rather than verandahs, prove that _ our architects stick too closely to designs suitable to the English climate. Yet the British merchant, who made his home in old Sydney, invariably built airy bungalows on the Anglo-Indian plan. They were well built, and to-day constitute the noolest and most desirable homes in a few long settled suburbs.

Once more the Union Jack floats over Grovernm-enE House, Macquariestreet. The grounds have been a good deal out since the hurried exit of Lord Denman. Still, the historic old building is intact. The Governor and his daughters took over the place in a formal manner a few mornings ago. They went up to the tower, where Miss

Strickland ran the old flag up io( its accustomed post. The family spends the summer, as usual, at Moss Vale. In March they will probable more into the picturesque house which has had a narrow escape of being turned into a museum.

Society folks who live near "Crahbrook," which is now the lately defunct residence of Governors of New Souh Wales,., are greatly perturbed. The decision to turn this large and airy mansion overlooking Hose 13a.y into a convalescent hospital for soldiers, is. not to their liking. Human selfishness is a queer kink. The men who have come home to us, broken and maimed, deserve the best the State can do for them. Fortunately, in this case, the local residents were not consulted.

An energetic committee is handling Sydney's Queen business. The press has not been warmly . sympathetic re this notion of raising extra money for Allies Day on November 19th. But in some respects we are a Conservative people, in spite of the free and easy life

of our seaside resorts. For the small nations that starve under the enemy's iron hoof we want every shilling we can raise. '

There is only a division of opinion as -* to the manner in which we set, to work for . our Allies. • However, the Queen competition is in full swing, in spite of the hypercritical suggestion that it is infra .dig. At present Mrs, Sargent, of Sargent's, Ltd., leads the voting.' Mrs. Danks, Mayoress of Waterloo., is second. In the fifth position is Mrs. George "Black, wife of the Chief Secretary. Dorothy Brunton' is 7th on the list.

Of course, the above figures may be reversed from day to day. It is a pathetic reminder of the fickle memory or the public to note that, at date of writing, Maggie Moore is at the hottorn of the poll. She is the chosen of the Professional Musicians. One would like to see this old favourite amongst the first six to top the poll after the Queen. In this case, Maggie would give us a humorous travesty *on the duties of a maid of honour.

Martin-place is to be as much like a foreign market place -as the decorators can make it on Allies Day. Mr. McCrae, the Government Architect, is designing the stalls. They will be representative of all the nations on our side of the struggle. At the top of this great central. facade will he the coronation pavilion Given fine weather, Sydnev is going to do itself proud for our gallant Allies on November 19th.

Lady Helen Ferguson recently open ed a convalescent home for soldiers on the heights of Darlinghurst. _ A large two-storey .house, standing in. grounds, Rose Hall, until a few months ago, was a private school for hoys, it has been turned into a delightful resthouse for nerve-shattered and slowly recovering wounded. The new A.JJ.o., Captain Haskett-Smith, not long recovered from wounds in walked at the vioe-regal lady's side. He is young and serious-looking, and bears in his manner traces of the strenuous days he -spent in Flanders. Like other convalescent soldiers, the English visitor wJI return to the fighting line after n-• health trip here. -* * * '•

' The much-talked-about fete in the beautiful riverside grounds of * ar ~ alia" (Miss Eadith Walker's mansion) -was not a fiasco. About £150 is likely to go to a Battalion Comforts Fund as a result. ' But the weather did its worst. Torrents of rain' fell at- the critical moment of embarkation. An hour s voyage by river ferry came _to an end as the weather cleared, but it was then too late for long-distance travellers. The Governor-General arrived about 4 o'clock in khaki. He has been inspecting a good many camps since _ his arrival here, and is generally garbed m the now fashionable buff raiment. Such inspections are not of any great value.

Governors are in the hands of guides when they go a visiting soldiers tents. They see and hear only what iS considered good for them. It is generally a case of being "Greatly ed with my visit to Camp So-and-bo, There is no help for it. But it is. often. fl.TTiTisrn# jto hear, from the soldiers themselves, how very, little any highly placed Personage sees of the real state of affairs. .

The society girls who "waited, in the tea tent at "Yaralla" were gowned in white, with pretty . frivolous hats that wore, rather a . wilted expression after the heavy rain earlier in the day. The feature of their 4 appearance was the apron. This dainty extra was made jn ninon. Its two large pockets looked too fragile to 'hold even 1 the clash or, silver . coin that rolled into them. But the charming tones' of pale, orange, cerise, or blue in which' these filmy garments were made, added greatly to the charm of the white frocks. They were made to come up to the corsage in a point. * * * * That strenuous enthusiast, Professo" David, of Sydney "University,' is going to the war. He leaves as Major in a mining engineers' corps. He is an exceedingly virile and picturesqu-e personality—one of the. lean, tough elderly ■man who are worth any number of slack youngsters. He must he nearly sixty summers young. One of the most popular recruiting speakers in the ; recent, pathetic efforts to light the fire of pat-, riotism in ice-cold shirkers, 'he is now going to do his own bit at the Front. Few men of his age are better fitted for the hardships of the present campaign. He came back to Sydney after a year at the Antarctic, looking rosy and (for him) quite fat. His presence will be an exhilarating tonic to his comrades m the dark hours that may be before them in the Balkans. * * * * An ex-New Zeala,nder, Mr. Blythe, formerly of Napier, is one of the most prominent workers on the Allied Uay committee. .. „ „ * . * * . * Stripes show signs of dying slowly by reason of their exotic popularity a few weeks ago. Floral ninons are gradually taking pride of place. Those with bill© or rose posies on a black ground are

greatly favoured by the more exclusive dressmakers. Lovely little vests of fine white lace, slashed with silk to match the floral design, pdve them a very French appearance. * * * Mrs. Anthony Hordern, one of Sydney's pretty young matrons, leaves shortly for Egypt. Her husband has gone on ahead to take a hand in administering the Red Cross funds in the land of flies and long mummified Pharoahsi •** * * Another traveller by the same boat will be Mrs. John Toohey. widow of the wealthy brewer of that name. Mrs. Toohey, a tall and handsome elderly lady, has about' the best dressed head of beautiful white hair .one.sees...at, social- gatherings. In addition to her attractive exterior, sha has been a consistent worker for Red Cross, comforts. The rest and change will excite her to fresh efforts for suffering humanity when she reaches Cairo. * * *' * - A Sydney girl. Miss Constance Carson, who has been a prominent toiler for a Battalion Comforts Fund, .goes to Egypt this month. Her brother has been reported missing for some time, in the Gallipoli struggle. A faint hope that, somehow, the devoted sister may get news of the lost. one, is inspiring an optimistic gleam-in the Carson family. ' * * * * The New South Wales Country Press Association is holding its annual, conference in Sydney. It had, at its. opening, Lord Mayor Richards and the Consuls for France and Belgium. , The last two visitors are unique additions to an up-country press gathering. But diplomatic circles realise how' valuable is the indirect assistance even small papers can give to a great cause. Yours discursively, Bona.