WHANGAREI MONSTER PICNIC.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XVII, Issue 5657, 5 January 1880, Page 5

WHANGAREI MONSTER PICNIC.

Ox Friday, January o in aoocrd the expressed wishes of the inhabit T this place, the p.s Arcrv'e mir « "ltantj of trip to the 'S an ClCa "iion liberality, the management allowed school children a f ree ticket. NoiwiV* standing this, the excursion mmt have b ee "n a payable oue, a 3 no fewer tb-»n M invested their half-crowns in ordef to ° it ! ne*s the pranks of the vooDiyster-' Tt m be fairly said that Ar vle 7 very obliging_ staff of offices an"d orew we" the media ot pleasure to fully 300 in,?;,,; duals. Captain Crawford, e * every little ooe in the p U,e, stayed unW the last moment, and when he s-arted paternal heart mu<t have been moved for he r oes of the next generation started up a wild medley of sounns, sach as " Leave off now, "The sweet by and-by," Please gl ve me a penny," "ni bet you adollar you don't," &c . On the j Qa J rne y down the energies of Mr. BntJer, provedorJ" were tax-d to the utmost; for in an a-sem blafie of 300 individuals there were numbers both huugry all d thirsty, but this gtnt.eman proved him»elf eqiM to the occasion. On arrival at the 11, ads the settlers vied with the ship's company in their attentions to the visit, rs. Captain Crawford, notwithstanding Ina exertions onths previous day at the racecourse, won golden opinions for his attention to the olive branches, and yonng li.lies ia general Indeed, it was notxi-d that he was very particular that no one but himself should lift the latter luto the boats, but, of course this was ouly hecau e he was r, sponsible for their safety.

As soon as all were landed the different wreaths of curling blue smoke indicated many a spot where any who might present themselves would he surfe of, not onlv an abundance of good things', bat a hearty welcome too. Going down, as I did, for the express pu pase of taking notes I was greatly amu«d by watching the different characters that aie mseparab.y connected with all colonial pic ics. There wera tlii mothers fluttering round their progeny a .«l counting the heads, in order to ascertain tha f . the proper number of chickens were under the maternal wing ; and there were the padres stagger ng tlong u'.der the w-ight of their resi'onsibilites. which seemed to consist of nearly everything under the sir-, not forgetting bottled " Bull-dog" amlea t, and then there were tee hoys (mischi -vous young imps) expert at every conceivable species of mischief, and what they did not know the girls would put them np to ; and I must nst forget the handy, ust ful xo.ns man. who is at eveiy picuie. How stlf-dtnying he is ! There is no kissing in the ring for him to-day. No ; woo;l and water have to be provided, the turkey carvt-d, mustard mixed, &<•.; and if he does not attnn.l to the3e little things, the chances are that they will be left und'one, for all the misses of IS are pairing-off with the mastei-3 of from 19 t:> 9:), and so he has to sacrifice his own comfort for the general good. During the afterm on all sorts of fun were carried on—dancing, swinging', flirting, oysterinj;, and even gum-digging, one of the boys bringing on board with him a nugget from eight to ten pounds in we : ght. But it was on the return voyage that the fuu was at its height. The gentlemen were just suffi ;iently excited to make them willing to go through lire or water in order to prove their devotion to the fair sex ; and the ladies, agaiD, being thoroughly tired, required tho supporting arm of their masculine protectors. It must be confessed they got it to their heart's content; and curious scenes were witnessed when at times Captain Crawford would wickedly set fire to a blue light. At a few minutes after 10 o'clock we arrived at the wharf, and in a very short time the Argyle bad discharged her living fraight.

I Bhould be doing an injustice if I omitted to make mention of Mr. J. T. Keyburn, the energetic agent of the steamer. There can be no doubt that, on this particular day, his office was not a sinecure. It was very amusiDg to watch his countenance as soma smirt mis 3 with a very long train would present herself as one of the school children. He would stroke his beard, scratch his head, but, being a parent himself, he would, with a benevolent- " Bless you, my child," pass them on, and then fall to speculating aa to whather her mother's dresses wuu!d fit the bouncing, precocious child. Everyone was pleased with the 'rio, and it is to be hoped that it will not bo the last.—[Own Corresdeut, January 3.]