THE HOLIDAY SEASON.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIII, Issue 13368, 24 December 1906, Page 8

THE HOLIDAY SEASON.

VISITORS ARRIVING BY RAIL

AND STEAMER.

ATTRACTIONS FOR PLEASURESEEKERS. That tiie holiday season is with us is amply illustrated by the influx of country visitors to town by rail and boat during the past few days, and the bustle and actirity in the streets. Many more will come in to-day, and as far as can be seen the tradespeople of Auckland will experience an unusually busy Christmas and New Year season, while those who cater for the amusement of holidaymakers will find no lack of support.

To-day and Tuesday and Wednesday tlie special excursions by rail and steamer will be run as already Indicated.

On Christmas Day there will be the Orakei Maori races, the Steele-Payne bellringers will open at His Majesty's Theatre, there will be a recital of. sacred music at St. Matthew's Church, and Messrs. Fuller and Sons will hold a sacred concert at the Opera House.

On Boxing Day there will be the Auckland Racing Club's Cup Day at Ellerslie, and a largo number of special harbour and sea, excursions, and in the evening the Brough-Flemming Comedy Company open at His Majesty's Theatre with" Dr. Wake's Patient," and Miss Marie Narelle will commence her " Irish Song" ■, season at the Choral Hall. The Central Mission picnic to Motutapu will also be held on Boxing Day.

On Thursday the motor reliability contest commences, and the Auckland Trotting Club will open its meeting.

On Friday, at eight p.m., the Auckland Swimming Club's gala will be held at Al-bert-street Baths.

NAVVIES COME TO TOWN.

A CHRISTMAS VISIT.

Between .700 and 800 navvies employed on the Main Trunk railway came to town on Saturday. They came from all portions of the railway works, between Maketote viaduct and beyond, and Oio and Raurimu. A special train brought them on from Taumarunui, the Public Works train taking them from Raurimu to that station. There were, eleven carriages altogether, but most of them were covered in trucks, which many of the navvies did not appreciate afc all. " They might have given us decent carriages," said one of the pick and shovel men to a representative of the Herald. "Wo paid for our passage, you know."

"How much did you pay?" th© navvy was asked.

"We paid 2s return by the PublicWorks train and XQ& 7d for the ticket from Taumarunui to Auckland and back; in all 16s 7d, and quite enough too."

In justice to the Railway Department it may bo pointed out that the second-class return from Taumarunui to Auckland is 216, and that the- distance is 175 miles each way. Moreover, the pressure of a Christmas business severely taxed the rolling stock. A special engine brought tho train on from Frankton. There were very few stoppages en route.' " '

; When the train reached Frankton there was a-stoppage of twenty-five minutes, long enough for most of the navvies who 1 had not had a glass of ale for many 'months to lay in a' good supply for the rest !of the journey, consequently the floors of the carriages were cork-strewn, and the 'passing of., the train was marked by empty, ""bottle's" at varying intervals, pretty well all the way down. At Auckland station there were some hundreds of empty •bottles dropped over the side. The boat train from Onehunga came in just . before the navvies' special, and the - people who had arrived by that train and those who had gone to meet them were 'on the platform worrying over the luggage, and down upon them swooped the navvies. They had comparatively very little in the guard's van, but, the scene on the platform at that time was particularly animated, . and the sudden rush of work gave the station staff as much as they wanted to do. Incidentally the need for a larger station was strongly emphasised. In course of conversation with some of the navvies the reporter gathered that most of the men who came down were single men, the married men not being able to afford a trip to town just yet. Most of the English navvies had remained, behind. They were settling down much better than formerly to life in the wildest, part of the King Country, 1 but were not happy, if what was told to the reporter was to be relied upon. "There are some very good men among the newchums," said one of the holiday-makers and there arc a lot of duffers; 'but they are all more or less discontented." ' : ''

There was a demand for return tickets on the platform. "Going back, old man?" was the question asked. of a navvy with a bundle under his arm.

"I think so," was the reply. "Why?" "Well, I'll give you five'bob for vour return ticket. Anyone want to sell return tickets.''

But the new arrivals, were too busy just then to make any sales, and they streamed out of the station into Queen-street to taste once more the. delights of life in the city. Asked when they were due to return several of the navvies answered to the effect that they would return when fchev had spent all their money.

SATURDAY NIGHT IN THE STREETS.

A BCSY SCENE.

Saturday night in. the streets was a .small edition of Christmas Eve. There were enormous crowds in both Queen-street and Karaugahape Road. and the business of .Christmas present-buying was undertaken by a good many people, judging by the full shops, in order to leave more freedom for seeing the streets to-night. Immediately after dusk there were not very many people in the • fit reels, but their numbers were swelled alter eight o'clock, when locomotion in both the thoroughfares abovementioned was very difficult for pedestrian and vehicular traffic. The tramcars were crowded ; in fact, the business on the cars was exceptionally heavy for this time of the year, and exceeded that of the Saturday before Christmas last year. The crowd was an exceptionally orderly one, more orderly than last year, in the opinion of the police. This is shown bv the number of persons arrested for drunkenness. They totalled 14, which is about the average for an ordinary Saturday night, and really less than the Saturday night average of six months ago. One man, a visitor, has to thank the police for taking care of him. He was found in a. state of hilarious intoxication in Upper Union-street. He had shed some of his garments, and among them his coat was missing. As he was, quite incapable of taking care of himself, and was a post to everybody else, he was locked up. His coat was found in Freeman's Bay some hours afterwards. In a coat pocket was a small tin box containing £17 10s. One of the most striking features of the crowds that swarmed the streets was the apparent absence of poverty. In very few cities of the size of' Auckland would 'such a comparatively well-fed and well dressed body of people (taking them as a whole) be seen; with no beggars and -no signs of want or privation to be seen written in the faces of the ( hundreds who paced the pavements and lingered before the brightlylighted shop windows.