MADAME ADA CROSSLEY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVI, Issue 13983, 12 February 1909, Page 6

MADAME ADA CROSSLEY.

HER STAY AT ROTORUA.

DELIGHTED WITH THE MAORIS.

;- 1 worm go back to Rotorua. to-m orrow if I could," declared Madame Ada Growler to a Herald representative who waited upon her last night after her return, from' the Hot Lake, district. -'How anybody could come t„ New Zealand without visit ing that Wonderland. I cannot imagine"* It was easily seen that the contralto's enthusiasm was genuine. She has come back thoroughly delighted with all she saw during her week in Rotorua Much of her conversation concerned th« Maoris _Sne found them kind, interest ing, and intelligent. The Maoris real much of the great singer, performing hakaa and dances for her delectation. Madame C-rosslev bought the hakas very weird a „ d wonderlul. and the canoe figure of the noi dance thoroughly delighted her But it seems to have been the native children who left the greatest impression. "They used to crowd round me," she said -"'with such quaint inquisitiveness. Anvthinir I wore that sparkled seemed to take their fancy. I wore few jewels dining my bob" day, but one day I had to produce all I had to satisfy the children s curiosity I w™ astonished at the remarkable voices of some of these children. One or two quite littl« girls had excellent contralto voice! I hey all sang with a peculiarly natural or native timbre in the voice One night my husband and I sat for two hours listening to a group of the children sin ing. I hey sang all sorts of thin™ usil L a very limited scale. On another "occasion 1 played accompaniments for several Maoris at Maggies whare. and then santr them a . little Irish song. Oh, I think they are delightful people. They all called me 'Madame Aita. " *

Of Rotorua itself Madame spoke with' equal enthusiasm. She .Mid that it rompared meet favourably with the finest Co*i. tinental spas. "If only you don't spoil it by artificial means." she said. "RotoMia. will always be perfect. The natural wonders of the place are all-sufficient, I have never seen anything like it anywhere The scenic grandeur, the geysers, the w m *. derful terrace*, and, oh, those awful pools of boiling mud! I think the baths and sanatorium are most up to date." Here Dr. Muecke intervened with a remark to the effect that the waters of Rotorua, both for drinking and for external curative application, could not be equalled anywhere. He spoke with knowledge of the subject. During her visit Madame C'rossley, .her husband, and the members of her concert party were photographed in native cos . tume. _ They dressed as chieftainess and chieftains, in handsome kiwi mats, and holding meres and other native curios. The gentlemen, without exception, -scout to the extent of being "made up." That is_ to say, they allowed Maggie's brother Dick to ornate their visages with imitation tattoo marks. The resulting photographs are amongst the treasured relics of a trip which in every sense, Madame declared, was a very happy one. Another treasure the great contralto acquired was a piece of greenstone, sent to her attached to a bouquet at her concert in Rotorua, by Maggie, the guide.

Madame Crossley will evidently prove a good advertisement for Rotorua. Before our representative took his leave, she expressed her determination to return to New Zealand at the earliest opportunity.