MR. JOHN FOSTER FRASER.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVI, Issue 14209, 4 November 1909, Page 6

MR. JOHN FOSTER FRASER.

ARRIVING AT AUCKLAND TO-DAY.-

There are very few men iof 40 ■ whoTbaviflf travelled so fax and crowded so much ithalttM is interesting, instructive and new into« 1 their lives as the distinguished explorer aSB» writer, Mr. John Foster Fraser, who;wilr. i '3 arrive in Auckland this morning to enter upon a short series of illustrated lectures, prior to his departure for England to'coasp£ test, ,in i the . Conservative ' interest, ! : : a seat>- I in the House of Commons. Mr. Fostei/ Fraser has been everywhere worth going to, ■ and has i met everybody ;of any importance in the modern world, in the 47 countries he lias visited, and lie came to Ays- i I tralasia 48th country— few mmitra '"■■'• ago to collect at first hand' the necessary >§ material to write a book. on the Commonwealth and the Dominion on the lines of i "America at ! Work," "The Real Siberia,''' !jp " Canada As It Is," and "Russia in Sero^sm lution." V ■ Mr. Fraser is a Scot, having been horn in! Edinburgh some; 40 years ago, and he hast method in the travel mania which often' starts him'off at, a moment's notice, pro-! bly for the other ' end of the '• planet. Her' makes a point of getting in : touch < with th»v£ real people on the land, as he has beero_ doing this week in his motor : tour through.! the country lying: between Napier, Taupe} Rotorua, and v Auckland—observing their, condition and * talking' over their problefißJj«| A son of the manse, -he began work asjalfc journalist. -oh a > small provincial 'i weekly* paper, reporting Primitive v Methodist foyer; feasts, doing the inquests and the localj " drunks," and minding the editor's fire, for the remunerative ) salary of 4s , per' week.' S He lost - his first position either through' showing more interest in the boating'*n<¥.;tf] fishing than in the editor's fire or because he put on " airs" arid fancied he was worth 1 ss. ..* He drifted about the country for someV time, changing from weekly to dailyV journalism," and in 1892 he secured a berth? as odd-hand reporter in the London Law! Courts and the Gallery of the House oft Commons. Once his foot was upon the: bottom rung of the journalistic ladder of. ( London he found no difficulty in climbing to the top. i '•;'■: The winter of 1895 was spent 'by Mr^ ; Fraser on tramp ships in the Mediterra-s ;| nean, "•; in diving into :; Tunis, * discovering!-; Egypt, learning how. little he knew—being v a parson's —about Biblical - affairs bjj ■■:■' wandering into Palestine. He Asia Minor, actually discovering an ancient Greek colony-city; ; and was nearly cut to * pieces by Turkish troops ; because fhe ent-;; deavoured to accompany them i when l 4 they went to Marasch to indulge in I* Armenian'; atrocities. :-■".': He afterwards went to Constantinople .-: and saw the Sultan. : The' : general results ;" were 'a - : fine hob"day,l tKa||l flooding of every magazine - with travel $|y articles, and a slight profit of about £100 > on the transaction. ..., . . -'.'-, Travel fever coming on again, Mr. Fraser, : went across; Siberia* in 1901, and came tack; via . Manchuria and Mongolia in semi-dis-guise, sleeping on tops of waggons, being arrested at last, and never, having.sJwjH| clothes off for 17 days.- In 19*32 he visited ' .America (for the third time), arid wrote ft ■ j series, of articles, entitled "America at Work," which have since attracted much attention and won much approval in book form. Mr. Fraser has many other travels " in his mind's eye." -V' - Mr. Fraser .'is married to a very charm* ing American lady, and has two daughters/ and a house full of gruesome curios. He- , ; is a i Fellow; of the Royal Geographical* Society. :r •' ' c. ;,.■, ■■■ ■ - ■■'■■•-'•vi^-^^W The Auckland series of lectures will be the last given by Mr. Foster Fraser in Australasia, ; The first lecture, " Actofs Siberia and a Dash Through Manchuria," will be J given this evening, commencing at eight : o'clock, "at the Choral Hall, when a very \ large attendance is anticipated. "Through Russia' in Revolution" will be the subject to-morrow evening, and " America Up to': Date" on Saturday night, while a." special/; ,'..; matinee, "The Women ;of Many Landfi, will be given at three, p.m. on Saturday. All the', lectures are elaborately and magnificently illustrated with pictures taken gJ§im Mr. Fraser during his travels. y ' ;^tMm^- . ■<' -■'- "■*":. — t —: - ' *£gßsffl\