"THE MERRY WIDOWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 18709, 15 May 1924, Page 6

"THE MERRY WIDOWS.

A PACIFIC JAUNT.

THE QUEST OF ADVENTURE

SIX LADIES IN AGREEMENT.

SECOND LONG TOUR ABROAD.

Purely Pacific in every sense is the ocean tour now being made by a party of six American widows,- who reached Aucfc. land yesterday by the Ulimaroa ttan Sydney, thus completing one stage of i n extremely pleasant jaunt around these, lands of the Southern Seas. There is a general impression that even two women can never agree, but the** six women/ apparently ail afflicted with the wanderlust and free to follow their inclinations and desire to see strange and foreign lands, have given a sad jolt to this age-old libel on their sex. When they gathered on the Central Wharf yeJ.terdav they appeared to be a jolly, care- littf a party, and their attitude to one another seemed to show they were the best of pals.

Just how they came to be associated in their pleasant venture was not stated, but as some of them come from Montana and the rest from Southern California, there mu3t be a leader and organiser among them. To the casual acquaintance, how. ever, the master mind does not obtrude. As indicative of the congenial frame of mind of many American women, it is worthy of mention that this is by no means the first tour these adventurous ladies have undertaken together. A vear ago they set off from New York, "and voyaging through the Panama Canal sailed off to the Far East by way of their own Pacific ports. China, Japan, the East Indies, and the Mediterranean were visited in turn, but on again reaching the American Continent they sighed for more worlds to conquer, and the islet-studded Pacific seemed to hold out the greatest allurement.

Setting out on their second great adventure they descended upon the almost perfect island of Tahiti. Their first obser-' vations of the Polynesian people made a. great impression upon them, and their determination was to see more of the enchanting isles of the Pacific. By the next south-going steamer they journeyed to Rarotonga, and so on to Wellington. A motor tour through the North Island took, them to all the important sights and wonders, and from Auckland they sailed for Sydney. Returning to this country by the Ulimaroa they established their pop. ularity among the passengers, by whom they cam© to be known as the "Men?Widows," a term which greatly amused them. On Monday next these amazing globetrotters will sail by the Tofua for Fiji, where they hope to see some* of the native celebrations in honour of the visit of the Special Service Squadron, and after exhausting the possibilities of the islands of the Western Pacific they go on to Honolulu and so home again. ■'■'■'■■ Not the least amazing thing about these trips is that the ladies are still all widows and as eight-seeing is their main objective it seems hardly fair to say just who they are. : v •• .;,"•<•