DUKE IN NORTH

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 22018, 26 January 1935, Page 12

DUKE IN NORTH

DAY of enjoyment

THRILLS IN THE BUSH

GIANT .TREE FELLED

HAULING OF THE LOG

PRINCE AS SPECTATOR

[BY TELEGRAPH —SPECIAL REPORTER] OFONONI, Friday

Real enjoyment is being packed into the closing of the Duke of Gloucester's New Zealand tour. To-day really a picnic outing through the magnificent kauri forests of the Isorth Auckland district. Bushmen were seen strenuously at work felling and hauling giant kauri logs. Meals were taken Jn tho open air. It was obvious to anyone that the Duke thoroughly enjoyed it all. Ho showed a lively interest in all the exhibitions of bush craft arranged for him and chatted and joked .with the men. The Duke, accompanied by members b? his staff, landed at Paihia from TT M \.S. Australia at about 9.30 a.m. He was met on the wharf by the Rt. Hon. J. G. Coates, who was to be his official host for the day. A crowd of holiday-makers and inhabitants gathered in the roadway to greet His Royal Highness with cheers as he stepped into his car,' which he drove himself throughout the day. Mr. Coates accompanied him in the front seat. Absence ol Formality The route led through Ohaeawai and Kaikohe to Trounson Kauri Park, ■which was reached shortly before mididay. There the picnic nature of the outing became dominant. A fairly large crowd of residents had gathered at the entnmce to the park, but there was no formality. The Duke stepped from his tar and chatted cheerfully for several' Sninutes with a number of people, including children, whose eyes were starry with delight. Then, accompanied by •Mr. Coates and with his two Australian terriers, Digger and Sally at his heels;, His Royal Highness strolled through the bush, while the rest of the party enjoyed morning tea in the open #ir. . , The Duke entered his car again rurther down the road and led the way to Nelson's Bush, a few miles past the I;urn-off to Waipoua Forest. A picnic lunch was enjoyed under canvas awnings, after which the party walked down a bush track into a clearing, wheire a giant kauri was ready to be felled. It was a magnificent tree, said •to I*3 600 years old, and nearly 7ft. in diameter, at the base. A Thrilling Moment The trunk had been partly cut through beforehand by the men who are working th« bush, and four strapping; bushmen were readj to give the Duke an exhibition of their craft. First, two axemen attacked the massive trunk.' axes gleaming and thudding; in ryhthm. Then the 10ft. saw was called into operation. Suddenly above the monotonous song of lihe saw came the bushmen s call, "Under below in the gully. Then the leafy monster groaned' and crashed down into the gully with a splintering of branches. The Duke shook hands and talked with the bushmen, and while they were at work his cinema camera was in constant operation.' Then the party climbed up through the bush to witness an. exhibition of log-hauling. Two. huge trunks were lying some distance apart, prepared for transport to the mill. For the hauling of one a - team of nine yoke of bullocks was called into operation, under the eye and whip of a grizzled veteran, lhe log had to pass up a fairly stiff incline and the bullocks made a memorable picture with their massive backs straining to the weight.

Prince Busy With Camera The log did not move easily, but euocess was achieved, and the Cuke a camera recorded practically in full the moving of the log up the slope. OI P e here, Joe,'? called. Mr. Coates to the bullock-driver, and it was as Joe that the old man was introduced to the pulled by a log-hauler engine. It was hardly as impressive as the work of the bullock team, but there was a vivid contrast between the old and the new The Duke's interest was caught and held throughout this visit to the logging camp, and there was no doubting' the impression he made on the crowd of spectators. It was a wonderfully friendly gathering, and the DuUe was not the least in friendliness.