AUTHOR'S VISIT

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 22094, 27 April 1935, Page 13

AUTHOR'S VISIT

BEAUTY OF DOMINION ENTHUSIASTIC PRAISE MISSIONS AMONG MAORIS GREAT WORK BEING DONE a Something less than six weeks spent in travelling up and down New Zealand, mostly by motor-car, has made of "Ralph Connor," the well-known" r Canadian author, a most enthusiastic'; admirer both of this country and of its people. When ho is not writing ' books "Ralph Connor'' is the Rev. Dr. Charles W. Gordon, of . St. ' Stephen's, Winnipeg, for many years a distinguished leader of the Canadian <: Presbyterian Church. He returned to £ Auckland with his daughter from the South by car last evening, and they will leave for Australia by the Wanganella on Monday. "The whole thing was one amazing surprise to me," said Dr. Gordon, when discussing his impressions of New Zealand last evening. "I came with the general idea that I would see a beautiful rolling pastoral country, rich in ' fields and flocks, but I had no conception that the beauty would take on such magnificence. We. do not know anything about that in Canada and very little in the United States. We did not expect it. It just broke upon ' us with amazement." Scope For Tourist TraHc Dr. Gordon considers that New Zealanders are not very much alive to the possibilities of promoting tourist traffic from overseas, and he recalled the ' fact that tourist travel brings in nearly 300,000,000 dollars annually to Canada. ' To the suggestion that a large stream of tourists might not be an unmixed blessing he said that no commercialis- ' f ing could spoil such beauty as he had '<■ seen here, and people ought to know it. "Beauty is one of the things that awaken sentiment," he said, "and the bonds of our Empire are more sentiment than business. Beauty and hospitality form bonds of union that last."*

Dr. Gordon was very much impressed with the qualities of the Maori people as he saw them, and also by the character of the "mission work being done among them-. "High-class, unselfish, devoted, courageous, and finel.v : human," he called it. From Auckland last month he went on a tour of a number of the Maori mission stations of the Presbyterian Church, under the guidance of the Rev. J. Laughton, of Taupo, superintendent of the mission, and Mrs. Laughton. Among the sta-: tions they visited ivere those at Whakatane, Te Teko, Waimana, Te Whaiti and Ruatahuna. They saw the schools at work and attended mission services in which the Maoris took part with quite remarkable heartiness. Their eagerness and intelligence agreeably surprised the visitors. Lofty Maori Oratory

Poi dances and hakas were demonstrated, and they were welcomed with much real oratory. At Te Whaiti. for instance, they were much struck with" the lofty and high tone of the speeches of welcome, which were beautifully expressed, with rich imagery and delivered with great dignity. Dr. Gordon took pains to ascertain that this was all to he credited to the chief who spoke, and not to the interpreter "I had the. great privilege of baptising two Maori infants whose parents were members of the Church at Waimana," said Dr. Gordon. "After that I was given a formal ceremonial welcome by the chief and was presented with a most beautiful piu-piu. My daughter received a handbag. The piupiu was one that had been prepared for the Duke of Gloucester, but. as he did not come to that part to receive it, I very fortunately fell heir to it." Dr. Gordon spoke in high praise of the work of Mr. Laughton, who had completely identified himself with tho people among whom he worked and obviously understood their point of view. Sisters of the church he found leading heroic lives under great difficulties and loneliness. "I came away feeling that these people deserved ail possible support," he said;; "I do not know of a mission anywhere that is doing work more successfully than is that mission. It is extremely important that that Avork should be pushed on with all vigour, or you will find many influences at work from the white popu-lation-drawing the Maoris away from tho highest ideals and beginning to operate disastrously upon the rising generation of Maoris." Two Very Beautiful Cities

Dr. and Miss Gordon went on to visit such centres as Napier, Hastings, Palmerston North, Wanganui and New Plymouth, before arriving at Wellington. In the South Island they journeyed as far south as Invercargill. Everywhere they met with the greatest courtesy and kindness, and the hospitality of those with whom th«sy came in contact knew no bounds. Dr. Gordon had civic welcomes and spoke to Rotary, University and other clubs. In Wellington. Christchurch, Dunedin and Invercargill he preached to crowded congregations in the leading Presbyterian churches, in several cases loudspeakers being installed for overflow meetings. In Invercargill three congregations ioined in by this means in one service. Both Dunedin and Wellington Dr. Gordon found to be very beautiful cities. "I find it difficult to think of any cities anywhere with more strikingly beautiful environment," he declared. "Even a city like Edinburgh* which is matchless for its surroundings, cannot produce a greater variety of beauty than these two cities." From Invercargill, with Mr. J. Wesney and Mr. W. Boves, Dr. and Miss Gordon visited the neivly-opened Eglinton Valley road by Lake Te Anau. and they also spent a day on Lake Manapouri. They were enthralled by the beauty of the scenery. They had the honour of being the first party to climb from the Eglinton Road by footpath through the bush to the falls on Falls Creek. Secondary Schools Praised "I find that the great majority of New Zealanders do not know just how marvellously beautiful that country is," commented Dr. Gordon. "It is a great pity it is not better known. When it is, much tourist travel will flow in that direction. You have there one of the beauty spots of the world." He added that he was pleased to see careful precautions being taken against fire. Canada had suffered enormous loss both of beauty and of wealth from forest fires, and too much care could not be exercised to prevent, them. Another aspect of the Dominion's life that has made a favourable impression on Dr.- Gordon has been its secondary education. He considered the high schools he saw very well managed and organised.. They were all good and some of them quite sufierior. Not once during his tour was Dr. Gordon held back or inconvenienced by rain. "We have had a most happy and interesting time," he said, "and shall carry away with us feelings of profound affection and gratitude for thi* country." - Dr. Gordon will preach in St. David's Presbyterian Church to-mor-row morning and in St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church in the evening. In the afternoon he will address a men's gathering at the Young Men's Christian Association rooms.