AUSTRALIAN VISITORS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20961, 26 February 1930, Page 3

AUSTRALIAN VISITORS.

STUDYING FARMING CONDITIONS. COMMONWEALTH’S DIFFICULT TIME. Coming to Dunedin with the intention of staying for only three days, Mr Cecil Hordern, ot Sydney, and his son, Mr Arthur Hordern, of Caringlo Station, Acw South Wales, have already spent three weeks in the city. In an interview w!th a Daily rimes reporter at the Grand Hotel yesterday they stated that during their trip they were combining business and pleasure, but the wain purpose of their visit was to enable Mr Arthur Hordern to obtain some knowledge of farming conditions in the Dominion. They had come to this part of New Zealand knowing nobody, but they had made so many friends and were being treated with such hospitality that they were finding great difficulty in tearing themselves away.

They had seen a groat deal of Otago and Southland through the courtesy of Messrs Wright, Stephenson, and Co., and had been accompanied on their tour by Messrs A. Clark and G. Robinson (Dunediw„ H-A. Price (Gore), and John Macdonald (Invercargill). They had also visited Bushey Park as the guests of Mr J. A. Johnstone, and had been greatly impressed by the quality of his stock. The day before their visit he had lost his white bull, whoso reputation was worldwide They had just returned from a visit to Edendalc as the guests of Mr Donald Macdonald, and they had seen some of the finest stock in Southland. It had been a great pleasure to sec his famous horse Gigha. There was no horse in Australia of the same class to approach it. They had taken a great interest in the stock which they had seen, and it was their intention when the drought conditions in Australia improved to add to their shorthorn stud some- animals from Bushey Park. ■ They had visited most of the important cheese and butter factories as well as the woollen mills, which produced tho finest materials in the southern hemisphere. They had been sorry to leave southland, which, they thought, was the garden of New Zealand, Mr Cecil Hordern is a member of the well-known Sydney family, which until recently owned the firm of Anthony Hordern and Sons, and although he is a prominent stockbroker, he was not inclined to talk at any length on Australia’s financial position. As an instauce of what Australia was going through he quoted his sons experience on his- station at Cannglc. The station had au area of 44,000 acres, and 10,000 sheep had been grazed last year. ■ There had, however, been only . four inches of - rain in the whole year, but shortly after leaving Australia they had heard that five inches of ram had fallen in 48 hours. At the last shearing there had been only 4500 sheep showing that more thgn half had died There had been only 80 bales of wool) compared with 200 at the previous shearing, and in addition the price of wool had decreased considerably. This was typical of what many farmers in Australia were going through. There was, however, a world-wide depression, which he attributed to overproduction. This applied to .wool, tin, butter, sugar, and even to the labour market, as was instanced by the number of unemployed. Turning to New Zealand’s scenic attractions, Mr i Hordern stated tha< far more tourists should come from Australia to New Zealand. Ho described the’scenery at Lake Te Anau and coming over the Crown Range as marvellous. He had travelled extensively in America and had never seen anything to approach the scenery in the Lakes District. In Australia the man in the street thought that New Zealand was a very small place and that it was likely to " blow up" at any time. Many travelled to Tasmania, but they did not realise that New Zealand came next to England, and that it was very close to Australia. "If you come to New Zealand you have been to -England, he stated. i( It had the same rich pastures and the same hedges and trees.” Scenic resorts were too far apart m Australia, but in New Zealand one saw all classes of scenery in the short distance of 100 miles. . In answer to a question regarding the coal strike, he stated that nobody knew what the end would be. As a matter of fact it did not matter a great deal when it ended, as far as the country itself Was concerned. There were numerous small mines which were meeting the demand, and when the strike was over the men would find that there was not work il* wS 11, aat]l ® e -?P° rt trad? had been lost. When the strike was settled wages would have to come down, and 1 New Zealand also' would ba affected. He agreed with many others that there should be a closer understanding between Australia and New Zealand, and it was a. thousand pities that in every sense they were far apart as they were at present. There seemed to be a feeling of jealousy, but the interests of the countries were the same Australia’s financial position ahv ays affected New Zealand.