ROUND ABOUT WELLINGTON

Otago Witness, Issue 3755, 2 March 1926, Page 34

ROUND ABOUT WELLINGTON

By PENCABKO*(Sprcially Written for the Witxtss.) February 23. The modern host is rather casual if he wishes to be in the mode. Not so the officers on a Japanese man-of-war or training ship. They are glad to see you, and they say so, and what is more they bustle about offering proof. They do not" assume that one has seen all this before, and therefore must be bored. Au contraire. “You would like to see the fencing ? Then come this way.” “Have you seen the jujitsu? Would you like to see this—or that—or the other? We are here to show you all. Please come!” Amiable people, very alert, take one hither and thither. Sometimes they wear spectacles. (This is the result of reading Japanese print, one supposes). One need not be labelled “Important person,’’ nor is it necessary (though desirable) to be a young and pretty girl. Enough that you are a guest. You come away feeling no end of a fellow, and quite certain that they like you. Only the perfect host conveys that impression. His Imperial Japanese Majesty’s training ship, Iwate, has been in port. Captain Ywiichi Yedahara and A -he senior officers held an At Home. Portions of Wellington’s beauty and her chivalry attended. A prepared programme proved most diverting. The Japanese youth is strong. His prowess in national sport is admirable. He is in good trim, and would be a tough proposition in a street row. He speaks the English language very much better than the average New Zealand boy speaks French, and he is not afraid to practise on those with whom he comes in contact. The pleasant custom of giving pretty trifles breaks down that barrier of reserve behind which most of us hide. To-day, Wellington walks about with a gay little ribbon in its button hole, or a bright chrysanthemum on its coat, and treasures a tiny cup which contained a sip of sake. This national beverage was served with other refreshments in the ward room. The jujitsu performers were comfortably clad in garments which might be accurately described as white pyjamas, shortened. The fencers wore the correct dress for the occasion—a long skirt with a light bodice which looks as if it were made of two cardboard plates. The helmet has a chain vigor. The ship’s band performed most ably, closing with the Japanese National Anthem, God Save the Kins, and Auld Lang Syne. The day was dull and windy and the sea choppy as it often is just now, for we are enduring miseries with the north wind. But no one seemed to mind. The veil had been lifted just ever so little, and our Japanese ally can bo visualised. Wd are prepared, to agree that “he is a jolly good fellow.” What is the gender of a man-of-war, and why is it called “she?” The form of this question could be improved, but the Education Department will be too busy farewelling Sir James Parr. It won’t ’ ave time to pick holes and be afraid that this column will be damaging the young. It is admitted now that Sir James really is to be the new High Commissioner. He will be missed here. Yvhen he is in residence at Molesworth street his daily esutom is to walk rather early to the office. His is a familiar figure, and the man in the street is rather pleased to see him. These born optimists are scarce, and their smile brightens up the place. February 25. Zane Grey came to New Zealand to get a broad-bill sword fish, and he has done it. Russell is all agog. This scribe has been reading “New Zealand,” by Pembar Reeves. His reference to “the beautiful Haven, Ivororareka, now called Russell,” is particularly interesting just now. Kororareka to-day is a very quiet little place, though a Minister of the Crown did visit it recently, and heard differing opinions about a wharf from resid' .ts, but between 1830 and 1840 it was the hub of the universe, or certainly the most important place H New Zealand. Says Pembar Reeves: “As many as a thousand whites lived there at times. On one occasion 35 large whaling ships wero counted as they lay off its beach in the

bay. 'The crews of these found among the rumahope and Maori hourig of Rororareka a veritable South Seas paradise. The Maori chiefs of the neighbourhood wandered to their vices and grew rich thereby. So outrageous were the 6cenes in the place that its own people had to organise some form of government. This took the form of a Vigilence Committee, each member of which came to the meetings armed with musket and Cutlass. Their tribunal was, of course, that of John Lynch,” etc. There are no rumshops now, but there is ice cream and there are tea kiosks and a picture show. An enterprising little boy took a snap shot of Zane Grey one afternoon, and ran round with it to the proprietor of the show, who put it on the film then and there. That night Zane Grey, with the rest of the community, went to the pictures, and was genuinely surprised to eee his own portrait. Visitors to Wellington who are interested in books and old treasures and histories should spare an hour or two for the Turnbull Library which is safely housed in a brick building not one minute from the Government Buildings. For some unexplained reason some people hesitate about knocking at the door for admission. They declare they feel as if they were intruding. The place is there for the public, and the people in it are always ready to conduct visitors through tie rooms and show the treasures. This famous library is one of Wellington’s greatest assets, and should not be omitted when the tourist goes sightseeing. If you are a reputable person (and I am sure you must Le) then by application you may get a reader’s ticket from the librarian, Mr Andersen, who has drawn the attention of the public, this very week, to the fact that in the library there is a ‘‘copy of a book mentioned in a recent cable as extremely rare.” This is Zimmerman’s “Narrative of Captain Cook’s Third Voyage.” Zimmerman was an ordinary seaman on the Resolution. The copy is dated 1781, and. may be the only existing copy of that date. This scribe has seen it. The narrative is in very clever German print, beautifully bound as are all the books in this priceless collection bequeathed to Wellington by a son on whom Dame Fortune smiled. The book is kept in a huge case with row's of other work? connected with Cook’s voyages, including h ; 3 journals, edited by various distinguished people, including Captain Wharton, R.N. One copy of Wharton’s book is on large paper, and bound in wood take# from “Cook’s tree” on Clapham Common. Anyone desiring to read Cook’s voyages written in the Russian language may do so—also in French, lie may see the actual log kept by Captain Coook on the Eagle ia the year 1756 and 1757. He may observe too that people used to write more clearly in those days than they do now. En passant he may take a peep at Marsden’s Journal (in manuscript), recording his 1819 visit. He may see with his own eyes the portrait of Marsden from which, all other pictures of that great man have been taken. He may ask to see copies of some pictures painted ty Augustus Earle, who was daughtsman on the Beadle. Those pictures are of peculiar interest this year, because many of them are of Bay of Islands scenes. They are beautifully coloured and extremely valuable. The European gentlemen in top hats who are chatting with the Maoris in their pahs look as if thev had stepped straight out of the Ark. These are faithful records, so one must believe that these early travellers in New Zealand did actually cling to the conventional dress of the age. Not very long ago I saw an English girl cruising Tound the Bay of Islands on a fishing launch. Her shingled hair was uncovered. She wore thick stockings, knee breeches, and a rough cardigan coat, and she was gracefully smoking a cigarette and fitted into the picture very prettily.