THIRD EDITION. INTERESTING VISITORS

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LV, Issue 16874, 11 February 1929, Page 11

THIRD EDITION. INTERESTING VISITORS

THE WANDERLUST'S PARTY THEIR HOME ACTIVITIES When New Zealanders hear ranches spoken of they picture huge rolling expanses of prairie lands in the. western States of America, but, apparently a ranch in the California!! sense is limited to SCO acres. It is on such a holding that Mr. Harvey Bissell, owner of the yacht Wanderlust, carried on Ins hobby of growing choice fruits for the top of the Los Angeles market, where millionaires fete their guests upon the most luscious products of California's wonderful climate. At La Crescenta, where the Bissell ranch lies, the march of modern progress lias effected a great change in the last 20 years, for whereas'when Mr. Bissell took up the holding there were only about 300 people resident in the vicinity, the population now approaches 8000, and includes folk from all parts of the United States. LIFE: ABOARD YACHT.

In the yacht Wanderlust, the party has travelled* some 18,000 or 20,000 miles, and before they reach homo Mr. Bissell and his companions hope to visit Samoa and Fiji, calls which will add many more thousands of miles to their itinerary. The sailing master is Captain Brusson, who makes a hobby of collecting curiosities for museum presentation, en his travels through the South Seas, lie plays an excellent game of chess, and with Mr. Bissell whiles away many golden hours in the tropics over tho board, while the young ladies of the party take their tricks at the wheel. In Miss Dorothy Arm Bissell and Miss Eunice Bissell, daughter and niece of the owner, the master has two able mates, who "take the sun" independently each day. and practice the routine' of navigation with skill and precision, besides taking a hand, at tho wheel! They have other occupations, too, for needlework and reading occupy much of their time, and their life aboard the. Wanderlust is such as to inculcate habits of tidiness and the gift of patience. Miss Dorothy Bissell is studying the French language under the tuition of Captain Brusson, and ho gives her an excellent report as a student. Her reading is largely derived from a list of hooks recommended by an educational authority in the States, and her range of subjects includes only a small proportion of fiction, historical and gcographicay subjects being featured. PLENTY TO OCCUPY ATTENTION. Extending her supervision over the whole of the vessel, Mrs. Bissell finds plenty to occupy her attention, too, for she has a two-year-old baby to care for, as well as tho housekeeping of the yacht to oversee. At. home she is a clubwoman who has officiated as prcident of her organisation at La Crescenta, and she finds specially appealing such topics as home economics, child welfare, and kindred subjects. Flowers have a great appeal for her, and some typical New Zealand blooms presented to her by a Gisbornc resident gavo her much delight. Her tastes arc not altogether confined to such things, however, for sho knows what it is to trek into the desort on an exploring jaunt with her husband and family, using a. mule train for gene val transport-, and carrying only a small weight dl' gear for each member of tho party. It is Mr. Bissell who naturally engages the attention of a visitor, as the owner of the Wanderlust, for his hobby is work of any kind, and includes the care of the engines and a general supervision of the mechanical fitments of tho yacht. He. is not without experience in the, classification of land, and his opinion of the Tovertv Bay flats is extremely flattering. "From what, we have been able to glimpse of your district, we have formed a. most favorable opinion," he told a pressman, "and I should like to have the time to make a. more extensive investigation of the producing possibilities here. You have a wonderful soil, judging by the produce wo have seen, and though wo feel the weather very chilly owing to our recent emergence from the tropics, the climate seems to be almost ideal."