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Southland Times, Issue 20831, 20 July 1929, Page 8

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TOURING FARMERS NORTHERN EXCURSION ENDED A DELIGHTFUL TRIP Three thousand miles in fifteen days! such a statenient savours somewhat of a Kingsford Smith achievement,. but in this instance it is the party of close on 300 Southland farmers which has hustled over the North Island at a rate only equalled by American globe trotters. The tour has now ended and the majority of the travellers returned to their homes by special train last night. All were most enthusiastic concerning what they saw in the North Island and with the hospitality received everywhere, and the only regret that could possibly be entertained was that the fortnight slipped by so rapidly. For the great majority of the party, the trip was in the naturo of an adventure, about 80 per cent, of the travellers taking advantage of the excursion to make their first visit to the North Island. They were afforded an opportunity of seeing a very great deal of the principal attractions of the island as well as the agricultural resources of the main districts, the four being a delightful combination of enjoyment and hospitality. During the fortnight they were away the excursionists experienced fine weather practically without interruption, and the mild conditions experienced gave the impression of spring rather than winter. Accounts of floods in the Taieri district gave rise to doubts of the ability of the train to get through, and quite a number of travellers left the train at various points from Christchurch down. A small party remained behind in the North Island, but the majority returned to Southland last night. The train passed through water nearly a foot deep in the flooded region, but no difficulty was experienced, although it was necessary to change carriages at Dunedin and Milton, which resulted in the train reaching Invercargill at 10.50 o’clock, just over half an hour late. Leaving Wellington by the Maori on Thursday night, the excursionists experienced a slightly rougher trip than that on the northward journey, and a fair percentage suffered from sea-sickness. Except that some were a trifle subdued yesterday morning, all were quite happy and the best of spirits prevailed as was the case throughout the tour. The journey from Christchurch was made well up to schedule and time was not lost until the final stage. At Milton, Mr C. E. Barnes, business agent for Otago and Southland, parted with the excursionists after seeing them safely settled in their final train. Mr Barnes had been with the Southland party throughout the tour and had completed six weeks’ continuous association with farmers’ excursions, having been> connected with the South Taranaki, Otago and Southland parties. Services Appreciated. When the travellers reached Christchurch opportunity was taken to suitably recognize the services of Messrs C. E. Barnes and A. L. Adamson, whose capable management was largely responsible for the success and great enjoyment of the tour. Mr Hugh Smith, who made a presentation of a handsome travelling rug to each, said that Mr Barnes and Mr Adamson had been the right men in the right place. Every excursionist had enjoyed the trip far more than had been anticipated and no one regretted having undertaken the trip. Mr Smith said he wished to express to Mr Barnes the deep sense of appreciation of the party for the good time all had had in the train, and he hoped Mr Barnes would convey it to his Department, which was entitled to a very great deal of credit for arranging the excursion. Mr Adamson also had assisted in no small measure to ensure the success of the trip, and Mr Smith expressed the gratitude of the party to him.

Mr Barnes said he was well repaid to know that the excursionists had enjoyed themselves and he had only done his duty. He had derived a great deal of pleasure from the trip, and he hoped that during the fortnight he had made 280 new friends for all time. (Applause.) Mr Adamson said that he had enjoyed the trip immensely and if the others of the party had enjoyed it as much it would remain long in their memory. It had been a pleasure to be associated with the party, and although he had been acquainted with many of the travellers for a long time he had made many new- friends. In conclusion, he hoped that another excursion would be conducted in the future and that he would be privileged to be connected with it. Cheers were given for the officials in the hearty manner typical of the excursionists.

DELIGHTED TRAVELLERS

IMPRESSIONS OF EXCURSIONISTS.

HOSPITALITY GREATLY APPRECIATED

“The whole excursion has been thoroughly enjoyable to a much greater extent than any of the party anticipated and all will agree that the educational value of the trip has been very great. The opportunity for coming into contact with residents of other parts must lead to a better understanding between the people of Southland and those of the North Island. We met with nothing but kindness wherever we went and we are all extremely grateful for the warm hospitality shown us,” said Mr. David Dickie, of Gore, leader of the party before leaving the party at Wellington while recounting his impressions of the tour to the Times reporter who accompanied the party throughout. Mr. Dickie paid a tribute to the completeness of the arrangements made by Mr. Barnes and the several other business agents of the Railway Department who had been associated with the excursion. At every stage of the journey it was found that every requirement had been foreseen and adequate provision had been made for accommodation and entertainment of the visitors.

In every district, the residents had extended most lavish hospitality and had shown every kindness to the vistors. By placing conveyances at the disposal of the party and providing entertainment at every point it was possible to fit it in, the excursionists had been given a thoroughly enjoyable time. A pleasing feature of the trip had been the manner in which town residents had assisted in entertaining the visitors showing a spirit of hospitality and friendliness that had helped greatly to make all feel at home wherever they went. Early Spring Growth. Mr. Dickie said he had been much struck by the greenness of the fields and the signs of spring growth to be seen north of Otaki, but he had been disappointed at the extent of swamps in the Auckland province and also the extensive areas of hill country in an unproductive state. There had been very little opportunity to come into touch with farmers in Auckland itself, but the visitors had been well entertained by the Winter Show Association committee. He had found the industrial exhibits very interesting, especially those of North Island produce, including maize, oranges, lemons, and other things that could not be grown in Southland. Mr. Dickie said he had appreciated very greatly the hospitality of various citizens of Auckland who had placed their cars at the disposal of parties of the visitors for sightseeing excursions. One particular feature of the trip had been meeting by the way odd Southlanders who came down to the station wherever the train passed through on the off chance of seeing someone they knew. The Arapuni dam, said Mr. Dickie, had been a very great source of interest to him as had been the remains of the buried

forest, the quantity of water passing over the spillway, the suspension bridge in the neighbourhood of the power house and the depth of the gorge near the power house. The substantial appearance of the main dam was sufficient t 3 make one wonder how the rumours of its insecurity arose. Evidently the idea that the dam was unsafe arose from the fact that erosion was taking place at a point some distance below the spillway, and it had been suggested that there was a danger of this erosion working upstream to the site of the intake dam and spillway. Mr Dickie said he had been much impressed by the thermal activity in the Rotorua district. He had been greatly interested in the traces of volcanic ash resulting from the Tarawera eruption of 1886. He had been informed that this deposit had proved of wonderful fertilizing value and had changed rather poor soil to a state of comparative fertility. , Rotorua seemed to be an ideal place for a holiday for anyone desiring a complete change of scene and climate. It seemed to him to be a great pity in view of the wonderful curative properties claimed of them that the public patronage of the baths was not sufficient to make them a payable proposition. In The Waikato. The country seen in the neighbourhood of Hamilton was evidently very fertile and the growth of grass was as far advanced as was usually the case in Southland about the end of September. It was unfortunate that although a visit was paid to the Ruakura State Farm little opportunity was afforded for looking over the main portions of the farm. Judging from what was seen there had been a successful development of some swamp lands on the outskirts of the farm, but there was still a very extensive area of swamp adjoining the farm that would ■ present serious difficulties in draining and bringing into production. The citizens of Hamilton and farmers of the adjoining district, who received the party well, appeared very anxious to draw attention to the superiority of their particular neighbourhood and the possibilities of profitable farming, while several of the speakers seemed to have rather hazy ideas regarding Southland and seemed to 'confuse it with Canterbury. It was rather unfortunate that time did not allow the Southland visitors time to explain fully the agricultural possibilities of Southland. At Palmerston North, the visit to the grass experimental plots had confirmed the impression already gained that the experiments in grass strains being conducted by Mr. Bruce Levy will be of very great value to the farmers. The Massey Agricultural College property was seen but the building programme was not very far advanced. The land showed signs that it would be very suitable for experimental agriculture and dairying although its possibilities as far as sheep farming was concerned could not be judged. Fertile Hawkes Bay. Referring to the visit to Hawkes Bay Mr. Dickie said there was little doubt that the flat country in the vicinity of Havelock and Hastings was the most fertile seen in the whole trip and the hill country out. from Hastings seemed to be ideal sheep country. He had been rather disappointed at the class of sheep seen in the neighbourhood of Hastings, in fact no sheep had been seen in Hawkes Bay to compare with the good flocks in Southland. The value of the land was extremely high compared with Southland prices, and local farmers valued it at an equivalent to £lO per sheep of carrying capacity, and claimed it to be able to carry up to eight or ten sheep per acre on the best country. Mr. Dickie said the land did not seem to be stocked to that extent as far- as his judgment was concerned and on the hill country, two to four sheep to the acre was considered to be the carrying capacity of it in reasonable management. At Dannevirke, the land gave the impression of being good, but not first class, being principally light river flat formation and evidently requiring draining in the lower parts. Like many other districts of the North Island, the heavy bush was rapidly disappearing. The parts of theWairarapa seen, said Mr Dickie, included both rich flat and hill country. The latter was of a type Southlanders were not familiar with and seemed excellent grass growing soil on limestone formation and while fairly steep was quite well roaded and the farm homes were of a good type. The level country, while not as rich' as the flats about Hastings, was of fairly good class, but there was not the greenness of spring so noticeable further north. The sheep seen were of a much better class than any seen in the north. While the railway passed through a strip of stony country, the land further back to the hills was of much better class. The railway journey right through Wairarapa scarcely gave a fair impression of the fertility of the district. Unbounded Hospitality. “We may be good farmers in the south, but we can’t teach the North Island people anything about hospitality,” said Mr. Hugh Smith, one of the senior members of the party, who was loud in his praise of the entire excursion, declaring it to be one of the most enjoyable holidays he had experienced. “The trip has been a great success from a farmer’s point of view as it has brought us into close touch not only with farmers of other parts, but also with our own neighbours who we often do not know very well and has enabled us to discuss the respective merits and productive possibilities of land in other parts,” he said. “We have been given a good opportunity to judge the basis of land . values in the north and we find that the prices asked are much higher in the north. There is little difference in the stock prices, but cattle are inclined to be cheaper than in the south. “Everywhere we went, the organization for the reception of the visitors seemed to be perfect and the people we met were all most hospitable; in fact our hosts were often disappointed that more of our party were not able to take advantage of invitations to visit special places. The people in the north had been anticipating our visit and were prepared to show us round. They took the greatest pleasure in showing us their good lands, pastures and scenic attractions,” said Mr. Smith. Lady Excursionist’s Views. Although a strenuous schedule was maintained throughout the trip, the majority of the lady members of the party thoroughly enjoyed the travelling and expressed the greatest satisfaction with the tour. Mrs A. Orr, president of the Balfour branch of the Women’s Division, was most enthusiastic and declared that the tour had been extremely successful from every point of view. “On leaving Southland,” she said, “one felt that a great adventure was before us. All soon settled down to enjoy themselves and although at first there was a certain reserve among the travellers, this gradually wore off and everyone had a smile for everyone else and the holiday spirit descend- . ed upon us.” Mrs Orr reviewed the many incidents of the tour and said in conclusion that she would like to pay a tribute to the railway authorities responsible for the organization of the tour with comfort and enjoyment to the whole party, and especially to the three business agents, Messrs 0. E. Barnes, A. W. Wellstead and A. McNeil. “Their bright, cheerful faces increased our pleasure,” she said. “The New Zealand Railways may well be proud of them and lam sure we are. Mr Dickie and the executive carried out their arduous duties in a capable manner and the whole tour has been most enjoyable. “Wherever there was a branch of the Women’s Division of the Farmers’ Union in our journeying, no matter how small, we received unbounded hospitality. We are taking back to our own dear Southland happy memories of the tour of 1929,” she concluded. incident Fen route SIDELIGHTS OF THE TOUR. Throughout the trip many people who had occasion to come into contact with the excursionists remarked on the sedate appearance and demeanour of the tourists, and

folk who wished to be hospitable and suggested a little refreshment were usually disappointed by an extremely polite but nevertheless firm refusal. The answer was oiten slyly given: “You see we conic from a Prohibition district and are not used to it.” The business agents of the Railway Department also found that there was an extremely heavy demand for accommodation in private hotels and as many as 75 per cent, of the travellers desired to be suited in this way. One incident on the tour that caused a good deal of amusement and rather shattered the illusions of the observers occurred when the party accommodated at Napier was taken on an observation tour and visited the Te Mata wine cellars. They were invited to sample the products of the grape and almost without exception they took advantage of the proffered hospitality. In a picturesque environment at Rotorua live many fascinating Maori maids who quite captivated all the younger male members of the party. The reputation of these dusky ladies had travelled far ahead and some of the married ladies among the excursionists were a trifle anxious lest the charming chieftainess Rangi and her associates should cause any estrangement in their domestic bliss. Strange to say, Rangi was quite as popular with the ladies as with the men. Anhex of the guides also appealed strongly and their hands must have ached as they complied with the requests for autographs. Many of the party returned home with a cherished Maori signature.

Although very little of the excursionists’ time was unoccupied all were anxious to receive news from home. It was extremely difficult to maintain communication with Southland in view of the hasty travelling, and comparatively few letters came to hand during the trip although all urgent information was forwarded by telegraph. Arrangements made by the newspaper representatives with the party to have a number of papers sent to meet the party at different stopping places were appreciated to a gratifying degree and as copies were distributed in each carriage they met a great demand. One excursionist told a reporter that so eager were the people in his carriage to see the Southland Times they were “almost eating the paper.” When a large party of people travels through “foreign” parts there are always a great number of stories told about the visitors. So it was in this case and many were the “gags” heard to the effect that the excursionists were spending a couple of days in certain places and nothing else and so on. One product of a witty imagination heard in Wellington is worth repeating. The story goes that a man staying at a certain hotel in which a number of the Southland party were also guests asked for his usual breakfast dish the other morning and received the apologetic reply. “I am sorry, sir, porridge is off. You see the Southland farmers are staying here.” Tales of the dangers of leaving valuables insecurely guarded on the inter-island ferry steamers lead travellers to adopt many strange systems of protection, and many tips concerning safe hiding places may be obtained from the experienced trippers. At least one member of the Southland party may be expected to remember the precautions he took on the return journey, for a slip nearly cost him a roll of over £30 — surely a tremendous sum to have in possession when returning from a holiday. The money had been concealed in an under-gar-ment overnight and the traveller proceeded to the bathroom next morning without a thought of the wealth reposing in the folds of his clothes. It was some time later that he realized his loss and then a feverish hunt began but. fortunately for him quite a determined search for the owner had been instituted by the captain of the Maori as the person who found the notes on the' floor of the bathroom had immediately reported the matter.