VISITORS FROM BRITAIN

Southland Times, Issue 23026, 21 October 1936, Page 5

VISITORS FROM BRITAIN

CHAMBER OF COMMERCE DELEGATES

BRIEF STAY AT GORE

The party of overseas delegates to the Congress of the Empire Chambers of Commerce, who arrived in Southland last week-end and spent two days in the Lakes district, returned to Gore yesterday and, after a brief stay in the town, left by train for Dunedin on their return to the North Island. The delegates arrived at Gore in time for lunch, after motoring from Te Anau, and had sufficient time at their disposal for short walks about the town. As it was not the wish of the visitors that there should be any official reception, the visit was of a private nature, although several officials of the Gore Chamber of Commerce met the party in an informal way. Mr J. A. Aiton, of Derby, England, the leader of the party, told The Southland Times that they had experienced a good deal of rain in the Eglinton Valley and had not seen the scenery of that resort at its best. What they had seen, however, had justified their forming the opinion that the road which was destined to give direct access to Milford Sound offered scenery which was undoubtedly the best they had yet seen in New Zealand, and they thought that in time it would rank with the finest beauty spots in the world. The party made Te Anau their headquarters while they were in the Lakes district, but there, as in the Eglinton and Hollyford Valleys, they had experienced heavy rain and their _ views of lakes Te Anau and Manapouri were consequently below expectations, said Mr Aiton. Only when they were about to leave Te Anau yesterday morning did the weather show signs of clearing and a steady improvement was noticed as they left the Lakes district. He was sorry that they had not been able to see the district in fine weather, but it was apparent that they had come to New Zealand at the wrong time of the year. This was the fault of the English executive, which had arranged the date of the conference. Grow Useful Trees. “One thing I can’t understand is why you don’t grow useful trees in your bush,” remarked Dlr Aiton. “What is the use of all that rubbish?” The reporter remarked that if New Zealand had been colonized before the native bush grew, it might have been planted with trees falling into the visitor’s

category of “useful,” whereupon Mr Aiton replied that if the land would grow the bush they had seen it would grow timber trees. He remarked that he supposed New Zealand would find it difficult to compete with cheap timber from Canada. He said he was interested to learn, however, that Southland was developing a trade with the United Kingdom in silver beech for motor bodies and furniture. Mr Aiton said that he and many others in the party had enjoyed passing through the purely pastoral and agricultural districts as much as the scenic resorts, as it had given them an opportunity to secure glimpses of the rural life of the people. The itinerary which had been arranged did not give much opportunity for the travellers to have pinch time to themselves or to observe much of the ordinary life of the inhabitants of the country. After leaving Dunedin, they would travel to Rotorua and Auckland before returning to Wellington to sail for England in a little more than a week. So far they had not had any opportunity to see _ the Maoris, but they hoped to do this in the. North Island. An Angler’s Comment. An enthusiastic angler with the party, Mr William Shires, spent a day’s fishing in the Mossburn district, and although he did not enjoy much success he did not regret the time spent on the river. He said that he had too much experience to be disturbed over a poor day’s fishing, for even on his favourite English streams he knew that the fish were frequently elusive on some days and yet provided first class sport on other's. He thought that the streams in Southland gave an indication of being ideal for fishing and he was not surprised to learn that angling was popular in the province and drew visitors from overseas.

Discussing the sight-seeing excursion in Southland, Mr Shires said that the southern province had provided some of the best scenery they had yet seen in New Zealand. The country appeared to be progressive and remarkable things had been done in the short century since colonization was begun. He thought that the Dominion could well stand a greatly increased population, although he knew that New Zealand had suffered and was still suffering from unemployment. This was a problem which was affecting all countries and was, he considered, a direct result of the tariff barriers which all countries had erected around themselves. The only solution, to his mind, was a return to the principles of free trade. “We leave your province charmed with the scenery and deeply appreciative of the kindness of the people,” said Mr Shires. “You seem to enjoy, a climate very similar to our own, in that it is variable and generally temperate, and it has reminded us more of our own country than any other part of New Zealand we have yet seen.”