MY DAY TO GROWL

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 78, Issue 7018, 11 February 1949, Page 5

MY DAY TO GROWL

ABOUT THIS AND THAT

LIFE’S VICISSITUDES AND ITS PLEASANTRIES

(By

A. Growler)

Thanks to the courtesy and kindness of two friends, I have had (on two successive week-ends) the pleasure of travelling far beyond my usual orbit with the result that a good deal of this “Growl” will savour of a travelogue. On Anniversary Day week-end, four of us hied forth into the land of Taranaki. The journey over Mount. Messenger, I suppose familiar to most people, but to me it was new. Far more years than I care ,_,Jo recall has passed over my head since I made the same trip. The beautiful native bush and the glorious wealth of pungas recaptured for me some of my boyhood days. The roads were in good order, and we reached New Plymouth, then basking in all the new bom glory of being New Zealand’s youngest city. The people of the capital of Taranaki certainly have their lot cast in a pleasant place. The business area may not be anything to enthuse over, but the parks are veritable Gardens of Eden, while the residential areas are made exceedingly attractive, with well-laid lawns and flower gardens. I left New Plymouth by what was called a slow train, and it certainly justified its appellation. It took over three hours to travel to Hawera a distance of 48 miles. On arrival at Hawera, I attended an evening sports meeting. What interested me most was the large attendance, the grandstand being crowded to capacity; the attendance being well over 1000. The sports were well conducted. I noted that each competitor bore very legible numbers which made for easy following of the various events. During my stay in Taranaki, a land that can fittingly be described as a land of factories, (butter and cheese i and hotels, I had the pleasure of seeing a great deal of it, as a nephew and his wife took me for an extensive motor tour on the Sunday. I saw’ a great deal of first-class land and some beautiful farms, and I was greatly impressed by the way in which shelter trees' and plantations had been planted. I was also impressed by the large number of butter and cheese factories,’all weil-equippad and efficiently run. Some managers were experiencing difficulty in getting sufficient labour and Maoris were employ - ed to a large extent. The large amount of cheese produced in Taranaki made me wonder why New Zealanders are not greater consumers of cheese. Judging by the large number of hotels seen ablaze with lights, and with numerous cars outside them, on Sunday night, I should not imagine that the good people of Taranaki will be greatly concerned about the result of the referendum to be taken next month on the question as to w’hether hotel bar hours shall be extended to 10 p.m. While one Sunday night might not make a hotel-keeper’s summer, I was given to understand that there is not the strict observance of six o’clock closing in many parts of Taranaki, that there is in town and city hotels. The most amazing thing of all was in my opinion, the appalling lack of travel facilities in Taranaki, and I wonder that the people put up with it as patiently as they do. The train service is atrocious, the service being restricted in th*| extreme, while there is no Railway Road Service on Saturdays or Sundays. The explanation given to the writer when he made enquiries about such a mode of transport on the Saturday, was that such had been discontinued owing to lack of public support, a statement difficult to understand seeing that the main highway from New Plymouth to Wanganui, and still further south is an important centre. A lady who occupied a seat on “The Flyer” on the Monday morning made a good suggestion and that was that some of the suburban trains could be transfered to the Taranaki line. I am rather surprised that the Members of Parliament representing that area have not strongly pressed for better transport service. This is election year and I suggest that people and their representatives should cry out in a loud and determined voice for better transport facilities. Heaven alone knows such is urgently needed. “The Flyer” referred to above is a fast train that runs three times a week, and it certainly justifies its name when it does go, but its overall speed is restricted by the fact that it stops at every little station and the number of railway stations are in excess of those needed for the present service. Travellers on the railway between New’ Plymouth and Waverley have only one opportunity of rushing out and milling around a railwayrefreshment room counter, and that is at Hawera and our Taranaki cousins are just as prone to the cup of tea habit as we are. “The Flyer” on the day I travelled on it had only one first-class carriage and the guard and a pleasant-looking young porter had a lot of fun in “shooing” second-class ticket-holders out of it. A party of secondary school girls were at first inclined to treat the young porter’s request to move from the carriage with a disdainful levity that savoured of first-ciass snobbery even if their purse did not run to first-class railway fares. Their behaviour was no good advertisment for their school. However, the porter was firm and they left for another carriage. While in Taranaki I learned that well over 150 cases of poliomyelitis had occurred in that province, and in the case of adults, the dread malady was most severe, several deaths having occurred. While in New Plymouth I came across an interesting connection between Kawhia and the youngest city, and that was in the form of a tablet outside the John Whitely Methodist Church whereon it was stated that in 1839 the Rev. John Whitely commissioned two Maori teachers from Kawhia to open a mission in the New Plymouth district. In 1840 the Rev. Samuel Ironside established a mission at Motoroa and in 1841, the Rev. Charles Creed entered on service to the early pioneers. No mention of a trip to Taranaki vrould be complete without reference to the wonderful kindly hospitality of residents down south. Excellent refreshments and meals were forthcoming at all hours of the day or evening and everyone deemed it no trouble to be helpful. In Waverley a businessman placed ,

temporarily at my nephew’s disposal benzine, so that I could be taken for a lengthy tour of that district. The kindness shown to me by all I met was greatly appreciated. So much for Taranaki.

Last week-end my travels were not so far afield, the Clevedon Show being the main objective. While not so comprehensive as our local show the exhibition of stock and horses was commendable. The display of Ayrshires was outstanding both numerically and in regards quality. The Clevedon A. and P. Association own their own showgrounds, and they are fortunate in having a large area w’hich in the main is well laid out. The progressive spirit of Clevedon in that respect is one that could well be followed by their apparently wealthier organisation, the Te Awamutu A. and P. Association. A word to the wise should be sufficient. As stated above the Ayrshires were a strong class, and 1 heard quite an interesting (and to me an informative) discussion as to w’hich breed of cow produced the milk most suitable for human consumption. A prominent judge of the Ayrshires claimed that that breed stood head and shoulders above any other breed in that direction. He said that the Ayrshires were ideal for town milk supply purposes and he quoted a case of a milk producer w’ho owned a herd of ten Ayrshires w’hich gave 1000 gallons of milk in one year. I do not profess to know anything about the validity of the claims made, but the view’s are passed on as an item of public interest-

From Clevedon we w’ent to Auckland and we had a look at the Ellerslie Racecourse grounds, which presented a picture attractively beautiful. They are too well-known to need description, though I doubt if many race-goers find time to admire them. The special plot prepared for the intended Royal Visit, comprising the British coat-of-arms w’ith the letters G.R. and E.R. w r as a sight for sore eyes to use a somewhaj common phrase, but it is none the less descriptive. The roses too, made a beautiful showing and one left the grounds feeling the better for having seen so much beauty.

A brief visit to Pukekohe on the Sunday after many years absence was also a delightful experience. Pukekohe has grown into a fine clean tow’n attractively laid out. The State houses there are particularly attractive, and are in a class above State houses in other towns. The famous Pukekohe Hill, on which three crops of potatoes are produced in a seasen was looking well, though a friend said that the soil was not so productive as it used to be, or at least he had heard it said. On our way to Buckland we passed the celebrated Barwon Grange “stud farm” and we glimpsed some beautiful horses. We also saw tons of onions, another product of the Pukekohe district.

While Sir Harold Johnston’s finding in reference to the alleged delay in releasing information relative to the finding of the missing airliner “Kaka” has not given satisfaction to the journalists of New Zealand, yet the impartial person must admit that Sir Harold’s pronouncement contained a good deal of sound common-sense. The judgement is worthy of a careful reading by everyone, and it should do much to dis-illusion people who have glamorous views or ideas about the press. I am as great a believer in the “freedom” of the press as anyone, but w’hatever freedom public newsheets have is gained not by law’ but by established custom. Many people who will no doubt make the learned K.C.’s finding a political issue and who no doubt will prate about Government interference with the freedom of the press have (and will) themselves hampered the freedom of the press by saying at meetings “This is not for the press.” Even that goes on to far too great an extent in Te Awamutu. The only time a local body or a public organisation should go into committee or turn to a press representative and say “that is not for publication,” is when a person’s private life or affairs is being discussed. I still maintain that the relatives of the victims of any disaster entailing loss of life is first entitled to advice, no matter how many hours might elapse, before releasing the news to the public.

We New’ Zealanders are poor fish, we entertain so-called very important people most lavishly, and those selfstyled people return to their homes overseas after having accepted lavish hospitality, and they then offer criticism of the Dominion. Criticism that finds publicity in our papers. The latest to err in that direction is Sir George, Alywen, Lord Mayor of London, whose remarks made at the annual dinner of the New Zealand Society in London, were without exception in the worst possible taste. He mentions horse racing as being carried on to an excessive degree, but Sir George knows that dog racing in Britain and football pools are carried on to a far greater extent in Britain than is horse 'racing in New Zealand. Some idea of the reliance that can be placed on the noble knight’s observations can be guaged by the fact that he is reported as saying “their puns close at six, but I am told that their casualty wards are crowded out at that time.” What utter rot, unless of course our visitor of last year happened to be inmate of one, and from the same cause he suggests. I suppose the day will come when we will grow up and refuse to give publicity to cheap sneers (not legitimate criticism) of those who while with us, fawn and then when miles away say what apparently they did not have an interested fortitude to say in New Zealand. Sir George Alywen could well take a lesson from our present distinguished guest, Mr Anthony Eden, who has rigidly declined to be critical of our mode of life. It is in direct contradiction to the Lord Mayor of London’s politically biassed diatribe.