RECTOR’S TRAVELS.

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXIII, 21 June 1926, Page 6

RECTOR’S TRAVELS.

Mil. W. THOMAS’S IMPRESSIONS. Mr W. Thomas, M.A., Hector of the Timaru Boys’ High School, has written some very interesting notes to the School on the first stage of his trip to America and Britain. Suva proved most interesting. The vegetation in the distance looked like that of New Zealand, but when we came near we could see it was more luscious. Bananas, pineapples, sugar cane, paw-paws, etc., were growing right up to the good metal road on which we motored for about thirty miles. The different villages were very interesting as the houses of the Fijians. Indians and Solomon Islanders are all different. They seem to he a happy crowd: the youngsters who lined the road with the • hibiscus flowers in their hands were the happiest faces I have seen for many a day. Our chauffeur was a quartercaste, educated in the local Marist Brothers School, an intelligent boy, I am wondering .what- the resultant race will he in these islands. “All Nations”. Street is well named; the übiquitous Chinaman, of course, is in control, . in fact he owns two-tliirds of the business area now, and experts say that he will 5 own it all within the next ten years. We arrived at Honolulu at about fi a.m., but at least for an hour before most of the passengers werelooking out through the port-holes watching the sun rise and the early morning mountains. We were supposed to have medical inspection at 0.30 a.m. but, as usual on a steamer, we were kept waiting until about 7.30 a.m., and we did not tie to the wharf until about 9 a.m.—our breakfast hour. A Hawaiian hand of about 30 players welcomed us with “Alohe” and then several other tunes. Perhaps this is done as a “draw” to tourists. I was not able to find out but certainly it is very cheering after some days at sea to be met with music and smiles.

Mr. Mountain, the educational expert of the local Y.M.C.A., introduced himself as the representative of the Pacific Relations Institute. He decorated our party with garlands of flowers which seems to be the Hawaiian method of welcoming and farewelling friends.' After a short stroll through the business area we were motored through the beautiful v,finding valley up to the Pali from which we could see the ocean on both sides. It >vas here, wo were told, that the last fight .in Hawaiian history took place when the victors hurled the defeated over the precipitous side —a drop of hundreds of feet. From this observation point we saw huge green fields of what had been at one time pine-apple groves, hut which were now abandoned to weeds through the devastating work of some pest whjch refused to he controlled by agricultural experts. The view on this, the north side, was' charming—green vegetation, white' beaches and a deep blue sea and paler sky, all in bright sunshine. We drove hack past the golf links and through the residential area.' The gardens were wonderful, no? fences and full of brilliant flowers) In fact it could truthfully he said’ that Honolulu is one vast garden.: The houses are chiefly wooden bungalows much varied in type with a picturesque daintiness about them which makes one think of fairyhouses among the flowers. The “pink shower” tree caught our eye most frequently, but every colour was present and spread , in such lavishness.

Professor Copland and I were then taken to lunc.h at the Pacific Club where we spent a couple of profitable hours with the members of the executive of the Pacific Relation’s Committee.

These Americans clearly run to institutions. Hawaii has a population of 300,000 and here we have two different institutions (the PanPacific Union and the Pacific Relations Ins.) with seemingly the same purpose, the preservation of peace in the Pacific and the organisation of research on questions of mixture of colour, etc. As a matter of fact the president or founder (Mr. Ford) of the Pan-Pacific wrote us to state that he had come to the ship and was unable to find us. The origina' institution is the Pan-Pacific, but the other claims to be doing the more scientific work. However, be it as it may, the members of the executive of the P.R.A. over which Mr. Atherton ruled, were a clever, hard headed group of questioners, who seemed to' be of many different nations, and of different professions—a Japanese professor, an American anthropologist who had visited New Zealand in the cause of research among the Maoris, an ex-headmaster of a High School, a parson with- dark blood in him, a Chineso merchant, and several white business men made up its members. What struck us was their knowledge of the conditions of Australia and New Zealand, and other penetrating questions. Professor Copland afterwards addressed them on the white Australian policy, and on the political situation in Australia so far as it affected foreigners. These men seem to be earnest men, grappling with the greatest problem of humanity at the present time. Their contention is that Honolulu is a great human laboratory for the scientific and -there is no doubt about the representation of the different races. Later on I stood in the Y.M.C.A. room and watched the constant stream —Japs, Chinese, Hawaiiaus, American whites and mixtures. The -Hawaiians are dying out while the Japs (now 120,000) are increasing.

After lunch wo were driven in different parts of the town and to Waikiki beach and to the famous aquarium. There seemed to bo schools in every corner—private Kindergarten, .private High Schools, Japanese schools, State High Schools. Honolulu is the cleanest town I have ever seen, not an orange peel or a piece of paper to be seen about the streets. We passed schools while the children were playing in the grounds or were coining out and always there was a boy in the middle of the road directing the traffic. They certainly believe in giving the youngsters training in civic duties. From the paper which we bought (and which did not contain a scrap of real news—New Zealand news) I saw that on one day next week a youngster 11 years of qge was to be mayor tor the day, and with the help of a council of children was to manage the town’s affairs. Mr. Mountain told us that the Japanese children attend the state schools tor the usual 5 hours and then go to their own schools for two hours training in their own language and culture. McKinley High School—a State school —was having -a Parents’ Hay and I spent a quarter of an hour there. They' happened to /be in assembly —in the quad—-2000 adolescent children ot mixed nationality. On the front door was a printed notice which I photographed. (Unfortunately it failed). , It was a printed invitation to young .fellows to join the school and to get to know a new girl chum. On the platform were the parents, some . in. the national dress of China and ot Japan. The whole assembly was

addressed by a white lady with the usual accent, who expressed pleasure' nt the growth of the Parents’ Association, and presented a framed photograph of the H.M. to the Freshmen’s class which had brought along most members to the Association for the year. The youngster who took the present on behalf _of the class, addressed the gathering with as much assurance as if he had been the Minister of Education. Their band afterwards played a inarch (we know it as the ‘Aviator’ but which had a star-spangled name over here.) They have a bigger variety of instruments than wo have, and their playing was as good as that of our best years.

I had not enough time to see much of the inside of the school, hut I was shown over the cottage exhibit by one of the mistresses, who rattled off in record time an account of all that had been done by the “Stoodents” with 50 dollars. She explained that they were showing their poorer class girls how to run a home on the minimum of money, yet with a certain amount of taste. The whole school was intensely interesting to me; it was so different from our school.

The children wore every type of costume from dungarees to white duck, but here as elsewhere in Honolulu/ everybody looked clean and neat. Then the enthusiasm of the youngsters struck me and the manner in which one section cheered and the other good humouredly jeered when the presentation took place, and their whole-hearted singifig of the very poor verse which I am enclosing. The Americans are clearly organising patriotism here and on the surface are turning Japs into good American citizens. They are a wonderful people and wonderfully hospitable, hut I wish their accent wa3 different. Mr. Mountain told me there is no colour line. The Japanese professor and his family are received in the best homos and his children attend a select school. Mr. Mountain says the morality of the Japanese people is much cleaner than that of the mainland. The younger people, however, especially the university students, are without spiritual influence for the moment, as they are giving up their Bhiiddist doctrines, and have not accepted Christianity. . This McKinley High School was the most interesting sight I saw in Honolulu. I should like to have gone into, the real inside of the school and found what work they were actually doing. Smiles and cheerful faces greeted you everywhere and all were so polite. The tuck shop would have amused our boys. It sold something which looked like stew, and also fruit salad on a lettuce leaf. (I have a photo). We also went to the University With its beautiful buildings and grounds. We did not enter any of the rooms, however. All types of motor cars were in the grounds from derelict Fords to 1925 Studcbakers. Many of these fortunate young people motor to the University. We met ;In .the young fellows in dungarees) carrying ‘ books, and were told they were university students. The, Jap taxi drivers and the people in the shops-all speak good. English, or rather American,-

I am sending several postcards for filing by this post. You will be much struck with of the colours of in the aquarium —these actual iish are as bright in hue. The aquarium is really supposed to be the most interesting in the world. The trees on the way, with their sprays of flowers, and the beautiful gardens everywhere seen pleased me much more. Everybody was decorated with beautiful flowers when they boarded the steamer; some of those who were coming on at Honolulu were. bowed down with them. Before we pulled out and until we were about half a mile out in the harbour Hawaiian youths dived from the boat deck for -Money. . They .are, splendid’swimmers and seem to be able to stay in the water for hours. '

. We-wero not long enough in Honolulu to carry away anything definite. -Kaleidoscope , colours, smiling;,' faces ;of Youngsters ;who did ;not stretch out the hand for tips, ' the colour question,- etc., are all jumbled up. One thing, .however, we must give the Americans,, and that is that they are making a- cleaner, and better job of Honolulu than we are of Suva. They fire' tackling ' their problems, whether they will find a solution i 3 a different matter. In the meantime they have made a great tourist resort out of a wilderness. In the process the Hawaiian, with all his manly qualities, has gone to the wall. All his land has been taken from him, and many live in hovels, so we were told on board by those who saw other quarters. New Zealand has treated the Maori in a much fairer way New Zealanders are proud to say.