“DOMINION WILL RECOVER FAST.”

Star (Christchurch), Volume XLIV, Issue 76, 30 March 1931, Page 8

“DOMINION WILL RECOVER FAST.”

ENGLISH VISITOR IS IMPRESSED BY TOUR

“It is little short of marvellous what has been done in New Zealand in the short time the country has been developed.” That impression of the Dominion was expressed by Mr Walter F. Giles, A.H.R.H.S., chief of the plant, breeding and root-seed growing section of the well-known firm of Sutton and Sons, Ltd., of Reading, England, who is at present in Christchurch. Mr Giles is touring New Zealand for three months’ study of agricultural conditions, and to see the experimental work carried out by the Department of Agriculture and other organisations “ I hardly know how to express the pleasure this visit has given me,” said Mr Giles to an interviewer this morning. “ I have travelled practically all over the North Island, and over all the South Island where any cultivated crops are to be seen, and it has been a revelation to me to see what this country has been doing, and is able to do. “ One of the first things which appealed to me was the fine wide streets and the splendid shops, and the pretty homes with their well-kept gardens to be seen everywhere. Fine Public Gardens. “ The public gardens in every city and town are a credit to the municipalities, and the amount of space which has been reserved for the pleasure of future generations, shows the very wide forethought of those who have been responsible. In this respect New Zealand has benefited by the mistakes of the older countries, and is really far in advance of her time. “ Nowhere have I seen such areas of land set aside for the health and pleasure of the people as in Christchurch. It is a great pity there are not more people in New Zealand to enjoy the beauties of the country. I can scarcely realise that on an afternoon’s walk through London I should probably see more people than there are in the whole of New Zealand. “In many of the public gardens I recognised varieties of. flowers which had their origin in the plant breeding grounds at Reading, and it was a pleasure to be told that these strains are thought so much 1 of in New Zealand. Progressive Industries. “ I have seen a good deal of the scenic beauties of the Dominion, as well as many of its industries. In visiting one of the large butter factories, I had never seen so many tons of pasteurised cream in my life, and everything was so beautifully clean. I saw the making of dried milk; the fine orchards with the fruit being graded and packed for England, and the freezing works were a revelation. Thousands of sheep pass through these freezing works in the course of a day, and in a few hours the carcasses are hanging, frozen stiff, with their little jackets on, ready to be shipped to the Mother Country. Spirit of Optimism.

“ Whilst I have been in New Zealand I have met with the greatest kindness everywhere. It is a great pity that such a progressive and prosperous country such as this should, in common with all other countries, be feeling the world-wide depression. I find, however, a great optimistic spirit all over New Zealand, and a determination to see it through, and unless I am mistaken I shall expect to see this country get back to normal conditions far quicker than many other countries of the world. I shall. go back to England feeling proud of New Zealand: wishing I had visited it ten years earlier: and much hoping to have an opportunity of coming back before my travelling days are over.”