AT THE CENTENARY

Waikato Independent, Volume XXXIV, Issue 3236, 22 November 1934, Page 5

AT THE CENTENARY

MR -N. R. SORTER'S IMPRESSIONS - •- ? ■/ AIR RACE v OUTSTANDING 1 “\Ye had a pleasant trip and the Centenary was a 'Wonderful 5 experience, "but I am glad to'be'back in Now Zealand—it takes a lot of beating.” These were the words of Mr N. R. Souter, who, accompanied by Mr* V. Rickit, returned on Tuesday evening from a visit to Melbourne. They spent a fortnight in Victoria and the remainder of their holiday in Sydney. Mr Souter’s first words were of the air race, which he considered- by-far the most outstanding feature, of the Centenary celebrations, and r the successful competitors were mobbed wherever they went. When Scott and Black, the Dutchmen, or Melrose ventured out from their hotel it bad been-: necessary to erect temporary rails on the side of the road to enlarge the. footpath, and keep the crowd- back. • They; were equally well received when they visited Sydney. 1 It was the general opinion, said Mr Souter, that the honours of the race to the Dutchmonji ahd /their 1 flight had done more in ithe: .interests dfi reommercial aviation. * • Mr Souter was in Melbourne to see the fourth machine, piloted by Jones and Waller land. He had a long talk with Squadron-Leader McGregor and was able to get: some idea of. the- thrills of the race.:' Later he was- fortunate in being able to make a private inspec-

tion of the.;:' : eompetitors ’ pianos ; and was astounded-..-at- '■ the great strides made in aviation of recent year*. A reception to.ibhe -.'Newy ; ;?ealand fliers was attended, and it -was surpris- ■ ing the number of familiar faces that were present, .-r:hS', ■>.# .■ssoVjoO The Melbourne Cup Rain came down in sheets on Melbourne Cup day, but Mr Souter said it was worth while to see Peter Pan ' carrying 9.10 through the mud. Though the New Zealand horses finished at the fail of the field, .they were not disgraced and Nightly soon afterwards scored a win over miles. The attendance at Flemington was over 100,000 people. Some of the ktands were well away'from the track |_the - furthest being over 200 yards—this being-necessary to cope with the crowd. The system of racing was somewhat different from that of New Zealand, said Mr: .Souter. The'horses were not given a preliminary run down the track, but paraded in the first birdcage where an extra charge was made to view them. Just before tlic race eom-‘ menced the horses came into the 1 main birdcage and went'straight to the post ’’"’and were dispatched without delay* The horses were all boxed on the course, and a directory in the racebook gave information where they were to.be found: The name of' horse appeared on each box. The admission charges to race meetings were dearer in Australia, said Mr Souter. At a small meeting like Rosebury the cost was 15/2. The success of New Zealand horses In Australia has been so marked, that the betting public arc frightened when they have to contend with them in rcces,’ were Mr Souter’s concluding remarks concerning the turf: • • A Gay City The wonderful lighting effects were ■a feature of Melbourne, said Mr Souter and every building of any size ; was continually Bathed in a flood of electric lights. Illuminated banners, in all colours, decorated the streets and the city was just a blaze at night. The streets were always crowded and there was not much pleasure in driving a -car as progress was very slow. On one occasion) 1 Mr kbiiter observed twelve policemen at the corner Swanson and Collins Streets directing the traffic. He noticed a big difference to the crowds at the opening of the Harbour Bridge, and there were very few cases of theft or pocket-pick-ing. The police were efficient and kept the masses of people under . control. Shine of Remembrance

Mr Souter referred to the Shrine of Remembrance, recently opened by the Duke of Gloucester, as the Outstanding land-mark of Melbourne. , from. .. all angle. It is a beautiful piece of workmanship built on the top of a hill and >£; Is estimated to last for 5000 years. A visit was paid to the Agricultural Show, a colossal institution which was * greatly marred by the continued rain. It was estimated that the gate takings were £50,000 less than last year, Mr Souter reported that business was good in Australia, but that, was only to be expected with' the large influx of visitors. The motor trade was having its best year since 1928.

Mr Souter and Mr Rickit !l 'motored to Sydney in a light 10 h.p. Vbar and found much better Victoria than in New SoUth Wales. The 200-milo journey" from Melbourne to Albury on the border of the States occupied five hours. From theft: on