DOMINION’S OUTLOOK

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 79, Issue 280, 26 November 1936, Page 6

DOMINION’S OUTLOOK

PROMNdAL CAPITALS ROTARY CLUB ADDRESS [ The opinion that New Zealanders j did not do sufficient to boost their I country and themselves was expressed ! by Mr. O. N. Gillespie, of Wellington, I during the course of an address to j members of the Wanganui Rotary [Club on Monday on "New Zealand’s I Outlook." ■ Tn my opinion," he said, "we in . New Zealand do not do sufficient I boasting about, the things of which we should be proud." A significant feature of the development of New Zealand and one which was symbolic 'of the Dominion's association with the Old Country was the growth of the provincial capital and the country town. He would not say that Wanganui was the best provincial capital but it was a very good example. There was no country in the world other than New Zealand which had produced immature cities replete with the facilities and amenities of the large cities. These provincial centres were the most outstanding features of New Zealand life. "Never allow an Englishman to criticise New Zealand or its people," said Mr. Gillespie. The colonisation ol the Dominion was unique in that the sei tiers were all picked men and women and had to pass a severe test of respectability before they were permitted to emigrate to Ihe new land The measure through which potential settlers had to pass was very fine indeed and an idea of this could be guaged from the fact that it was 46 years before any person in the Taranaki district committed a major crime; they simply lacked the originality. The settlers for every provincial district had to pass the same severe test. If an Englishman criticised New Zealand it should be pointed out to him that the Dominion was the result of settlement, by picked Englishmen. Mr. Gillespie sfiid New Zealand had a pastoral history which was unique. Last week he had read that New Zealand very comfortably led the rest of the world in thoroughbred production; last year the Dominion exporting half the world's thoroughbred stock. New Zealand had developed a sheep beyond what the original breeders dreamed of and this animal, the New Zealand Lincoln, was pre-eminent in Argentina. The Dominion had also developed the Corriedale which was now the property of the earth. The wealth of New Zealand was a wealth which would never be lost. "A place like Wanganui is something of which to be proud," said Mr Gillespie, "because it is a symbol of the achievement of New Zealanders." On the motion of Rotarian B. R. Dobbs, Mr. Gillespie was accorded a hearty vote of thanks.