NEW SOUTH WALES.

Waikato Times, Volume 111, Issue 18640, 19 May 1932, Page 9

NEW SOUTH WALES.

ITEMS OF INTEREST. WOOL WEEK INAUGURATED. SYDNEY’S PRE-EMINENT POSITION (Empire Press Union.) SYDNEY, May 11. New South Wales is the principal sheep-breeding State in Australia. Wool Week was held in Sydney during April—a publicity movement promoted with the object of familiarising and Interesting the people more intensely In the chief product of the continent. In a broadcasting address during the week the chairman of the Sydney centre -of the National Council of Wool-selling Brokers of Australia said that Australia grew the best wool in the world, and that Sydney was now the premier wool-selling centre of the world, the centre having handled for the last seven wool seasons one million bales per season. For the present season it is expected that 1,200,000 bales will be handled. With the big assortment of wool available at the different Australian sales, buyers are attracted from all parts of the world. Although wool prices are far from satisfactory, the wool men have a growing feeling that the worst is behind and that Australia is heading for better times. Some interest was caused by a cabled message from New York that Columbia University had announced the perfecting of the commercial production of artificial wool from jute • apparently the purification of jute cellulose followed by treatment with strong alkali. The organic chemistry department of Sydney University, which watches all such matters ■closelv, has samples of such materials and "it was explained that the physical and chemical properties of artificial fibres are quite different from those of natural wool, although the superficial appearance may be similar. The process, It was stated, has been known since 1850. It is- held that the utmost possibilties have not yet been obtained from wool, and that much may be done by further research.

Adventurous Voyagers.

A feature of the present times is the number of venturesome voyages that are undertaken in small craft. There arrived in Sydney some time ago a tiny ketch, the Gullmarn, of 13 tons, which had come from Europe. Sold in Sydney, she left again last month with four adventurers on board, two being women, one the daughter of a State school headmaster, the other whose husband is the owner, being the daughter of a. New South .Wales judge. The party intends sailing up the Australian coast to New Guinea, thenco to Singapore, and via Mauritius to Capetown. Mr Hiram T. Horton, an American Iron and steel manufacturer, arrived in Sydney from San Diego in a small yacht with his wife and daughter and a crew of five. He lg on a two years’ Pacific oruise.

Tramp Steamer Company.

A company is being promoted in Sydney which has in view the employment of idle Australian steameis in carrying Australian produce -overseas. A new company, to be called the Australian Tramp Steamers, Ltd., was registered in April. The project is that when the regular steamship lines -are unable to handle the whole of the exports of the Commonwealth, as is the -case at times with exports to the East, Australian tramp steamers will fill the gap. At present British and foreign vessels secure the freights, and the company believes that the Australian vessels will be able to do the carrying satisfactorily. Business will be commenced with Eastern cargoes, ' but the company s boats will be prepared to go wherever shippers want them to go. There arc many tramps laid up in Australian ports, and many officers and seamen out of work. The effort to build up the enterprise began with the purchase of a 2600-ton steamer as the first of the fleet.

Art and Artists. ■Musical critics and opera goers have applauded .the appearance of a new soprano, Miss Mollie De Const, a native of Queensland, who made her appearance in “Aida" with a company Including Italian principals. The company opened in Sydney In April under engagement by the chief theatrical company of Australia. She was- given ■an ovation at the conclusion of the performance, and much is expected from her with the accumulations of experience and practice that will follow before she is heard abroad. An artist who is well known in Britain and, to some extent, In America Mr Norman Lindsay (brother of Mr Lionel Lindsay, who was some time ago acclaimed in London as in tl j c first rank of etchers) returned to Syd-ney-last month. Ho visited the United ctate° and England, and returned full of admiration of the Australian sunlight which he says is unrivalled for art work, and is producing landscape painters of exceptional artistic achievrnent. _