HERE AND THERE.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Issue 1247, 12 March 1914, Page 44

HERE AND THERE.

Mr. and Mrs. Wynyard, of One-Tree Hill, Auckland, will leave by the Blue Funnel liner Anchises next, month on a trip to the Old Country.

Mr. and Mrs. E. Goldsmith, Wynyard Street, Auckland, have booked to leave on a Cook’s tour by the Aberdeen Company’s liner Norseman at the end of this month.

Mr. and Mrs. F. W. Birch, of Ponsonby, Auckland, will leave by the Makura for a pleasure trip to London.

Miss Florence E. Mystrom, who has been resident in Auckland for seme time, leaves by the Makura upon her return to Los Angeles.

Mr. S. A. Dalby, of Kingsland, together with his two daughters, leaves by the Makura on the 14th inst. for Honolulu and thence proceeds to Los Angeles.

Mrs. Kilgour, of Parnell, accompanied by Madame Meyart, of Milford, Takapuna, expects to leave Auckland by the Niagara on her next trip for a tour round the world. ,

Mr. and Mrs. Lugton and Mrs. Carswell, of Maraetai, Auckland, have taken a trip to the Waitomo Caves and the Wanganui River.

Mr. G. Schaeffer, a visitor from St. Louis, United States, who has been on a visit to Auckland, left the city last week for a tour of the Rotorua and Waireki thermal wonders and thence proceeds down the reaches of the Wanganui River.

Mr. R. Nightingale, of Melbourne, who has been on a business tour of the North Island, left last week (accompanied by Mr. J. Moore) on a pleasure trip to the Rotorua district.

Mr. and Mrs. J. Maslin, of Kamo, Whangarei, who have been on a holiday visit to Auckland, left last week tor a tour of the Thames Valley and lue Hot Rakes district.

Mr. and Mrs. Turton and maid accompanied by Miss Turton and maid and the Messrs Turton (2), leave Auckland by the Riverina on the 16ta ana proceed to England.

Dr. T. R. and Mrs. Inglis, of Ponsunby, well-known residents of Auckland, leave by the Riverina on the 16th for Sydney.

Mr. and Mrs. H. M. Smeeton, accompanied by five members of their family, have booked passages by the Huddart-Parker Line for a visit to the Old Country.

A party consisting of Sir Samuel McCaughley, Mr. and Mrs. Robinson, and Miss Sheridan, who have been enjoying the beauties of the Hot Lakes district, left by the Niagara last Tuesday upon their return to Sydney.

The local branch of Cook’s Tourist Agency has received a cable from Yokohama which states that all the

sleeping accommodation upon the international Siberian route has been i ally booked, and there will be no sleepers available from Vladivostok to Moscow up to the end of July; a fact which shows the large increase in the tourist traiiic which now crosses the Siberian steppes in prelerence to proceeding to the Older wond by otner routes.

Cromwell, a picture of which appears in this issue, is one of the romantic old digging townships of Otago’s early days. It lies on the junction of the Molyneuz and Kawarau Rivers, and besides being the centre of an agricultural district, still continues the cnase of the golden lure by dredging the .rivers. These old digging townsaips date back to the wildest and most romantic days of New Zealand history. Here came the brave ’and the strong, from the four corners of the earth ,and here were e..acted life stories beside which the tales of fiction fade into nothingness. Now gentle agriculture has laid her band on the turmoil, and the townships lie at the foot of their bare hills, dreaming in the dawn of glories long since departed.

We are advised that steamers for London in March and April next are practically full by many lines in the

second-class, and intending passengers are recommended to obtain at cnee from Messrs. -I’hos. Cook and Son offers of berths in steamer desired. Having berths available, this well-known mm issue a most useful • Sailing and Fare List” (posted free) giving 1914 sailings by all lines and complete fares. 4

Dr. and Mrs. Mill, who have been staying m Dunedin, have left for the north. They proposed going overland from Christchurch through the Otira Gorge, and up the West Coast, round to Nelson, thence through the Sounds and on to Wellington, and so on through the North Island. They expect to leave for England by the beginning of April.

Sir Ernest Rutherford, who is to attend the Science Congress in Australia, will leave England with his wife and family on July 1 for Australia. They will join the party which goes on to New Zealand, and will spend two or three months in and about Christchurch. Sir Ernest Rutherford was a former student of Canterbury College and Lady Rutherford was also a Christchurch girl, the daughter of Mrs. Newton, well known in social work in that city.

The Auckland Commercial Travellers and vv arenousemen’s Association held As iMh annual re-union last week. Tne following oiricers were elected: —r resident, Mr. D. W. McLean; vice-presiaents, Messrs. C. J. Phillips. A. J. Campbell, J. C. Burns, and A. Burt, Jun.; trustees, Messrs. J. C. Macxy and George Squirrell; hon. treasurer, Mr. J. F. Pullen, secretary, Mr. w. S. Cooper;, auditor, Mr. E. B. Alexander; committee — warehousemen, Messrs. A. G. Cooke, A. D. Vviison, Vv. Forbes, E. F. Tapper (and another to ce appointed by the commxtte); commercial travellers, Messrs, r’. I. Gregory, William Boak, H. J. Clifton, T. N. Peek, L. B. Rogers, and C. E. Takle.

A South Canterbury angler, with a friend, recently visited Lake Lyndon, on the West Coast route, when between them the two rods accounted for thirty fish, the largest a sevenpounder. The average daily take was four or five, and the fish were not caught with “creepers,” but with a large-sized fly, which generally was taken while below the surface. One method of angling in this lake is to fasten a creeper on the hook, next throw the bait out into the presumably shuddering water, and then read a book until something happens; surely a most placid pastime,

The Stratford Mountain Club has increased. Its members now number sixty after only a few weeks’ existence.

Sir Hartmann Just, C. 8., Assistant Under-Secretary for the Colonies, who is on his way to make a visit to Australasia, will reach Adelaide towards the end of next month. He will spend three months in Australia and three weeks in New Zealand. After leaving the Dominion, he will go by Fiji and Canada, reaching England again early in August.

Mr. S. J. Nathan, the retiring president of the Auckland Chamber of Commerce, who has gone to the Old Country, intends to spend two months in England, after which he proceeds to Paris to represent the Auckland Chamber at the Permanent Congress of Chambers of Commerce,

Mr. A. M. Myers, M.P., with his wife and family, have spent a week or two at Eastbourne. They remain in London until April, when they will leave for home by way of Canada, joining the Niagara at Vancouver on 13th May, and reaching Auckland about 2nd June.

The popularity of the Huddart-Par-ker steamer Riverina was attested by the passenger list upon her last trip. In the first saloon there were 150 people, while 55 travelled in the second saloon, and 80 in the thirdclass.

The South Canterbury teachers who left New Zealand for Canada were very hospitably received by the Educational authorities of Vancouver and Winnipeg. From news received by friends it would seem that the travellers received a somewhat unceremonious initiation into the mysteries of a Canadian winter. They were landed from the steamer at Vancouver into three feet of snow, and a pretty high degree of frost.

For some weeks past the members of the Manawatu Acclimatisation Society have been raiding the streams about Palmerston North for eels, which have played havoc with the trout and other fish. On a recent night an expedition was made to the Kahuterawa Stream, and 107 eels, the largest of which weighed about 121bs, were secured. Altogether the Society has removed from this stream between 700 and 800 eels. Other streams have also been visited, and numbers of eels removed.

The bookings for the next three vessels of the Canadian-Australian Line, to leave New Zealand for Vancouver, are considerably above the number booked at the same time last year. The total number who have already secured accommodation for the next three sailings is over 300. Of this number 90 first, second, and passengers have booked by . the Makura, which leaves Auckland on March 14th for way ports and Vancouver. One hundred and fifty-five passengers in the three classes have booked throughout New Zealand by the liner Niagara, which sails on April 11. By the Marama, which is timed to sail from Auckland on May 8, over 60 passengers have already secured berths.

The three chamois from the Austrian Alps, which are now on their way to New Zealand, are the last that are likely to be obtained through the good offices of an Austrian naval officer who was a popular visitor to New Zealand a few years ago. Chamois are becoming very scarce, and the Royal gamekeepers were not at all pleased when they got instructions to catch a few for export to New Zealand, It invariably entails the destruction of a considerable number of animals to secure the number alive an d well. One of the causes that have operated in reducing the num bers of chamois in Austria is the scab, which is at present very prevalent.

Mr. C. Barwell, of Auckland, who has been camping in his own tent every night and cooking his own meals, and formerly a well-known resident of Tamahere, has already covered over 2000 miles on his bicycle. He has been practically all over the Dominion. Leaving Auckland on January Bth, Mr. Barwell,

with his machine fully equipped with tent, -sleeping -bag, and, provisions, reached Wellington eight days later. Milford Sound, Otago, was reached on February 3rd. The return journey from Wellington, via Napier and Rotorua, is now. being made, the cyclist speaking in glowing terms of the trip, although in places unbridged rivers and creeks and bad roads caused delays. Mr. Barwell is confident that he will reach Auckland again with his machine and equipment in perfect order.

A system has been instituted on Mount Egmont by which all the caretakers of the north and south houses are kept in touch with the movement of parties travelling between the two resorts. It is the duty of the custodian at one house to immediately notify the other, by means of the telephone, when a party has left his house for the other, or arrived from the other side. By this means the safe arrival of every party is assured, and in case of anyone being overdue search parties can at once be instituted. Climbers will welcome this in-

novation as reducing the risks of hieing forced to spend a night on the mountain, through losing their way or accident, to a minimum.

At the Commercial Travellers’ and Warehousemen’s Club Rooms, Dunedin, on February 21st a large number of country commercial travellers foregathered to say farewell to three of their comrades who are leaving the road. Mr- R. Cairns (who is severing bis connection with Messrs. Allen, Son, and McClure), R. Crawford (who has represented Sargood, Son, and Ewen on the south section for the past five years), Mr. Crawford is going Home to the Old Land to see his aged parents, and Mr. S. V. White, who has represented Sargood, Son, and Ewen’s boot department for the past nine years, is also severing his connection with that firm. Suitable speeches were made and wishes for the success of the guests in their new positions expressed and an enjoyable gathering dispersed.

Approval is given by the Victorian Premier to the linking up of the tourist and immigration services of countries about the Pacific, as suggested by Mr. Alexander Hume Ford, editor of “The Mid-Pacific Magazine.” The Premier stated recently that Mr. Ford, with whom he had conferred, recommended that the tourist business should be established independently of the Railway Department, and extended in scope, after the New South Wales system. He also intended to confer with Mr. Percy Hunter, the head of combined immigration offices in London, who had established the New South Wales business before he first went to London, with a view of submitting the whole ques-

tion to Cabinet. If the opportunity for sightseeing in the eastern and southern portions of Australia were properly known in America and elsewhere, there would bie an increasing stream of travellers, who would not

only spend money in this country, but would extend the interest in Australia, which would have a beneficial effect on the work of immigration.

Writing from Arabia, a German traveller says that Arabian women, if they are to be regarded as really beautiful, must be able to show that they possess various c 0^ rs ' tures in fours (says the Daily Mail ) • Thus skin, hands, teeth, and the white of the eye must all be really wh t . Other “fours” are:_Black: Hair, eyebrows, eyelashes, and the centre of the eye- Red: Cheeks, lips, tongue, 2.4 gums Long: The back arms, and legs. Round: The head, S, wrist, and elbow. Small: Nose, eyebrows, lips, and fingers.

An ansler says that the trout-fish-Ing Reason In Otago and So ut Uand has been very favourable. The Shag River appears to be recognised as one of the best haunts of. good t trout in splendid condition. Sout „ hla *W streams are also well spoken of, and it is reported that a small piar y went south for their holidays caught in one stream 250 fine fish—a good haul for five days’ angling * * *

A Mountain Club which has just been established at Sti afford, m Taranaki, by Egmont worshippers and Na-ture-lovers, has for one of its chiet objects the study and 'P of the flora and fauna of the fin forest which surrounds the Fateer of Taranaki.” The principal founder of the club, Mr. J. B. Richards, spoke at a meeting the other day of the great joy of gaining an insight into tte native bush life and of locals particular trees, such as the giant iatas which are to be found in their glory on the lower slopes of EgmontDistricts like Taranaki are so eager, as a rule, to sweep the last of bush away that such organisations will come as salutary brakes u o the too-swift agencies of forest and forest-life destruction.

Amongst the old London taverns there are forty-eight examples of the Crown, twenty-four of the Rising Sun, and twenty-two of the Globe. Among other titles, more or less curious, are the Aiderman, the Bag of Nails, th. Bird Cage, the- Blind Beggar, the Catherine Wheel, the Cheshire Cheese, the Dewdrop, the Experienced Fowler, the Frying Pan, the Goat Boots, the Green Gate, the Hour Glass, the Knave of Clubs, the Man m the Moon, the North Pole, the Pewter Plater, the Plume of Feathers, the Rent Day, the Running Footman, the Ship Afloat, the Ship Aground, the Sun in Splendour, the Two Chairmen, and the World Turned Upside Down. ♦ * 15

A beautiful specimen of the shining or bronze cuckoo was captured in a Palmerston North orchard. The little bird is one of Nature’s marvels- Not only is it among the handsomest of the feathered tribe, having a lovely bronze-green back and grey-brown speckled breast, but it is one of the greatest travellers in the world. Naturalists differ as to the cuckoo’s whereabouts in winter time, some considering that the bird goes as far north as Siberia, while others contend that it makes a temporary home in the Pacific Islands. At any rate the little tourist is a herald of summer in New Zealand, and usually makes its appearance some time in October. Unlike the swallow, which migrates in great flocks, the cuckoo appears to traverse its thousand-league ocean journey alone, or else only in company with a mate, for more than one specimen is rarely reported in one place, and the first indication of the bird’s presence is a solitary but beautiful note.

The White Star liner Britannic, launched on February 26, is 887 ft long, 94ft 6in wide, and will have a gross tonnage of over 50,000, being thus sft longer, 2ft broader, and about 4000 tons heavier than the Olympic. The most important new feature of the Britannic is a second or inner shell 3ft from the hull proper, extending over a length of about 700 ft. This space has been made water-tight, and it is understood will be used for the carriage of oil. Internally the vessel will be a big advance on the Olympic, and will have about 300 bathrooms, one being attached to every stateroom. The Britannic will have triple screw with reciprocating and lowpressure turbines, and will cover the distance from Southampton to New York comfortably in a little over six days.

A curious phenomenon has been observed recently at Lake Rotorua. A strange commotion in the water was observed off Kaiwaha Point, and it was agreed that it was the work of an awhiowhio, or whirlwind. Spindrift appeared in the clouds, and the troubling of the waters increased, while travelling at a good speed in an easterly direction. Eventually the connection between the water and the clouds became complete, and a genu-

ine waterspout was formed- The flexibility of the column of waters was clearly demonstrated. Sometimes it was curved, then it straightened and lengthened itself, being followed by a waxing and waving, with an almost constant billowy motion. At times it appeared as if the waterspout was composed of a number of slender and distinct columns, each one of which Was gyrating on its own basis. Th? sight was awe inspiring.

A long-suffering traveller on a single-track railway ventured to complain to- the guard of the exasperating unpunctuality of the service. The guard remonstrated in virtuous indignation. “I’ve been; on this line now upwards of eight years ” he began. “Have you, indeed?” interrupted the other sympathetically. “At what station did you get in?” The guard did not pursue the subject.

Rome’s venerable Appian Way, with its countless associations of a magnificent past, will now be disfigured by the desecrating rails of a modern tramway. In the interior of the city streets are being torn up and ancient squares sacrificed to projected enlargements. This road, the oldest and most famous of Roman roads, was begun in 312 8.C., and is from 14 to 18 feet wide, paved with largo stone blocks.

Great interest, according to Mr. Bruce, of the New Zealand Agricultural Department, who has just returned from India, is felt in New. Zea land by many of the wealthy class in that country who are desirous of retiring from business or administrative duties.. He met dozens of AngloIndians who would be worth each from £lo'o,ooo to. £200,000, who made extensive inquiries about these southern lands, with a view to settling in them. Mr. Bruce was able to extend a hearty invitation, and assured them that the Governmment Tourist Bureau would supply, them with sufficient information to convince them that this would prove an ideal resting-place after the tropics. “But,” he said, “I told them they would have to get over the habit of having native servants putting their boots on for them.”

“Singapore,” says Mr. Hintz, a former Timaru resident now returned from the East, where he held a good educational appointment, “is the most cosmopolitan place in the world. Thirty-six languages are spoken there and twelve dialects of Chinese. Seventy per cent, of the population are Chinese, and practically all the property in the city is owned by Chinese. Of a population of nearly half

a million there are only about 5000 Europeans. The Chinese have a marvellous faculty for accumulating cash, and more than others there they have benefited by the rubber boom. They were shrewd enough to buy wisely, and to sell well. But they are not at all scrupulous. They will “take down” their best friend when it comes to cash. The word of a Chinaman in the East is by no means as good as his bond. As an example of their shrewdness, I may mention that a Chinaman will buy goods on three months’ bills, re-sell them for spot cash at less than he had agreed to pay for them, and so obtain money to make another deal out of which he will rely on getting a profit and enough cash to meet his three months’ bills when they become due!

The new Hermitage at Mount Cook will probably surprise nearly everyone who visits and inspects it. The setting of the new house is both beautiful and grand; beautiful in its immediate environment; grand when one takes in the steep and high-piled range, its upper regions scarred with deep ravines, in whose narrow clefts small streams make frequent cascades. The surrounding shrubbery and the bush will be a great source jested walks among them have been of pleasure to visitors, when the proformed. These immediate surround-

ings indeed were cogent reasons for the selection of this site, and not less cogent were the grand and varied views of the surrounding regions that the site affords. Every window of the house affords a notable view. Northward and westward are ice-clad peaks and ridges. Northward and eastward one has the grass and scrubmantled lower slopes and weird crumbling summits or the Mount Cook spur across the Hooker Valley, and the more distant Liebig range beyond the broad shingle-bed of the Tasman. Eastward one sees at close range the sheer base and rounded shoulder (ice-shaped long ago) and the bare and rugged summit of Mt. Sebastopol, and to the left a glimpse far down the Tasman Valley towards Lake Pukaki, with a broad billow of down lands on the Braemar side. On the south side, close at hand, beautiful and endlessly interesting in its variety, is the complex, of shrub and tree and smaller vegetation, rock bluff and ravine, that the steep side of the Sealey range presents. As a site for a summer holiday resort, for its own beauty, and the magnificence and variety of its outlook, that of the new Hermitage at Governor’s Bush would surely be hard to excel. And the new Hermitage is not unworthy of it.

A Wanganui lady, who is at present travelling on the Continent, met with another well-known New Zealand visitor while in Rome, Mother Mary Aubert, and with her as cicerone saw many interesting things. “In Italy,” says the writer, “English is spoken a good deal, and French also to a great extent. It gives .the visitor a bit. of a shock when making an enquiry in stammering French to be answered in excellent English. We have had a laugh occasionally, but are getting very cautious now, and generally enquire of our fellow travellers in the train, ‘Speak English or Parlez Francais?’ Yesterday we were .abouring with a driver, explaining he must be at our hotel at ‘une heure et un demi,’ and bring ‘un autre yoiture et en bon cocher.’ He replied, ‘Yes, mum, I will be there immediately after lunch, with another reliable driver.’ Mother Aubert told us a good story apropos of this. At a crowded reception at the Vatican she was sitting quietly in a corner. In front of her came a very stout man with two ladies. One of the latter said in English, ‘I wonder what this old dame is thinking of us all.’ ‘I don’t know what she is thinking of,’ said the second lady, ‘but I do know she has looked enough at us for her eyes to drop out.’ The man turned and said, ‘I would very much like to know what you are thinking about it all.’ Mother Aubert said with a smile, ‘Well, if you really would like so much to know, it is that you are so very big I cannot see through you.’ Imagine the collapse.”

The Huddart-Parker steamer Victoria, which took up her running last week to Dunedin, carried a large number of passengers in both classes.

There was an unusually heavy booking, and the total reached 210, of which 118 were saloon travellers and 92 steerage.