"In Brisbane I found it impossible to secure any tourist literature on New Zealand, and that is only one case in point. The New Zealand Government, which will benefit very largely as the result of the forthcoming New Zealand and South Seas Exhibition by means of freight charges, railway fares etc should set up a publicity campaign and ‘boost’ the dominion and its wonderful scenic grandeur throughout the British Empire and the United States, to say nothing of other countries. The Government and the Exhibition Company should set a considerable sum apart for this purpose."
Deserving of success
The Community "Sings" (bless the name!) are to start again to-morrow, and, without the tiniest tinge of irony, I wish the promoters "god-speed." Perhaps you may ask why the idea of irony should even be mentioned. The answer is that all good movements, inaugurated perhaps in a glow of fine enthusiasm, are liable to dull reaction. We tire (such is human nature) of the enjoyments which we relished so frankly at the start. But the Community Singing is not a defunct orgy. It will be blazed once more on Thursday under the splendid control of Mr George Wallace. Though there is a shade of froginess in my throat in these midwinter days, I will contribute my infinitesimal share to the swelling of the chorus "O Come Let Us Sing Together!"
— by ‘Wayfarer’
Wahine toa
The Maoris are great wrestlers, but one of the finest ever seen in action was a King Country maiden. With her sister, she used to wrestle with any man willing to challenge the pair, which was only on rare occasions. She knew practically every orthodox hold and a few not known to the Pakeha. An old warrior who had been skilled in the art had been her teacher.
View from the top
Of beautiful and interesting walks there are many, one of the finest is that to the soldiers’ memorial, on the Peninsula high road, the monument to those men of the Peninsula who made the great sacrifice. The great rock base is as much a monument as the memorial itself. A flight of steps (without handrail) on the ocean side leads up to the platform. An iron railing runs round the monument giving the support needed. But you gaze out over a scene that which few finer can be found; the great Pacific, calm and beautifully blue out to the horizon, shoaling into green as it neared the shore. Far below, the Tomahawk Lagoon and snug farms resting in calm sunshine; Ocean Beach a long stretch of golden sands; St Clair, with its red reefs and green outlines; and then the great bluff which lies beyond the Second Beach, a faint line of white surf marking its feet.
Above us, towered the figure of the soldier boy, with rifle, kit and helmet, looking out over the hills to the Heads beyond. About 50 names on the roll of honour — names of those who shared in the struggles in France, Gallipoli, Belgium, Egypt and far-away Mesopotamia. I wonder if many visit the monument? Let it not be said: "And no one sees, And no one hears, And few remember Those far-off years."
— by Annie C. Anderson
— ODT, 25.6.1924 (Compiled by Peter Dowden)
