Wakatipu-Milford link progressing

Guide J. N. Lipp and a party of four University students — Messrs M. S. Harris, D. R. Jennings, Stewart Crawford, and J. Tanner, all of Dunedin — returned to Queenstown last night from the Hollyford Valley, where they have been engaged for the last 10 weeks on the work of making a track up the Homer Saddle to connect with Grave and Talbot’s Pass into Milford Sound. The work was commenced at Falls Creeks, to which point the track was completed before the war.

This has now been carried as far as Monkey Creek, five miles further on.  Guide Lipp deplores the fact that the Government has now stopped the work, as another six weeks would have seen the completion of the track as far as the pass.  A start could then have been made next season with the track on the other side of the range on to Milford Sound.  It is very important that this work of opening this new route should be prosecuted without delay, as its completion will establish direct communication between Wakatipu and Milford, and will enable tourists to make the round trip without retracing their steps. Guide Lipp is very enthusiastic about the new route, which, he says, passes through scenery indescribably grand.

Farming rabbits in Southland

The high price of rabbit-skins seems to have made bunny a profitable asset to the Southland farmer who intends to realise as much as he possibly can from this source while the industry is in a flourishing condition.  Men with guns, traps, or ferrets are being warned off the properties presumably unless they give the price asked for the use of the ground, and a couple of Invercargill young men who drove into the country on Friday with ferrets were peremptorily ordered off a farm by the owner, who told them that they must not touch the rabbits (says the News). There was no evidence that anyone had been working the ground, and the visitors came away with the impression that only those prepared to pay for the privilege could interfere with  what  was formerly regarded as one of the worst enemies the farmer had to contend with.

Deer destroying Blue Mts crops

The depredations of the deer amongst the crops belonging to settlers on the slopes of the Blue Mountains above Rongahere have proved very annoying this year (says the Bruce Herald).  The number of deer seems to have increased considerably, and the farmers have had to take measure to protect their crops of grain from being destroyed.  A party which went out a week ago, however, resolved itself into a pig-hunting expedition, their activities in that direction meeting with a greater amount of success.

Chewing gum objection

When in Rome do as the Romans, in America as the Americans, but in New Zealand the great majority of people have no desire to imitate the gum-chewing habits of the Americans, and, indeed, look with marked disfavour upon those who do (remarks the Post).  A young man named Ernest Humphries was sharply rebuked by Mr E. Page, S.M., at the Wellington Magistrate's Court last week.  "I do not like young men to stand in front of me chewing gum," he said. "Go outside and take it out of your mouth.  Your case will be called again later." — ODT, 3.3.1920.