DOMINION PRAISED

Daily Telegraph (Napier), 31 August 1929, Page 22

DOMINION PRAISED

THE FUTURE OF WINTER SPORTS IN NEW ZEALAND. 1 i LUPORTANT INTERYIEW WITH A VISITOR. I | 1 | T SEEMS A R ARE OCCASION j ! I that New Zealand reccives a Ahitor from Tasmania. Whether ! or 110 thev coine and go who jknows? but if they do, they geneTally do so silently. 1 It was only tlie unbounded cntbu- | sia.sin for iMount C'ook tliat opened the j j iips of Mr V. C. Smitli of Jilessrs Cad- 1 | tiury's and Fry's, Hobart, wlien our j j rnterviewer visiled him. j Tlie Mount Cook dislriet cqualled rinything in Winter Sports tliat Mr sinith has cxperienced iq^ Switzerland. j Ihe bset ski-ing in Mr Smitli's cxperienced opini.Hi does not lie in the innnediato loeality of tbe Hermitage, but larther a field tiian the present visitors 10 Mount Cook appear to venture. Durmg liis skiing Mr Sniith journeyed far, despite tlie faet that he could only ppare threo days for actual skiing. IMr vSmitli showed the interviewer a v.onderful series of photograplis he had sec-ured oue of which was taken looking up tlie Tasman Glacier. to the Lindenfekl Saddle. in this p'notograph tbe snow fields lent a weird perspective to ihe picture. In tbe distance is the Lindenfekl Saddle, a point whieb is 1.99] feet bigli. To all appearanees ■ his beigbt might have been but a liundred 01* two feet above the foreground of tbe picture, which was only abont 5700 feet. The only empbasis of the great beights that surrounded the pboto-grapber were the gigantic sliadows rast by tbe peaks around. On Ihe dav of the oeeasion of taking this Mbotograph from the Malte Brun Hnt, Mr V. C. -Smitli with a companion and gnicle ski-ed 24 miles to the Hermitage. The slopes around Mount Cook offer great advantages for safe and very speedy ski-ing. Slopes that took ihe party two hours to climh were ski-ed over 011 their return in less tban 10 niinutes. That Winter sports 111 New Zealand noed more organisation was fbc opinlon of Mr Smitli. A good ski-ing and Winter Sports Club needs forming. ocveral weak efforts have apparently oeen rnadc, but liave proved more or less futile. The club for Winter sports might have tlie tcndency to lessen tbe expense of sueh a holidav and bring ski-ing more forwnrd in the notico of New Zealanders. At present Mr Smitli felt that New Zealanders did not avail ihemselves of tho wonderful opportunities for ski-ing tlilt.t many people would travel thousands of miles to experience. "'Tlie snow is of fine ski-ing qualities." summed un Mr Smitli, "tlie scenery grand, the sport availalile tonal to tlie best that Switzerland ean offer." _ ' Then our interviewer inquired about Tasmania, and Hobart in particular. "Had," lie asked. "Hobart rerovered lr.om tlie disastrous effects of tbe recent flood ?" "Tbe flood area," replied Alr vRmitb, "was north-west, liortli. north-east and east of Tasmania-, so tbat Hobart was not affected badly exc-ept for tlie loss of a little trade. Launceston suffered far more tban Hobart." Mr Smitli liad some interesting news to give as to ihe pulp industry, for Tasmania. Iiopes to develop paper manufacture. It is expected that a tart will soon be made 011 tlie erection of the first unit for the production of paper pulp from the liard wood timher in the Hunn distriet and this will employ a large nuniber of workers. Similarlv to New Zealand, Tasmania has liad experiments made with the pulp ohtainahle from lier fbrests. These were successful. It is hoped not only to develop tlie pulp industry, •but also at a later date to produce artificial silk. Zinc has been exploited in Tasmania by an enterprising company for the past eiglit years very successfully, and also the production of fertilisers hy the same company. The clieap water power, made possible by utilising tbe waters of the Great Lake (situated almost in the geograpbical centre of Tasmania), has helped Tasmanian development. Tt iias benefited Launceston and Hobart particularly. Tasmania was apt to he viewed witbout. a fair comparison. People wlio were not Tasnmnians expected here to keep in step with the great States on ilie mainland of Australia. This was impossihle with the small population of Tasmania (200.000). Tasmania could be called prosperous. As io Australia as a whole: Yictoria, New South Wales and Southern AusLralia were at present sufferiilg from a trade depression and unemployment, partlv, if not wholly, due to tlie erop failuro owing to drought. Western Australia is making good progress, wliile Queensland is getting 011 lier feet again after a succession of liad years. There was a more optimistic 1,0110 in Queensland since the new NaLionalist Government had taken office. Our interviewer informed Mr Smith with some pride that New Zealand had exported one and a-quarter million cases of apples last season. "How," he asked, "was the fruit industry in Tasmania?" > Mr Smith replied, "The wool and fruit industries were primary ones in Tasmania. The fruit industry had prospered last season mainly by tlie increased export price tliat had been obtained for its produce."