THROUGH THE EAST

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLIX, Issue 254, 25 September 1929, Page 7

THROUGH THE EAST

i.MERSTONIANS ABROAD. POPE’S IMPRESSIONS. NT INTERESTING TOUR. a four months’ trip through ia and the East. Dr and Mrs turned to New Zealand yestcrthe Makura and are again rein Palmerston North. Dr Pope , very close study of the coune visited and, in conversation “Standard” representative this 5, recounted in a most interestnner some of his opinions and ions gained during his tour, ope visited a number of Austowns and, when in Sydney, 1 along the’Hawkesbury River for its splendid scenery—and cli impressed by the fine weekjses built in the little bays 10 waterway. The farming dis>out Maitland were next visited riod just after torrential rains lsed heavy iloods. The Richliver, one of the biggest in the was much like the Manawatu, tany of the river would ietween thirty and forty a flood period, and exdamage would follow. Dairyt principally carried on about 1, it being good country for pose, and few sheep were to be 'urther on was Kempsoy, wbero ero again big herds of cattle— Ily Shorthorns and Durhams—land was not so good as that laitland. A noticeable feature it there were few English most of the pasture being of a nature. Dr Pope especially that very few milking machines §l® ' ere llse< f '0 the districts, most of the Hiking being done by hand. KLismore was impressive as a very jrosperous town of high property ?;|g|g jtl.ties, it being surrounded by a very v® B e dairying district. The Clarence iEMW iffcriet boasted of a very large co■4m perative butter factory, said to ho ,Jan lie of the largest in the world. [t New Zealand white pine in the Imufaeture of its butter boxes. The ppliers were enjoying the benefits of e Paterson scheme, under which they tained 3d per lb over London parity icos, giving them a decided advangc oyer outside suppliers. Despite the fact that the districts jntioned were indeed prosperous, it imed remarkable that there were no idges over most of the big rivers, assings being made by punts. Some the country roads were very bad d the tourists’ car was deeply bogd on occasions. THROUGH QUEENSLAND. After visiting Grafton, Dr Pope snt on to Queensland, where the prinpal topic of discussion at the time is the collapse of the Labour Govnment, which had held sway for 14 ars. It was said that, during the Dvernment’s term of office, there had :en a loss of £19,000,000 on the railiys alone. The wheat crops on the owns were shaping particularly wall id in tl western State a very good as'On was anticipated—one which 3qld possibly offset the fall in the •iow of wool, the realisations for Ausalia being £15,000,000 less at the f 1 leaing of the season than had been 'MW ie jypase last year. Sugar, bananas ■V k ntK pineapples wero all growing rclaJmably well on the north coast of s:;, $v Mpnsland,. where the rainfall was ood. ®f,V IDr Pope was not at all favourably Upressed with Thursday Island, which s?' .att describes as being very dismal. Jhipese, Malays and blacks predomiflV' iated among the population and pearlk]&\ ng was the chief industry—but a dying line on account of the manufacture of irtificial pearls. On the other hand, l Darwin, with a pretty harbour fringed to the edge with mangroves, was quite attractive. The town was on a hill back from the harbour, and a beautiful monument to Sir Ross Smith looked out over the sea. There was a 5 Chinatown in Darwin, but it was hard to understand what kept the Chinese lin the town. The blacks were kept in a compound and did not mix with ;the rest of the population. IDLE MEAT WORKS. Erected a considerable time ago, Messrs Vesty’s meat works were still unoccupied, disputes over labour being the reason for their remaining closed. It seemed a pity that such large and splendidly equipped works, with numerous railway sidings, should be idle, but the plant was being kept in perfect order. Vegetation about Darwin was scarce, but there was fine cattle country down towards Pine Creek, where, with a fall of rain, the grass would grow over-night. Through the Great Barrier, studded with innumerable small islands, Dr Pope sailed for Java, the journey from Darwin occupying five days. The doctor’s first impression of Java was that jt was teeming with Malays, Javanese and Chinese. He considered that the Dutch wero managing Java very well indeed, and he would say that it was one of the richest islands in growth in the world. There was a prolific production of everything, including sugar, rice, rubber, tapioca, coffee, copra, pepper and tea. The Dutch control y was stringent, but it needed to be so as the population was 35,000,000. M The motoring roads on the island were I wonderful, being flanked with tropical scenery and the exotic flowers and fohiage of the hibiscus and flame trees. Sourabayo, Samarang and Batavia were fine towns, with wonderful mansions for the white population, especially those on the hills of Samarang. Labour was very cheap in_ Java, the average pay for any coolie worker being between lOd and Is per day. JAVA’S GREAT WEALTH. The climate was very oppressive and, beyond administration duties, the white population could do very little work. Dr Pope was informed on reliable authority that Holland derived 60 per cent, of her income from Java *—which would give an indication ot the wealth of production. In Batavia, a motoring firm had erected a large assembling factory employing ■3OOO natives. It had originally been intended that the works should bo erected in Singapore, but a dispute over a site had caused a change ot mind. Mountain and lake scenery were splendid throughout the district and strikingly quaint gardens, laid out in 1812, were inspected. These were about 40 miles from Batavia and in the grounds was the governor s residence. The rice culture was an interesting study, as was the whole ot the industry. The ports of Java were very shallow and ships entered only at high tides. SINGAPORE BASE. Singapore was impressive and the residents thero were particularly wei pleased with New Zealand’s attitude towards the Singapore Base, wJncn was about ten miles distant from, tne town, it being necessary to obtain a special pass to inspect., it. An aerodrome had been established and thei were fine quarters erected for tne me . The construction of the ease was g b ahead rapidly and appeared to be a big undertaking. Strangely eno g , the richest people in Singapore app - ed to be the Chinese, numbers of whom

were millionaires. ’ The tin and rubber markets had dropped and that tact had appeared to affect the general trade in the East. Erected at a cost of £1,000,000, Singapore’s hospital was a wonderful institution and splendidly equipped. Dr Johns, formerly of New Plymouth, is a surgeon at the hospital. Singapore was the “Gateway of the East” where there was a constant stream of ships to all ports, and it was a centre of great trading importance. IN QUAINT CEYLON.

En route from Singapore to Ceylon, Dr Pope called in at the island of Penang, where the vessel on which he travelled loaded 2400 tons of rubber and 1000 tons of tin fpr America. Five days later he arrived in Colombo, whore the climate was much cooler. Ceylon was found to bo similar to tho other parts of the East and just as charming. When on a trip to Kandy,l in the interior of Ceylon, Dr Pope witnessed a unique sight in a Buddhist “perehera,” or religious festival in connection with the phases of the moon. In a magnificent procession there were about 150 sacred elephants and about 250,000 natives were present, the celebrations lasting a week. A large Buddhist temple was inspected, but it was found to be in a filthy condition and the smells peculiar to the country did not enhance it. Another picturesque sight was a dinner given by Indian chiefs to the Governor of Ceylon. Everyone was dressed in native costume and the spectacle was well remembered as a brilliant Eastern display. From Colombo, Dr and Mrs Pope returned to New Zealand by way of Sydney.