Norfolk Island
p. 44 · Read in the full issue
Success of Annual Show—Tourist Boom
From Our Own Correspondent
Norfolk Island, Dec. 2.
OUR Agricultural and Horticultural Show duly took place on a beautiful Novem ber day, and was the usual success.
In addition to the time-honoured range of exhibits, Mr. Blake showed a remarkable entry of furniture, beautifully made and finished by young Norman Ireland, who is his right-hand man in his recently-established furniture fac tory. All the essentials of a home were dis played and many were bought on the spot.
One of our favourite diversions is the attend ing of domestic sales, where we bid so eagerly against each other that we have been known to run up the bidding against ourselves, but with Mr. Blake and his trained assistants making brand new stuff to order at reasonable prices, the sale of second-hand furniture will lose both in interest and in value.
There was a very handsome and well behaved bull on exhibition, also, the property of a small and far-sighted syndicate who are anxious to improve the quality of the non descript animals now roaming this island. I don’t know what breed this bull was: but Mrs. Hopkins think it was a Hereford Short horn, and perhaps it was.
That Tourist Traffic
Our passenger lists both from Australia and from New Zealand grow with every sailing, though I can’t say that if I lived in New Zealand and was contemplating a holiday across the ocean I should hasten to accept the invitation offered by the Auckland agents of the Morinda. In The New Zealand Herald, dated October 15, I read as follows: “A grand opportunity for a complete change and restful holiday amid congenial surround ings. No other holiday out of New Zealand can be obtained at so low a cost. Regular five-weekly service. Subject to alteration without notice!”
The italics and exclamation mark are mine. Such an advertisement would indicate to me only a grand opportunity and a strong probability of being suddenly stranded on an island that would very shortly assume an extremely uncongenial aspect. If I were en deavouring to lure visitors to any particular spot. I certainly should not think it politic to tell them in so many words that at any moment I might remove all facilities for return.
However, perhaps when potential passen gers make enquiries at the shipping office they are reassured and some sort of guar antee given them, for they are certainly arriving in increasing numbers. There is a grand rumour to the effect that both this December sailing and the next, sometime in January, are booked to capacity.