The New Zealand Railways Magazine, Volume 11, Issue 10 (January 1, 1937)
Tadpoles in the Tea
Tadpoles in the Tea.
And the sunrises! You never saw anything like them. With two-thirds of you out of the window you can't help seeing them. Of course, you must expect rain. Baching is a dry business without it. Not that you need rain to fill the tank because the tank won't fill, anyway, on account of there being no tank. But there's a nice stream down at the end of the paddock. The water is perfectly pure; the tadpoles enjoy it even more than you do. It's splendid sport laying odds as to who will get the tadpole in his tea. Childish pleasures, no doubt, but it is these simple delights that make baching so jolly. When it rains you get a complete rest because you have to lie under the table and chairs to keep the drips out of your eyes. It is the only time when you can say that there is water laid on all over the house.
If you take a dog you should see that he wears his tail short. No reasonable person objects to a dog in a bach but a tail lying all round the house is awkward if there is a dog on the other end of it.
Every sign in the business places to-day shows that the bad times have passed into ancient history. I was in the departmental store known as Londontown, and it was well packed. Elaborate preparations were being made for the youngsters’ Christmas attraction, and perhaps youthful squeals of ecstacy may finally banish Old Man Gloom from this bright section of the city. I found in conversation with the proprietor, Mr. W. J. Robinson, that, with characteristic New Zealand thoroughness, he had spent years in London, specialising in the several branches of the art of clothing New Zealanders.
I would like to be present in the Avenue when the Christmas Carnival Week opens this year. If ever an ideal street had been planned for processional purposes, it is the stately Victoria Avenue. Be reminded, too, that there are other broad thoroughfares bordered with fine edifices. The residential districts have their own distinction. St. John's Hill is a remarkable dress circle plateau, with so many lovely homes and gardens that one wonders where the gold mines are, that belong to their fortunate owners. Here again appears the constant feature of New Zealand tree and verdure growth which gives garden and lawn of ten years’ standing an air of immemorial age.
I have reserved for the last part of this article the feature of Wanganui which is as distinctive on the man-made side of its being, as the river in its natural endowment. Wanganui page 50 page 51 is a grove of graceful temples of education. Without exception, these buildings are of aesthetic perfection and architectural beauty. We show, for instance, the primary school at Aramoho with its tasteful gardens, and, of course, open-air swimming bath, only one, let it be noted, of fourteen in the city. The Technical College Hostel is unique in the Dominion, and our picture shows its severe but noble beauty. An oak-lined avenue branching from the main thoroughfare leads to the Wanganui Collegiate School whose old boys have attained distinction in every walk of life and in every part of the Empire. It sends up to Oxford and Cambridge an annual quota of students comparable with most of the English pubilc schools, and takes its place with the greatest schools under the Southern Cross. The gravely lovely chapel is only one of its array of superb buildings that stand about the splendid playing fields. The Wanganui Girls’ College, The Technical College, are also noble piles, and there are many other well-known establishments, the St. George Preparatory School, the Marist Brothers', the Friends, and St. Mary's Convent.
For some reason, not altogether clear, Wanganui has not rejoiced in any regular annual festivals. The enterprising body known as the Tourist and Development League is effectively remedying this, and at Christmas and New Year the river city will be en fete. Skilful use is being made of every advantage the city possesses, and a full week of gaiety contains, inter alia, rowing races, the New Zealand Championship motor boat races, Maori canoe racing, cycling, greyhound racing, axemen and surf clubs; indeed, everything that relates to carnival. I can imagine no more satisfying way to spend a holiday than to be in Wanganui at this time, or (as my last word) any other time.
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