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National Geographic : 1936 Feb
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THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE Photograph by W.Robert Moore VACATIONISTS ENJOY BOWLS AS WELL AS THE THERMAL BATHS AT ROTORUA Numerous teams from various parts of the country, gather for bowling tournaments on these spacious lawns in front of the Government-operated sanitarium. The curative mineral waters and sulphurous muds of the spa attract many people. problematical, most people ship their cars by railway from Arthur's Pass station to Springfield. The braver do try it, how ever, but usually rely on a regular towing service maintained at the river. Without the towing, one might negotiate the uncer tain bed successfully, but if not, it may mean hours of delay, and what charges! From Springfield to the coast the land levels out into the vast Canterbury Plains, the richest agricultural territory in the country. For miles about Christchurch the land was a sea of rippling grain, ripe for harvest. Canterbury, too, has extensive pastoral lands upon which thousands of sheep are pastured. Traveling over the golden plains, with many of the fields set off by long rows of slender poplars, it is interesting to re call that the Scots, who founded Dunedin, passed the Canterbury district by, because they thought that the low-lying land could not easily be won to agriculture. Yet here is produced four-fifths of the wheat grown in New Zealand, which in 1934 totaled somewhat more than 10,000, 000 bushels. Large portions of New Zealand's oats, barley, peas, and linseed also are grown on these fertile plains. Christchurch is a transplanted English town. The Anglican founders who came out in 1850 sought to create a Canterbury in New Zealand, which was to differ from the Canterbury in England only in that they were to have more physical comforts than in their old home. So Christchurch has at its heart an Eng lish cathedral, with a spire towering above the central square. From this square radi ate streets bearing names of Anglican bish oprics. The peaceful Avon, which me anders back and forth through the city to be crossed by 26 bridges, is bordered by English plants and trees. And about the heavy stone walls and corridors of Canter bury University College, where Rutherford, the famous physicist, once studied, clings the atmosphere of an English school (see Color Plate XII and page 216). The "City of the Plains" lies eight miles inland from the sea, but finds outlet for its trade through the near-by hill-girt port of Lyttelton (see Color Plate XI). 190
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