A TRIP TO AUSTRALIA 



useful reign had come to an end. This unfortunate 

 news rather damped the programme fixed at Hobart. 

 Tasmania is a lovely island, the climate is so 

 temperate, and the vegetation was refreshing after 

 the drought of Australia. Fruit of all kinds simply 

 abounds in Hobart, and how much safer it proved 

 to be rather than the beer of Brisbane. 



On our way across to New Zealand we called in 

 again at Melbourne. The Queen's death raised a 

 doubt as to whether we should continue the round 

 trip. However, fresh instructions must have arrived 

 on our reaching Melbourne, and then off we sailed 

 again for the Bluff, the most southern part of the 

 South Island. I note from my diary that we arrived 

 at the Bluff harbour on February 5 and left Auckland 

 on the 19th. During this fortnight we travelled the 

 whole of New Zealand, either by land or sea. 



A good deal of travelling was done in the train, 

 and when this occurred, the old ship was sent on to 

 a fresh port and waited our arrival. By general 

 consent this was the most delightful part of the whole 

 round journey. We spent a night at most of the 

 large towns ; to mention a few, Dunedin, Christ- 

 church, Wellington and finally Auckland. The 

 hospitality was great and the enthusiasm of the 

 people really outrageous. I have an idea that the 

 welcome was so great that one or two of the regulars 

 made up their minds that life in New Zealand 

 compared to the Army was too good to leave. 



You can quite imagine how quickly rumour of this 

 sort ran round the ship on leaving, but what makes 

 me think that there was a margin of truth in this 



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