DESCRIPTIVE SKETCH OF NEW ZEALAND. 



1163 



some of them are of considerable proportions. All the various religious denominations 

 possess well-built places of worship, while the chief places of amusement and of public 

 assembly are the Theatre Royal, two Oddfellows' Halls, a Foresters' Hall, a Mechanics' 

 Institute, a Garrison Hall 

 and Assembly Rooms. In 

 addition to the Govern- 

 ment buildings and Town 

 Council Chambers, there 

 are also a hospital and a 

 high school, besides the 

 primary schools and a 

 Roman Catholic convent. 

 The wind-mill constitutes 

 a notable feature of the 

 landscape, and from this 

 latter point may be ob- 

 tained a good view of the 

 town. Timaru is favour- 

 ably situated for a Can- 

 terbury town, inasmuch as 

 it is set in the midst of a 

 billowy expanse of gently 

 undulating plain, and any 

 departure from the prevail- 

 ing dead level, however 

 slight, is very welcome. 



The remarkable gorge 

 of Burke's Pass lying di- 

 rectly behind the town, but 

 at a considerable distance 

 from it, indicates the route 

 to be followed in order to 

 make closer acquaintance 

 with the high Alps of New Zealand. The 

 first forty miles of the journey ends at 

 Fairlie Creek, which the train reaches in 

 rather less than two hours and three- 

 quarters. The second stage of the journey 

 extends by coach from Fairlie Creek to 

 the Hermitage at the base of Mount Cook 

 itself, and, if the adventurous explorer 

 wishes to penetrate beyond that point, he 

 must make his own arrangements and trust 

 to his own powers of locomotion. From 



