Post by Dave Homewood on Feb 18, 2024 18:30:26 GMT 12
From the SOUTHLAND TIMES, 19 OCTOBER 1944
N.Z. SAILORS IN AMERICA
PEOPLE KNOW LITTLE OF DOMINION
Some New Zealand sailors had their national pride deflated considerably when they were in the United States. They discovered that a great number of the people to whom they spoke did not know where New Zealand was, nor to whom it “belonged.”
Writing a letter to a friend in Invercargill, Signaller D. Stone, formerly of the literary staff of The Southland Times, mentions this fact.
In an American west coast city a hostess at a service club asked the sailors from where they came, but the answer, “New Zealand,” obviously meant nothing to her. To make matters worse, she asked whether New Zealand belonged to America and whether it was near Alaska.
Ignorance of the existence or whereabouts of New Zealand was not an isolated occurrence, said Signaller Stone. One man asked if New Zealand was in Holland and an American woman, who had obviously a vague knowledge of the Pacific, insisted on speaking of Brisbane and New Zealand in the one breath. One New Zealander was continually busy explaining to a few slightly-informed people why his skin was white.
The New Zealanders adopted different tactics, continued Signaller Stone, and instead of taking it for granted that their hosts would know of the existence of the Dominion they began their conversations with the question: “Do you know where New Zealand is?” With the country’s existence and geographical position settled, conversation became a little easier.
POOR GENERAL KNOWLEDGE
“The vastness of the United States and the necessarily self-interested lives of many sections of the people explain the average ignorance of a place as small as New Zealand,” said Signaller Stone. “Figures published recently in American magazines show that of approximately 90,000,000 adults in the United States, 27,000,000 do not know that the Japanese have taken the Philippines. When asked to make a list of the United Nations, 70,000,000 failed to mention Canada. In the light of these figures, New Zealanders need not be perturbed when they find their country little known in the minds of many Americans.”
Signaller Stone wrote some very interesting details of a train trip across America, from Los Angeles to New York, through 14 States. He mentioned the vast cornfields of Iowa, the sagebrush country of Nevada, the Colorado Canyon country and the magnificence of Chicago. He was very favourably impressed with the Pullman dining cars on the trains and said that on the train were about six different dining cars, each presided over by a negro waiter.
The steward in their car had the name of Isaac A. Bobo and was a mine of information about the Pullman Company. The steward told the sailors that the company was quite prepared to lose perhaps 10 or 15 cents on a meal rather than waste hours of travelling time standing in stations while meals were served in refreshment booths.
LUXURIOUS CARRIAGES
The Pullman “day coach” that the sailors used on the train was one of the earlier models of the Pullman series, said Signaller Stone, but it was luxurious compared with the carriages on the Invercargill expresses.
Signaller Stone spent three full days in San Francisco and visited the city’s famous Chinatown. He described the Golden Gate and Oakland Bay harbour bridges as “magnificent structures.”
In New York, Signaller Stone had an opportunity to visit Rockefeller Centre —the “city within a city.” He described the view of New York from the 65th story of one of the centre’s skyscrapers as astounding.
“It is a fabulous block of buildings and I was continually being amazed, astounded or astonished. The Time and Life building is very impressive,” he said.
Signaller Stone saw the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo and said that the opportunity of attending such shows as the ballet made overseas service worthwhile. He also intended to see a performance in the Radio City Music Hall, advertised as the largest theatre in the world.
N.Z. SAILORS IN AMERICA
PEOPLE KNOW LITTLE OF DOMINION
Some New Zealand sailors had their national pride deflated considerably when they were in the United States. They discovered that a great number of the people to whom they spoke did not know where New Zealand was, nor to whom it “belonged.”
Writing a letter to a friend in Invercargill, Signaller D. Stone, formerly of the literary staff of The Southland Times, mentions this fact.
In an American west coast city a hostess at a service club asked the sailors from where they came, but the answer, “New Zealand,” obviously meant nothing to her. To make matters worse, she asked whether New Zealand belonged to America and whether it was near Alaska.
Ignorance of the existence or whereabouts of New Zealand was not an isolated occurrence, said Signaller Stone. One man asked if New Zealand was in Holland and an American woman, who had obviously a vague knowledge of the Pacific, insisted on speaking of Brisbane and New Zealand in the one breath. One New Zealander was continually busy explaining to a few slightly-informed people why his skin was white.
The New Zealanders adopted different tactics, continued Signaller Stone, and instead of taking it for granted that their hosts would know of the existence of the Dominion they began their conversations with the question: “Do you know where New Zealand is?” With the country’s existence and geographical position settled, conversation became a little easier.
POOR GENERAL KNOWLEDGE
“The vastness of the United States and the necessarily self-interested lives of many sections of the people explain the average ignorance of a place as small as New Zealand,” said Signaller Stone. “Figures published recently in American magazines show that of approximately 90,000,000 adults in the United States, 27,000,000 do not know that the Japanese have taken the Philippines. When asked to make a list of the United Nations, 70,000,000 failed to mention Canada. In the light of these figures, New Zealanders need not be perturbed when they find their country little known in the minds of many Americans.”
Signaller Stone wrote some very interesting details of a train trip across America, from Los Angeles to New York, through 14 States. He mentioned the vast cornfields of Iowa, the sagebrush country of Nevada, the Colorado Canyon country and the magnificence of Chicago. He was very favourably impressed with the Pullman dining cars on the trains and said that on the train were about six different dining cars, each presided over by a negro waiter.
The steward in their car had the name of Isaac A. Bobo and was a mine of information about the Pullman Company. The steward told the sailors that the company was quite prepared to lose perhaps 10 or 15 cents on a meal rather than waste hours of travelling time standing in stations while meals were served in refreshment booths.
LUXURIOUS CARRIAGES
The Pullman “day coach” that the sailors used on the train was one of the earlier models of the Pullman series, said Signaller Stone, but it was luxurious compared with the carriages on the Invercargill expresses.
Signaller Stone spent three full days in San Francisco and visited the city’s famous Chinatown. He described the Golden Gate and Oakland Bay harbour bridges as “magnificent structures.”
In New York, Signaller Stone had an opportunity to visit Rockefeller Centre —the “city within a city.” He described the view of New York from the 65th story of one of the centre’s skyscrapers as astounding.
“It is a fabulous block of buildings and I was continually being amazed, astounded or astonished. The Time and Life building is very impressive,” he said.
Signaller Stone saw the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo and said that the opportunity of attending such shows as the ballet made overseas service worthwhile. He also intended to see a performance in the Radio City Music Hall, advertised as the largest theatre in the world.
