Letter from Roy Bruce to Maud Bruce

You will have
received my wire announcing our
safe arrival but I must try and tell
you the various adventures and mis-
fortunes that happened en route.

They began at Temuka - when
we got there we found the Loyd
Lindsay men had not received their
train passes and had had to pay
their fare by the slow train to Lyttelton
with the horses. Bonie sent the passes
out and they had gone astray.

We got to Lyttelton alright,
(sneaked a birdcage to ourselves & told
stories to keep people out) got on
board the boat with the horses and
had a splendid crossing. The boat
was very crowded, but Marchant
and I had a good cabin to ourselves.

On our arrival at Wellington
we commenced to agitate the Railway
people for a wagon for the horses for
Auckland , and could not get any

satisfaction out of them. They flatly
refused to do anything, we spent the
whole day worrying at them, and all
we could get out of them was that
they would see what could be done
on Monday, but in any case they would
not put a wagon on the express.
Oh! I forgot to tell you that another of
my gun team slipped me up at the
last moment, and I only have four
here, McCully , Ross , Thompson & Mohoney
& Brosnahan who is with the horses, this
means I shall have to train the rest
of the Loyd Lindsay team viz Edgar & the
two Black s.

Well we left Wellington on Sunday
night leaving the Loyd Lindsay team
behind to get up as soon as they
could, and they have not arrived yet,
Tuesday night. Goodness knows when
they will turn up. We had a good
run up in the train, some of the
scenery is perfectly beautiful, particularly
between Taihape and Frankton Junction ,
before that of course it was dark, and

afterwards it is rather uninteresting.
I do hope that some day you will
be able to see it. Of course it is
very tiring and one gets filthy, but
it is worth it. We arrived in
Auckland at 5.30 on Monday
evening without any further adventures,
hot, tired and dirty, and as soon
as we arrived at this hotel (which
is not bad) made straight for the
bath room. It was a nice feeling
to be clean and to get into clean
clothes again. Andrews said he
had to take his toothbrush to clean
out the plug when he had had his
bath as the water wouldn't run
away!

After dinner we had a stroll
round and eventually landed at
the Exhibition, but only sat a little
while listening to the band as we
were very tired. I do wish you
could hear that Artillery band,
it is really wonderful, the Besses

are not in it. We are going again
tonight. I could listen to it for hours
it is so beautiful.

This morning another misfortune,
the gun has not yet arrived, and when
it does arrive, which will be when the
devil knows we will be lucky if we
get any horses or any paddock for the
other horses or anything else so far as
I can see. I was at the Defence Office
this morning and afterwards at the
Show grounds which is 3/4 3 or four
miles away and could not get much
satisfaction, anyone who could do any-
thing was away or something, truly
everything seems to conspire to make
our path difficult. I shall be quite
surprised if we start at all in that
competition, the way things are shaping
now.

Maud dear I wish you were with
me, this is such a nice town, it is
the nearest approach to a real city
there is in New Zealand , none of the
other cities can compare with it.

Queen St is a real street with
wide pavements and good shops.
The weather is gorgeous, perhaps
a little too hot for you, but excellent
all the same. Everything so far
as I can see is much better and
cheaper here than in Timaru . I
hope to do some exploring before I come
back.

An interruption here, Edgar &
Brosnahan just turned up leaving the
Blacks' Blacks to bring on the horses
which should arrive tomorrow evening. Poor
horses three days from Wellington !
Edgar & Brosnahan came on to help
me, very decent of them to leave
their horses, but there is nothing to
be done till the gun arrives.

Have just had dinner, Andrews
& I are off to the band. I do wish
you were here dear. Please don't expect
long letters till after the tournament,
my time will be well occupied as
soon as the gun turns up.

Good bye now old girl , take care of
yourself & Helen , it is a pity you
can't be here, you would enjoy yourself
so. Today I have managed to consume
5 ice creams, delectable things with
strawberries in them.
Kiss me darling & give Helen
a hug & a kiss.
Roy .

Tell Pinkie I travelled up from
Wellington with Belcher the new
man at the College. He is not
much like a schoolmaster.
R .