The Auckland Star WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News The Echo and The Sun. TUESDAY, JUNE 19, 1934. A GREAT TOURIST ENTERPRISE.

Auckland Star, Volume LXV, Issue 143, 19 June 1934, Page 6

The Auckland Star WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News The Echo and The Sun.

TUESDAY, JUNE 19, 1934. A GREAT TOURIST ENTERPRISE.

For the cause that lacks assistance. For the wrong that needs For the future in the distuncc, And the good thai ice can do

The North Island should cheerfully acknowledge that in grandeur of scenery it cannot compare with the South Island, and it should view sympathetically any legitimate scheme of developing this Southern asset in the interests of the tourist traffic. If there are questionings about the Government's decision to complete the Te Anau-Milford road they should arise, not from any feeling of jealousy, but from a sincere doubt whether the country can afford to spend a quarter of a million (the total cost of the work, including the estimate for the unfinished portion) for the development of one attraction. Of the value of that attraction there is no doubt. The Te Anau-Milford walk has been described, with some -reason, as the finest in the world, and the Sound is the crowning glory of our magnificent fiordland. Better communication with the Sound will certainly attract large numbers of tourists, both New Zealanders and visitors. It is not expected that the popularity of the walk will be affected; on the contrary, the number making the trip may be increased by the fact that it will be possible ito walk out and come back by motor. If arrangements can be made for regular calling by liners at the Sound, many travellers will land there and cross the island by car. Here, however, something may be said about the doubts that creep in. Has the Government foreseen all the possible consequences of this enterprise? The expenditure of a quarter of a million on what will be purely a tourist road is probably the largest item of its kind. The work includes the making of a tunnel three-quarters of a mile long through a mountain range. Such works are liable to cost more than is anticipated, and if it has not done so. already, the Government should submit the estimates to the most rigid scrutiny. Then there will be maintenance, which may be costly in that high country. For one thing, the tunnel will be a one-way road, which will entail a staff at each end. The Government should consider charging a toll for the use of a' road that has been built solely for one class, and the existence of the tunnel would make collection easy. Then talk of regular visits by steamers suggests provision of coastal lights and harbour facilities at Milford Sound, all of which would cost a good deal of money. Also, care must be taken not to mar the beauty of the place by the ugliness that generally comes with port developments. Eventually the Government may find itself loaded with a cost nearer to half than a quarter of a million, and one would like to know whether this possibility has been considered.