BATTLE ROYAL.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 151, 27 June 1936, Page 10

BATTLE ROYAL.

PARK NEAR SYDNEY.

: TRUSTEES ...UtNDER. FIRE.

WHAT iltE

• • - (From Our Own...Correspondent.) SYDNEY) June 17

Thfe National Park , ttustees are- being Subjected to a. terrific fire of criticism on account'of tlieir efforts to "improve" to.the .begt of their ability the <neat public reserve entrusted to then -°oare. ■ The National .Park, properly so "called, is! ail' area of "about 40,000 acres lying some 20 miles., south of Sydney— an hour's -motor journey from the city. /.It'■stands'''^?w : eeri' the. South Coast railwav line and the sea r the railway lino forming ite western boundary for about 10 miles, and 1 oh'the north-it-tuns up to Port Hacking, which-separates it from Cronulla. it' .is intersected _by the Port Hacking River,"-which : lends a charming variety to-dountless . picturesque views. Tho park is described ,offlcially as "mostly high tablelands, cut up ( by deep gullies and streams, the highlands often rocky and sterile, the gorges rich in ferns and trees and uensely tangled undergrowth." The chief means of access to the interior of the park is the Lady Carrington Drive, a one-way motor traffic avenue, which runs from near Waterfall in the south for nine miles through beautiful bush to Audley at the northern end of the reserve. There are numerous tracks leading through the gullies and over the ridges westward toward the railway line and eastward toward tlio coast. It is only lately that a second motor road has been constructed, branching out from the main drive toward the sea to Walooinolla ,and opening up a beautiful section of the park. The New Motor Road. Now the trustees have decided to run another 'motor road through the bush from " Ergadine, a station north of .Waterfall, oil the south coast line, down to the river near Audley,-thus rendering .the eastern section of . the reserve also accessible to motorists. It is this last scheme which lias aroused much adverse criticism and strongly expressed opposition. The idea of the trustees appears to be that it is their duty to render this great reserve accessible in every part, so that as many people as possible may enjoy its beauties. As the National Park is a long way from the city, and few people walk when they can drive in cars, what is chiefly needed is a series of motor roads radiating through the reserve. It is obvious." that the construction of such roads, followed by the advent of ceaseless streams of motor cars completely changes, the character of such an area as this, and it is at this;, point that the critics join issue with the* trustees, The opposition to the new EngadineAndley motor road is. derived from many different sources." All bur-biologists' and .botanists, and not. only the scientific experts', ■ but also all who 'sympathise with the naturalist point of view, realise that the opening up of native bush by roadways practically destroys its esseritiiil features. The Vegetation, •except the large tree's/ is quickly exterminated, undergrowth, especially in the form of mosses and ferns, speedily perishes, the wild flowers—Australia's most beautiful heritage—soon disappear, and the bush is gradually converted into a bare and barren and commonplace picnic ground.

An extremely important consequence of roading bush land is that not only the flora, but also the fauna is destroyed. The birds, insects and animals, which made their home in the bush in its natural state, desert their old haunts, or retreat into less accessible fastnesses, and the bush is thus robbed of some of its most interesting and fascinating features.

■ > All these disastrous.- changes have [ been noted by 'frequenters of the park since -the tracks have been opened up, but more particularly since the construction of the Wallamolla, Road. .Those who lore Nature for its own sake are most anxious that the eastern half of this great reserve shall not pass through this disastrous transformation as well. The great difficulty to be faced lies in the terms of the trust, which so elastic as to permit the trustees to open golf links or any sort of public recreation ground in the National Park, if they choose. Therefore the society, not content with protesting against "the incursion of further roads and resultant destruction of flora, r.nd fauna, is now moving for a revision of the deed of trust and a complete reconstruction of the board. Personnel of Trustees. The Parks and Playgrounds Movement has expressed the view that among the trustees should be included not simply men experienced in business artrd finance, but also botanists and zoologists familiar with the needs of the flora and fauna the existence of which is at stake; and to this end it is proposed that an influential delegation should be organised to approach the Minister of Lands. Of course the people who are accustomed to motoring for the most part support the trustees, and many corespondents have written to the newspapers protesting against what they term the "selfishness" of the naturalists and the hikers who, so they allege, want to keep all these beauties for themselves. Naturally their opponents have pointed out that people motoring over an asphalt road are not in a position to appreciate or to examine the beauties of bush scenery, which reveal themselves only to close inspection.

A moi e comprehensive Jinswer lias been given by the Federation of Bush Walking Clubs, which includes a very largo number of men and women who have made themselves familiar with the charms of the park by wandering on foot over all its tracks an<l trails They maintain that motor roads driven through the bush must inevitably destroy its natural beauty and its native life. Thev advocate, as a substitute, the clearing of tiact-s which could not be used as motor drives, but which coukl be made mav l •! motorists or hikers who ' fc worth while to indulge ! Physical exertion to investigate the-recesses of this scenic wonderTli' leavhig its beauty unspoiled, menic °r\V" ly k the vie «- which comhere w 1° tho ° f People havfnJ v l,nfortu lately the trustees, hv f dlS P la^'ed serious lack of wisdom l motor roads, have shown very poor judgment in taking offence at exposed The th< * haVe been foAr pioSKk ' nt of the trust has £" l" 1 lsh en o"gh to say that he and his-colleagues are "in no .need of outside Wales' lai lf . the PCO P ]O of New South "dies had not each and all a vested be thnt , th ° k National Park. It may be that this trivial impertinence will Vat,',-'"? 1116 Pr ° tcsts of a " - atuie lovers to turn the wrath of the Government upon the trustees.