SCIENTIFIC BUSHMAN.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 133, 7 June 1937, Page 6

SCIENTIFIC BUSHMAN.

MEMORIES OF PHILLIPS TURNER (By J. 0.) Our Gilbert White, of the Southern Fiordland. Mr. Richard Henry, writing to mc once about the bird life of Resolution Island, said that if there was a heaven for him he hoped there \riiiil<l be "plenty of ducks there. He had been describing the tameness and confidence of the putangitangi. or paradise duck, and other water birds of that remote solitude where he was the only human inhabitant; lie fed them and thev rewarded liim with their trust. That other srreat Nature lover, the late Mr. E. Phillips Turner, would in a similar spirit. I imagine, have desired a paradise of trees and ferns and singing birds of the bush. Xo one in New Zealand surpassed him in knowledge of the native forest and its life, and no one loved more the face of wild Nature. Phillips Turner and the late Dr. Cockayne were colleagues in many studies and surveys of forest and scenic "landscapes and bihh reserves. They wete a well-linked pair of scientific observers and naturalists; Cockayne furnished the intimate technical knowledge of botany that made him famous, and PhillipTurner devoted himself to the topographical survey and the practical busliman s observations. besides lists of llowers and plants. Their reports on national parks are most valuable for the thoroughness and exactness of the botanical and geographical data recorded, and they are not without eloquence in the description of scenic glories. Phillips Turner, an Englishman born, had been in New Zealand for more than fiftv rears. He followed his profession of surveyor in the Government service and carried out arduous field work, in South Auckland, but his great opportunity of usefulness came when he was appointed Inspector of Scenic Reserves for New Zealand, some thirty years ago. Enthusiasm for the BushIn that capacity he saved many a Crown forest area that would otherwise have been destroyed. His enthusiasm for the bush and its bird life was based on perfect knowledge of the wilds, in which he loved to camp and work. He was the most careful of observers, and lie was unceasing, even after his retirement from the service, in his efforts to prevent the destruction of the forest that is the very life of the land. He never ceased to frarn the country against the excessive deforestation that brought ruin to the hills, floods to the lower country, and irreparable injury to the beauty of the country. It is a pity that the skilled official inspectorship was dropped when Mr. Turner left the I>ands Department for the Forestry Office. He did the State good service there, but the supervision of the Dominion's scenic areas and protection forests slackened, and commercial interests drove destructive wedges into bush that should have been kept tapu, not for the sake of its beauty alone, but for its positively indispensable value for climatic, soil protection and water conservation purposes. A Phillips Turner is needed to-day. and more than one; there is an urgent call for vigilant .eyes and courageous action to stop the ruin of mountain forests in particular. Mr. Phillips Turner was one of the most cultured of men. a courteous, pleasant man with whom to discuss such topics; and one wise in all manner of bush lore and camp life. He told me about his youthful longing for a sea life. His father gave him the opportunity to satisfy that wish when he was sixteen. Young Turner sailed from Sydney as an apprentice in the British ship Rollo in 1880.One long round voyage was enough. He decided that sailoring was not the career for him. First Sight of Waimangu Geyaer. One of Mr. Turner's survey life memories was his view from a mountain top of a great geyser eruption, which must have been the first outburst on a large scale of afterwards famous Waimangu. "About the twentieth of October, 1000," Mr. Turner said (I quote from he sent me). "I was on the summit of Haparanjri Mountain, that volcanic cone about. 2300 ft high, ■\vhich you see close to as you travel from Rotorua to Horohoro and Atiamuri. I was engaged in surveying for the Government, cutting out the Crown areas in a large block of Maori land between Rotorua and Tarawera and the Waikato River. T was taking some observations with my theodolite, -and as I revolved that instrument I noticed in a E.'S.E. direction an extraordinary cloud rising vertically. A short wliile afterwards I had occasion to take another round of readings with my theodolite and I saw the phenomenon repeated. lat once concluded that a huge | thermal eruption had taken place in the vicinity of Rotomahana. "As T saw this eruption over the top of a range about 2000 feet high, the height of the column of steam must have exceeded a thousand feet. I was about 22 miles from the scene, and as I was afterwards to move cam]) to that part of the district I <1 id not go over to /see exactly what had occurred. Through various delays, however, my camp was not moved until the first week in .lauuary. 1001. 1 had to leave two days later on account of illness, and went to Australia for a health trip. While in Sydney I read under large head lines in the newspapers the announcement of the discovery bv l)r. Humphrey Haines and Mr. .T. A. Pond, of Auckland, of an immense geyser near Rotomahana. which they had named Waimangu. or Black Water. It was. cr( course, an eruption from this geyser lake that I had seen from the top of Haparangi nearly six months previously." There were perhaps some earlier minor eruptions from the crater lake; if so Mr. Alfred Warbrick, chief guide, would very J likely have seen them. Mr. Phillips Turner, howe\cr, was the lirst to witness the "reat eruption of 1900.