SPOILING THE BULLER GORGE.

Press, Volume LXV, Issue 13427, 20 May 1909, Page 6

SPOILING THE BULLER GORGE.

Th.f "Minuter ior Railways had ye>ter--!ay an opportunity of seeing the country through which tho WestportInangahua rnilway will run—■when it i> completed. The railway was authorised in H,'o4, .Mr W. Hall-Jones, then .Minister for Public Works, mentioning

in the course of his statement thnt it would cost more than the average rate co construct. Already, it may be mentioned, the fire or .six miles ot' the iine that have been completed have cost between £30..C00 and £10,000 (.the exact expenditure oi" last year's vote ot £1 0.000 i.s not yet known), nnd the most difficult, part of the work has ttill a> be taken :n hand. The lino was intended, apparently, to open up /-ertain olocko of country, and in time to connect with Reef ton. (t is doubtfulone may say very doubtful—whether, in regard to the first point, the results uould ever justify the heavy expenditure, and it is certoin that the. trade of Roefton doe-, not warrant that township, which is already connected by rail with one port, Greymnuth, being favoured -to tin extent of connecting it v. ith another. West port. Apart from this, however, it has to be remembered that the route of the proposer!, railway lies right through tho Duller Gorge, one cf the finest;stretches of scenery to be found in oil New' Zoa.and. Its fame has gone, far bc\ond the limits of the [Dominion, and the "Hawk's Crag," which is one of the striking feature* of the drive, has claimed the admiration of thousands who have only seen it in photographs, and have never gazed upon the magnificent combination of river, forest and mountain that is there presented to the traveller's view. If the projected railway were. ever constructed ;it would traverse the Gorge on the opposite side from tho coach road, and" there can bo no doubt that it would destroy the magnificent scenery which is one of tho natural assets of New Zealand. We have always recognised that where the pleasure of tourists clashes with the best interests of settlement, the former must give way. But here is a case in which the benefits to settlement dcrivablo from the railway are so remote and so problematical, ana even then obtainable only at enormous cost, and tlie value of the scenery, as such, is so undeniable, that its destruction should not be permitted except on far stronger grounds than have yot been placed before the public. It would recjuire a very profitable railway to justify the spoliation of a scene so rich and varied in its beauty as the Bullcr Gorge. Wo have yet to learn Mr Millars opinion of tho railway, and its prospects of ever naying its way. But in view of his consistent policy regarding unprofitable undertakings, we should be surprised if, even leaving aesthetic considerations out of the question altogether and acting merely on the material ground of the financial return to be expected from the line, he did not stop further construction. And in this ca.se tho aesthetic considerations are so strong that they cannot be ignored.