SUMMIT ROAD.

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 18927, 16 February 1927, Page 14

SUMMIT ROAD.

j THE NEW BUILDINGS. j INSPECTION BY TttUST. I That the Port Hills-Akaroa road, I when formed according to tho vision of I members of the Trust, will be unrival- ! led as a tourist route, is tho firm i opinion of tho members, who have < planned an ambitious scheme for linkj iug up Akaioa with Christchurch by a | road which will traverse now avenues jot otonery and connect up the patches ! ol Virgin .itiii\« bush on tUc bills; 'lhu road uioiiy tlic hilltops to Akuruii win lAi ion..-Jive miles 111 K--iigti., witii va&vs 01 i>usu ut intervals. xiie 'lruat intends electing hums tearooms for tourists. liie reireshment rooms arc calculated to givo uenglit to the eye, lor they will all be of siono nicely in tone witti the surroundings, and with a tnediievnl utmosphcre tliat should vie with tho walk itself in making travellers feel that the quiet peace ot tho hills is far removed from the busy outside world trom which they have just escaped. An old-time coacii plying its unuustling way along the road may add to the illusion. But that may bo looking many years abend. In the meantime the irust has much work to do, work which cannot bo put in hand without money. Members realise that it is better to concentrate on u portion of the road and have the rest completed as finance permits, than to spread the activities over too wide a field. Consequently, while waiting and hoping tor the j sinews of war for n long campaign, they I aro concentrating on the first section of tho rood, of which the most important landmark is tho Sign of the Takahe, at the Hackthorno road tram terminus. Here there is much ado, as was impressed upon members of the Trust who inspectod tho locality yesterday afternoon. The party lunched at the Sign of tho Takahe, where a second storey is boing erected. This will provide for a tearoom 50ft by 13ft, with nine largo windows overlooking the City and hills. The building should bo a decided asset to tho public, as, in common with the eight other refreshment houses which tho Trust intends erecting in the fortyftvo miles of Summit road to Akaroa. its profit will go' towards tho upkeep of tne tourist road. Subscriptions totalling £BOO are required to finish the tearooms, which overlook Cracroft ilill, a knoll of eight acres acquired by the Trust, and round which will be built u terrace walk. The first of the stonework for the new room has been fitted. Only a part of the roof of the premises will be built upon at present, as funds will not allow of further additions. The Trust is dependent for its finance solely upon the profits from the. tearooms, and consequently, in the face of a dearth of private contributions, the programme of work has to be kept in line with the finance in sight. The purchase of the liill, which tho tearooms, with their many windows, overlook, has meant another drain on the funds, and members fear that if the financial horizon does not brighten, the hill, which the Trust intended making a'delight for visitors, may have to be relinquished." But those forces in possession of the Sign of the Takahe, on behalf, of the public, are good fighters, with centuries of glorious tradition behind them. "On the walls are family shields; belonging mainly to old Canterbury families, which date hack in some cases to.the Crusader perjod.