COUNTRY CLUB PROPOSED

Press, Volume LXXI, Issue 21639, 25 November 1935, Page 10

COUNTRY CLUB PROPOSED

ESTABLISHMENT NEAR LEWIS PASS FINE SITE AVAILABLE The establishment of a country club on the Lewis Pass road, a few miles on the Canterbury side of the divide, is being considered, and it is anticipated that some definite proposals for going ahead with the project will be formulated by the end of next month. It is estimated that the cost of erecting the building will be about £25,000, and already the Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon. G. W. Forbes, has been approached with the object of securing from the Government a loan of from £IO,OOO to £15,000, to assist in the financing of the scheme. An excellent site for the club, is available. It is on the Glynn Wye station, owned by Mr E. P. H. Burbury, about 15 miles from the junction of the road with the main highway to Hanmer Springs. It is proposed to erect the building, which is to be large enough to accommodate from 40 to 50 guests, on a natural terrace above the road. The building will face to the northwest, looking over Horseshoe Lake, a tarn that is one of the prettiest sights the route has to offer. On a promontory running into the lake from the road, it is proposed to build a summer house, and light the lake by electricity. The power for generating electricity for the lighting and heating of the hostel, it is said, can.easily be obtained from the Hope River, which runs through the gorge nearby. Below the lake, on the Lewis Pass side, it is intended to construct a nine-hole golf course. Within a short distance of the site of the club is a ski-ing ground, which is reached by a suspension bridge across the Hope river. It is also proposed to construct tennis courts and a bowling green near th§ club. When the road to the West Coast has been completed—and that should be within a year or so—it is believed that the route will prove very popular with overseas tourists and New Zealanders alike, for it offers ready access to some of the finest scenery in the Dominion. The route itself from its junction with the Hanmer Springs main highway is full of scenic interest to the traveller, who follows up the Waiau, the Hope, and the Boyle rivers as the road makes upwards towards the pass, and the trip should prove popular to Canterbury people during week-ends.

It is proposed to form a company, and it is said that already several professional ,and business men in Christchurch have indicated their willingness to support the proposal.