N.Z. In A.D. 2000 As Seen By University Teachers

Press, Volume XCII, Issue 27735, 12 August 1955, Page 10

N.Z. In A.D. 2000 As Seen By University Teachers

Forecasts on the lines of Jules Verne or Orson Welles were discarded last evening, when two university teachers discussed with the mathematics and physics section of the Canterbury branch of the Royal Society of New Zealand what New Zealand would be like in the year 2000. One, Mr I. L. Holmes, senior lecturer in civil engineering at Canterbury University College, said there would be some sweeping changes, but he could not see many. speaker, Professor T. W. Walker, professor of scil science at Canterbury Agricultural U liege, Lincoln, foresaw a great incn se in New Zealand’s primary production and increased leisure time, which, he urged, should be used to advantage. Two of the sweeping changes which would take place in the next 45 years were already known —atomic energy and travel, Mr Holmes said. Space 1 vel was merely the provision of Africas, South and North Poles of the future for the explorers and adventurers. Some might regard electronics as a field for great changes, but he wondered whether electronics might not be merely “gadgetry.” In the year 2000 some of the cars on the roads now would still be on the roads, he said, remarking that he had driven to the meeting in an old car. Air travel would be much more extensive, and public transport would undergo some changes, but mostly to make buses less noisy and less bumpy. Thousands of bridges had to be replaced, thousands of miles of roads had to be resealed and many miles of city streets had to be made “pot-hole proof,” so no radical change in transport seemed possible.

“Science might seem to progress," he said, “but technology does not move so rapidly, and it moves clumsily.” Railway Station Christchurch’s new railway station would be 100 years out of date, Mr Holmes said. Modern methods of construction would be used, but aesthetically nothing would be gained from them. Any building Site today, except for a concrete mixer, was very little different from what it was in ancient Egypt or Greece. Christchurch’s Square, should be the spiritual heart of the city; it should be the local piazza, he said, but instead it was a mass of wires, poles, notices, seats, litter baskets and characterless pavements. Technology had taken control. Progress in science did not necessarily mean physical progress; still less did it mean cultural progress. Professor Walker looked to agriculture for his contribution to the discussion, and said New Zealand's future lay in its agricultural production, although if .a millennium of peace was assured it might become a tourists' paradise, which would be a considerable source of income He suggested that it might be a good thing if the production ot manufactured goods was allocated to countries where they could be manufactured more efficiently and cheaply than m New Zealand. Agricultural products had to be doubled, and to do that grass production had to be increased. Aerial topdressmg would increase, fertilisers would be perfectly mixed, and each plant would have its own special hoiynone which would kill on application, so that weeds would become a thing of the past. “Aaiimal Psychology” All diseases will be curable,” he said. and no doubt the veterinary pathology” be Study,ng aniroa ‘ 1 New Zea’and would still be usin« the dairy cow. sheep and beef cattle. wo 2 lld probably be of a better ouality. As the countries which produced the vegetable oils for margarine increased their standard of living the cost of margarine would rise and it might not be such a serious competitor of butter. “Most of our milk will be dried" he continued. “We will buy it in sugar bags from the grocer, and it will be possible to bring it back just by mixing it with water. I think thyre will be a great market In dried

No doubt alternative markets would have to be fo"nd. because the United Kingdom probable could not absorb iwue the production. “Agricultural scientists will be paid more than engineers and medical men to, attract the best brains.’’ he said with a smile., “There might even be some integration of Canterbury Agricultural College with Canterbury University College.” If ail went as one imagined there would be considerable more leisure Professor Walker said. The education system would need to start teaching children how to use their leisure; not just sporting activities, but some serious attempt to devote leisure to the study of arts and crafts. He would also like to see a growth of tolerance and wisdom, and attention paid to the spiritual things of life.