MOUNT COOK GUIDES

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 28897, 18 May 1959, Page 13

MOUNT COOK GUIDES

Supplementing Staff Student guides who would work on a casual basis might be employed to supplement the guiding staff in the Mount Cook area this season, said the president of the Federation of New Zealand Mountain Clubs GVIr A. P. Thomson) at its annual meeting on Saturday. There were two permanent guides on the staff at present with a third likely to be engaged in the near future, he believed. Student guides whqfwould assist the permanent staff would probably be necessary, however, if the season was to be completed successfully. “It is gratifying to know that the Mount Cook National Park Board has started off again but it will be a hard job to build up again,” he said. It was fortunatthat the board had assumed the responsibility for the high-level huts and guides, otherwise there might have been a complete break in the service which had been supplied during the last 50 to 60 years, said Mr Thomson. The Tourist Hotel Corporation took negligible interest in the guide services, he said. “Their interest did not lie one foot outside the hotel,” said Mr Thomson. Ball Hut Reporting on the activities of the National Park Board Authority, Mr R. Syme (Hawera) said that the Tourist Hotel Corporation wished to retain the Ball Hut and Glacier trips which were profitable and hand over the unprofitable services to the authority.

“I wonder if Mr Syme could tell us if there is any intention of forming a national park in the Franz Josef and the Otago mountain areas?” asked Mr L. R. Bridge (Wellington).

With the present limited finance available it was desirable to spend the money on maintaining and devolping existing parks rather than spend it on developing additional parks, said Mr Syme. “With West Otago the situation is in hand to the extent that no long-term grazing leases for Crown land are being renewed,” he said. “I think we will have two more national parks in the reasonably near future—the two you mentioned.”