Objections Raised To Alpine Village Site

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30603, 20 November 1964, Page 8

Objections Raised To Alpine Village Site

(From Our Own Reporter) TIMARU, Nov. 19. “The statement by the chairman of the Mount Cook National Park Board (Mr N. S. Coad) that an alpine village is to be planned outside the Mount Cook National Park, is of interest to a great number of New Zealanders. It will be welcomed as a public statement of the board’s intentions which will give its public an opportunity for the first time to endorse, or otherwise, the board’s decision,” said Mr H. R. Wigley, of the Mount Cook Company, Ltd. in a statement. The board was to be congratulated on its foresighted decision to encourage the butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker and private citizens to build near Mount Cook, for it was one of New Zealand’s show places and attracted many people who wished to climb, go sightseeing, shooting, or studying the marvellous alpine flora of the area, and the village would make it more easily accessible to a lot more, Mr Wigley added. “As with the European alpine resorts, Mount Cook will not fulfil its role as a public playground and develop fully until a village is established,” he said. Six Miles From Centre “However, one wonders why the village is planned for an area six miles away from The Hermitage, the logical, and actual hub of all operations in the park. “Is it to get it out of the board’s hair and to help it past a difficult decision? It would seem so. For, although the desirability for the vill-

age is beyond dispute, the reasons given for the siting of it are not sound, and it should surely be placed near the centre of all the park’s activities—-The Hermitage. “The park was set up for the pleasure and enjoyment of the public, and the wishes of the public should be considered. Has this been done, and will it be done before the village is finally sited? It is unlikely that public opinion would have indicated a site six miles down the road from the park headquarters building, the main hotels, the centre of air and road sightseeing services and, eventually, a telefrique alpine lift. For, apart from the wish to be in the centre of things, who would want a six-mile walk to board the Ball Hut bus, or buy a stamp? “A village six miles from The Hermitage would necessitate a duplication of all services—water, sewerage, transport, shopping and everything else which, for two comparatively small units, would be unnessarily expensive and uneconomic,” Mr Wigley added. Moraine Unstable “The site selected is on a piece of old lateral moraine and, if other lateral moraines in the district are any indication, it is as unstable as it possibly can be and will start to slide soon if it has not already done so. It is not

Mr M. J. Graham, of Christchurch, has been elected vicepresident of the newly-formed New Zealand chapter of the Australian Institute of Builders.

really large enough for long term development and, compared with sites nearer The Hermitage, has a resticted and distant view of the Tasman Valley only. “In my opinion—and I do know this area well—a region on the flat which is within easy walking distance of The Hermitage should be cut off from the park and planned as a holiday village site,” Mr Wigley continued.

“It is safer from avalanches, rock falls and flooding than the proposed site, and is less likely to be subject to subsidence.” There is unlimited scope for expansion; the views are magnificent; adequate water is available from Black Birch creek, and the shingle ground would present no problems for sewage disposal.

“The objections to people looking over the roofs of a suburban township are not valid to those who have been charmed by the alpine villages of Europe, and one near The Hermitage would enhance the view. The flats below are unattractive tracts of wasteland that cannot be made worse than they are, and would look very much better if built over by neat holiday cottages and planted in native trees and shrubs. The main attractions of the park—the peaks, glaciers and flora—are miles away from The Hermitage. “It is hoped that alpine clubs, ski clubs, tourist organisations and every citizen who is iiiterested in, and enjoys our Mount Cook National Park, will express an opinion on this most important phase of its development,” Mr Wigley concluded.