Railway Station Mural

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31142, 19 August 1966, Page 10

Railway Station Mural

Sir, —Who is responsible for haying that abomination of a mural installed in the waiting-room of the new Arthur’s Pass station? I know it is an inflated version of a supposedly humorous picture on an old pamphlet advertising the attractions of the National Park to would-be travellers by rail. What I don’t know is how the muddy colours and asinine activities of the figures depicted can be considered to complement the attractive design and beautiful stonework of this station in its alpine setting. Surely it is not too late to remove the mural and replace it with a photograph of one or more beautiful scenes in the park, tinted, perhaps, in the manner of those displayed in the concourse of the Christchurch railway station? As a suggestion, what about a photograph of the Bridal Veil Falls? Their shape would suit the roughly triangular space available quite well. — Yours, etc..

D. JOHNSON. Arthur’s Pass, August 15, 1966. [The general manager of the Railways Department (Mr A. T. Gand ell) replies: “The subject chosen for the mural was intended to give visitors to that area an indication of what the pass had to offer in the way of enjoyment in skiing, climbing, hiking, and playing, shown in a humorous vein as a contrast to the aweinspiring scenery. It was assumed that people go to the mountains to relax and enjoy themselves and that the majority would want to laugh

and play, while others would climb or just gaze in wonder at the grandeur of the scenery, and with that in mind the activities portrayed in the mural were chosen as being suitable. There is no doubt that a colour photograph of the Bridal Veil falls would have made a very acceptable mural and would have pleased many people, but the falls and other scenery were there in their natural setting to be visited and admired in any form the time or weather displays them.”]