Lake Steamer And Scenic Roads

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31659, 20 April 1968, Page 5

Lake Steamer And Scenic Roads

If Queenstown is the town of a queen, then the rank of Princess surely belongs to the good little ship Earnslaw. Everybody likes her, and her surroundings are lovely, but do not overdo the princess metaphor, because she has one bad habit she eats coal. She was built a long time ago, when steam engines used pressures very much lower than are used now. The lower the steam pressure, the more extravagant is the use of fuel, and coal is now very costly. An oil-burning steamer, with turbo-electric propulsion, had in 1932 a steam pressure probably four times as great as that of the Earnslaw. The Cook Strait ferry goes one better and has diesel-electric propulsion. If a naval architect were engaged to bring the Earnslaw up to date, she could be very much cheaper

to run, and possibly faster too. I hope diesel-electric drive could be provided for the twin-screws, so useful for manoeuvring. I have seen the Earnslaw wriggle off a sandbank at Glenorchy with the aid of her twin-screws. In recent years a road has been made up the east side of the Lake, linking Queenstown with Paradise Valley. It is now proposed that this road be extended round the bead of the lake, and down the west side as far as Elfin Bay. This road would cross the Dart by a bridge about 800 feet long, and at Glenorchy would intersect the route taken by buses to the beginning of the Routeburn Track. Te Anau Connection Beyond Elfin Bay it is a comparatively short distance across-country to the road which leads from Te Anau to the Homer Tunnel and thence to Milford. The proposed new road would meet the existing one near Lake Lochie, about three or four miles from Cascade Creek, which is an important camping centre. The Eglinton Valley is beautiful and Cascade Creek Camp is important because not all New Zealanders can afford the cost of staying for any length of time at the Milford Hotel. I hope that the new road will be a scenic road, designed to suit the country and its contours and avoiding expensive and dull long straights across hill and dale. National park roads should never be mere speedways between one hotel and the next, but should be rdads for people to enjoy, for people who like our national parks but cannot walk all the way. This link between the two parks. Mount Aspiring and Fiordland, should be really valuable. It.will be more attractive if the old custom of wide clearings is abandoned when cutting through native forest. A strip about 30 feet wide should be ample for a two-lane road. Moderate Cost I do not know if any reliable estimate of costs has been prepared but such figures as I have seen do suggest that the cost would be moderate. By this I mean that the whole cost of the road link might be comparable -with the cost of about one mile of the new highway from Wellington to the Hutt Valley, and shduld be much more pleasant to drive over. For Queenstown to cope with an increased flow of visitors the problems of water supply and sewage disposal

become even more acute. At present, Lake Wakatipu, sad to say, is polluted. An engineer who flew from Queenstown to the Frankton Arm told me he could see the brown stain in the water all the way from the point of discharge to the lake outlet. Arrangements should be made also to prevent pollution by steamer and launch traffic. The main part of the problem is discussed by the Minister of Health in a letter (November 10, 1967). After describing the existing unsatisfactory state of affairs, the Minister continues:— “Sewage treatment is an expensive item for small local authorities and for this reason many are hesitant to embark on the construction of the necessary works. However, I am informed that the Regional Committee of the Lake County, Queenstown Borough and Arrowtown Borough Councils have recently requested their consulting engineers to draw up a sewage scheme for Queenstown, Frankton and adjoining populated areas. “The local authorities concerned have all adopted * positive approach to the prevention of pollution of Lake Wakatipu and the first steps have been taken towards improving sewage treatment and providing sewage disposal facilities for those areas which do not enjoy this amenity already.” I do not know what the Councils have in mind, but it seems to me that a percentage tax might be added to all charges for accommodation or camping. Water supply is generally much easier and less costly to provide than drainage. The Queenstown district has great and varied beauty and there should be nothing to distract from the joy of a holiday there. I hope you will fall in love with the Princess too. Long may she float!