FORTY YEARS ON

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33567, 22 June 1974, Page 11

FORTY YEARS ON

Harry Ell’s memorial is to be found not in a tombstone, but in the roads and paths and tearooms he laboured to build during the best years of his life; and in the trees, the native birds, the rocky outcrops, and the joyous sounds of hundreds of children planting trees along his roadsides.

As a youth he tramped these hills from his parents’ home in Halswell; and as he walked through the remmanfs of native bush the call of the native birds seemed to awaken in him the urge to protect this heritage of flora and fauna even then being threatened by woodsman’s axe and farmers’ fire.

He dreamed of some form of protection over these areas. Later he was to become concerned over the denial of access to the hills through the closing of roads at the whim of the local body. He visualised a series of walking tracks through these patches of bush. Then the idea took shape of a scenic road from Godley Heads to Akaroa, with walking tracks alongside to link these scenic reserves. This project was to be his labour of love and dedica-

tion for many years, and was ultimately to become the Summit Road Scenic Highway. Vandalism The war years brought vandalism to the Sign of the Bellbird at Kennedys Bush, and to the Sign of the Takahe at Cashmere; fences and paths became neglected. Happily, the Christchurch City Council took responsibility for the maintenance and improvement of all the Summit Road assets, and the formation of the Summit Road Scenic Society in 1948 provided the link between local body control and voluntary effort. More recently the Regional Planning Authority has promoted legislation to safeguard the immediate vicinity of the road through the Summit Road Protection Act which bars any subdivisions within 100 vertical feet of the road, and also governs the erection of buildings and structures. There are more than 1200 acres of scenic

reserve on the Port Hills section of the road with many miles of walking tracks. These reserves are maintained by the City Council together with grants from other sources. Pressures seen But there are ominous signs that the whole concept of Summit Road conservation may be threatened by the pressures for re-zoning of land for housing. Already one local body has published its scheme for the re-zoning of the hills from Cashmere to Sumner, and two areas to receive priority will effectively close a popular

access track. More serious still is the loss of the pleasant tussock slopes which people living on the plains value. The people of Christchurch will have to make up their minds very soon whether they want the hills built on from the plains to within .100 vertical feet from the road, or whether the scenic drive should be protected.

The Summit Road is still in embryo form. It is for present and future generations to take up this work of beautification and development and see. that the vision of the founder is fully realised.

The late H. G. Ell, founder of the Summit Road, was buried at Halswell on June 27, 1934. A grandson, J. W. Jameson, writes this appreciation of Ell’s life and work as seen 40 years later.