The demise of Twizel

Press, 10 February 1981, Page 16

The demise of Twizel

The passage of time 'appears to have sealed-the fate’of Twizel. The construction work that was the reason for Twizel’s existence is winding down and earlier, lively hopes that, advantage could be taken of the investment in services ’bp*; .the site to supply .tourist 'holiday accommodation in the “Country have largely faded away/The opportunity for further use of the township when; .hydro construction in the area has been completed seems to have been lost. Such people as might have been interested in fostering a. renewal of the* town, and capable of doing so, have?nbt been interested. . The justification for the sentence on Twizel was that tourist, holiday, and other recreational development would be, better concentrated on suitably zoned land in existing settlements in the region. These other settlements will probably be .more attractive and more economically serviced centre than they would have been had some development remained at Twizel. The only major question remaining is whether it will be many years before there is need for a new settlement to accommodate growth in the Mackenzie basin. At least there should be ; no countenance given to major development at Pukaki until the existing settlements to which Twizel will be sacrificed have attained a size at which it is economic to pro-

vide them with all the services which are abandoned or bulldozed away at Twizel.

Having made the decision that tourist and holiday development should not proceed at Twizel, the sensible course must be to let the town, die completely/ There is little need at Twizbl for. a' service centre, ; as Pukaki was before the work began on the hew dam there, now that the region’s roads are so very much better than they once were. The- same arguments that justified Twizel’s not being developed as a tourist or holiday centre should also be applied as the Electricity Division decides where to house the small service. staff that will remain in the area after construction work is done. This staff could be moved to Omarama.

Many who spent some years of their lives in Twizel will, perhaps, be sad to , see the town disappear entirely. Nostalgia does not pay rates, and the Mackenzie County Council has been correct to refuse to burden itself with a permanent settlement that would not pay its own way for very many years. Those who are blaming the council for Twizel’s demise are somewhat unfair. Social, economic, and other pressures have all worked against the town’s survival, even though it seemed for a time that it might recreate a useful life for itself.