SCENERY PRESERVATION. ANNUAL REPORT.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 256, 22 July 1908, Page 11

SCENERY PRESERVATION. ANNUAL REPORT.

MUCH YET TO BE DONE. Tho annual report on scenery preservation, which - was ■ presented to Parliament yesterday, states that tho year ending March 31, • 1908, did l liot witness any 'unusual .need for urgent in tho direction of lacquiriug - and purchasing private. or ;Nativo lands for scenic purposes;, and tho extensiv'o obush and grnss firea of tho'snmmer months'necessitated any steps _so taken hoing of 'an " extremely ■cautious nature. Nono. of tho existing ' reservos wero' seriously- affected-; by tho -fires/ Up to March 31, 1907) ah ;'arda; of 25,801 acres, had been acquired pd; rpserved. under tho Scenery Preservation Acf, 1903) and.the Public Works, Act, 1905J "and during the .-: twelve months - ending . March' 31, >1808, an addition of 8130-acres was.ii'ado to tho total, whieli thus reached 38,391 'acres,' cxclusivo' of about 100,000 acres of Crown land similarly ; reserved \under' the L'ijiuV Act. Prominent,| '"'-among;;tho, lands 'thus Acquired aro areas of ."' 751 acres :-of 'Native land' and 157 acres of land ori' this Au<g;land-Botorua rail- : 'Way line, ithe" result of jthoso reservations bcirig -.preserve-' intaci; _a';.stretch'".of bush through which' tho railway runs. ;B USH ON ANGANUI, ' Another .'.purchase vtjis some; 1517 acres -of .forest , land on : the banks of the Wangamti River, below Pipiriki, nnd adjoining Korouiti.; This includes several acres of detached forest in tho Ahuahu, Ohoin, and other Native blocks'; recently leased for grazing purppses' by "tho Aotea Maorj.-Land . Board, and . the Government, in order .to insure the protection, of-tho bush on tho river 'banks, • was compelled to .under the Public Works. Act. A ,spring of mineral water near Pipiriki was taken under the same Act, and leased:..to-Mr. Hatiick, owner,of the Pipiriki . Accommodation .ffpuse, who,, has agreed to eredt a drinking ,f ( o)jntain and bath house; to be used by.'the gnblic on payment of a small, charge.".. ;.' .. .-- - '.. '•■ ' ... The. report, fefers ■to the Wellington- City Council's /"contribution-' of £300 towards the purchase of Wilton's Bush as " the example of a public-spirited,local body." , - ' " BOTANICAL VALUE. ,Tho report furthor alludes to" tho " very great/ botanical value ~of - the " scenery re-' serv.es. "Botany in the Dominion is comparatively in its infancy, and a magnificent chance presents itself to all botanists, who desire to study cur interesting, and;in many re- . spects; .unique vegetation, atid" will visit- the. scenic,reserves set apart'by the. Government. Comparatively un'explored in" a scientific sense, they will yield a rich reward to all; students of. botany"who' take tho advantage. now presented.". • ' ' ' EXPENDITURE. • Although a fair area of. land- was acquired during the twelve 'months, the "expenditure by"way-'of compensation'is smaller than the "preceding "year, on account of; most of the land : not" having been paid./ for during tho financial year, and tho delays occasioned through the necessity, of making accurate surveys' and valuations before "the land is finally proclaimed I .'-"Tho result will' probably be (stated the report) ! to'.'swell' the amount of compensation to, be paid during' 1908-9, as . "not only ; land authorised for purchase during ' tho "'present.' year will' have to; be" paid for, but also lands acquired previously." " The l'Scenery/.Preservatipn Act, 1903; set expenditure, and the, expenditure each'ycar has' been.as followi:—1904-5, £2090 ; 1905-6,"£5084; 1906-7, ;£9146 : ; 1907-8, £5084. The amount paid as compensation for; land last'.year'.was £4286; .as • against £7So6"iti'tho!preceding year.'' ' . . " FUTURE OPERATIONS.. . . -. '.'lt "will, therefore, be seen," the report continues, "that there remains.a balance of £78,196 'for the operations of the current . and,future years, and no one. who has any intimate knowledge of tho magnificent forest lands ori the' North Island-Main-Trunk railway line, in tho vicinity of main roads all over : thev,'Dominion, the practically unique river scenery on'.the Wanganui; Mokau, and " other well-known waterways, the bush-clad shores.of. inland lakes, and ocean inlets, and the innumerable scenic, historic, and thermal attractions of "our , country can ■ deny .that this amount will bb more than required to -' - preserve', the best features of " New Zealand , scenery.'"The'Wanganui River, for instance, has; no . equal in the world as regards its botanical and scenic attractions, and so in a greater or less 'degree throughout'the whole . of the Dominion, our natural scenery is niorb appreciated..the -'more 'it, is , visited, and known."