Township and Spa On "Plain of Shining Grasses”

Dominion, Volume 32, Issue 65, 9 December 1938, Page 26 (Supplement)

Township and Spa On "Plain of Shining Grasses”

S| IT DATED on an upland plain of the foothills k of the Southern Alps, almost midway between / Christchurch and Blenheim, as the crow flies, stands the health and holiday resort of Hanmer Springs. More than a thousand feet above the sea, bathed in sunshine, and possessing natural springs of warm mineral waters, Hanmer has in recent years become the principal South Island spa. Looking south on a fine day from Wellington, one can discern the high mountain ranges of the Kaikouras, SO miles away, standing jagged against the sky; the high peak of Tapuaenuku, snow-crowned and lovely, the dark crags of the Lookers-On and the Seaward Kaikouras. Beyond that mountain wall, encircled by the foothills, lies that pleasant stretch of fertile pastureland that .was formerly .termed by the Maoris Mani Kuahca, the Plain of Shining Grasses. Formerly it .was one great stretch of golden tusock, but today it is a chequer-board of paddocks, blotched with plantations of. tall trees, gay with the roofs of houses and the brave colours of garden plots. , It is now more than seventy years since first the valuable medicinal properties of the hot springs of this basin in the foothills north of Canterbury became known. Since then, a pleasant township has grown up there, in the middle of a sheep-farming community. Mountain Climate

But not the springs alone made Hanmer a favourite holiday spot for the hale and hearty, as well as for the convalescent and invalid. Its splendid mountain climate, with clear, bracing, invigorating air, and a dry, sunny summer, were a fine change for the people of the stifling plains of Canterbury, and it was not long before visitors were drawn from very much farther afield. Today many North Islanders go regularly to drink the mountain air, take the waters, and enjoy the sport and scenery in which Hanmer is rich. The Hanmer scenery is memorable. From a walk

above the town, a wonderful view of the plain can be obtained, houses and trees, cattle, sheep and the tiny moving figures of human beings, all dwarfed with the effect of height and distance. The river valleys, and the high ranges from which the Clarence and Waiau .Rivers spring, provide fine scope for tramper and mountaineer.

Among those ranges rove the wild deer, providing splendid sport for the keen stalker; a great 23-pointer was shot on the slopes of Mount Captain, and many magnificent trophies have been secured in the district. In the Clarence, Waiau and Acheron Rivers swim fat brown trout, sporting and vigorous game for the skilful rod. Agreeable Drives Pleasant drives to natural beauty spots are many in this district. Horse-Shoe Lake, with its toi and flax and calm reflections, is a lovely mountain tarn, the beauty of the black beech bush being typical of the southern ranges. The deep and rocky' gateway of the Waiau-ua River gorge, with the brown water flowing between precipitous walls of stone, and spanned by the simple steel framework of the bridge, is a favourite picnic place. The little waterfall where the Dog Creek drops in a singing cataract rivals in charm many of the Highland torrents of the Scottish mountains. The farther back into the hills one penetrates, the wilder and grander becomes the scenery. The thermal waters bubble steaming from subterranean channels, heated in the boilers of the underworld to 100 or IIS degrees Fahrenheit, and from them emanates carburetted hydrogen gas, a natural gas suitable for lighting or heating. The waters are impregnated with sodium chloride and sodium borate, valuable in treatment of gout, rheumatism, sciatica, lumbago, neuralgia, neuritis, debility, exhaustion, insomnia, dyspepsia, and diseases of the skin. The spa attracts many who go to Hanmer for health reasons, and there is for the benefit of those who need special care and attention a splendid hospital built in war-time for the sick and wounded soldiers coming back from France. A fine modern institution, with every modern facility for treatment of all types, the Queen Mary Hospital maintains its own farm to supply milk and fruit and vegetables for the patients. There

are, too, fine modern hotels of the best types of colonial architecture, so that a holiday at Hanmer may be enjoyed in the most comfortable and congenial surroundings. There is also the most beautiful inland golf course in the South Island.

Hanmer, with its golf and tennis and bathing, its magic waters, its quiet beauty, set amid encircling hills, is becoming increasingly popular. Business men go there for a peaceful rest and a change of air; tourists go there to see one of New Zealand’s beauty spots; invalids go there for health and strength; but the great majority of people go there simply because it has already become famous throughout the Dominion as the ideal holiday resort.