REPLY TO A CRITIC. NEW ZEALAND'S TOURIST

Evening Post, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 9, 11 January 1912, Page 2

REPLY TO A CRITIC. NEW ZEALAND'S TOURIST

RESORTS. WHAT MR. MACKENZIE SAYS. [by telegbaph— special to the post.] OHRISTCHUROH, This Day. At the request of a reporter, the Hon. T. Mackenzie yesterday replied to some criticisms of the Tourist Department which were published yesterday morning by the local Opposition journal in the form of a telegram from Auckland. The critic stated that "Mr. Mackenzie, ill replying to a deputation from the Thames, had quite frankly expressed the opinion that the Government should wash its hands of most, if not of all, the tourist resorts at present run by the State," and went on to refer to Unpractical expenditure at Rotorua,* especially in regard to the bath-house. "In the first place," the Minister said, "it was never stated by me that the Government should wash its hands of these institutions; but it was stated by me that the expenditure at Rotoruahad been justified by results, and that remark was not included in' the report of tho interview. Mount Cook is paying for itself, and for Eome time it has shown a profit.^ All the money spent in connection with Hanmer was not devoted to" the tourist resort, but was chiefly on bridging and Toading. Hanmer, relatively with Rotorua, is one of the most promising resorts in New Zealand. The sum spent on the 'elaborate construction' at Rotorua has given New Zealand one of the best advertisements it has ever had ; it has made this country known throughout the length and breadth of the world. 'Medical men in Europe and America now know of the excellent curative properties of New Zealand waters and mud, and people from all parts of the world are coming to receive treatment and derive benefit from that sanatorium. The writer o f the article has completely misrepresented the position of the department. It is a carping criticism, made chiefly for political purposes. The department is doing a great deal for the benefit of 'New Zealand, but it cannot .meet every demand that fastidious outsiders in some* instances are making. I believe that the scenio grandeur. of_ the country and the curative properties of the waters will be an ' enormous source of 'wealth in the , future. I understand that Switzerland receives in revenue from visitors sufficient to carry on the. functions of Government. Italy makes over £20,000 a year out of her visitors, and visitors to ; France represent over £100,000 a year. Every year New Zealand is adding tnoro to her attractiveness. The expenditure is conducted on economical,, lines, and the results will justify all that is being done and all that has been done. It is true that , some mistakes have been made in the past by doing a little beyond what might be justified in certain directions. A NEW TRACK. "We are now cutting a track from the east coast to the west coast by way of the Mount Cook country. That link will form a continuous road for the tourist, and will enable him to see scenery that cannot be equalled within its compass in any part of the w6rld. The Mount Cook Hermitage was taxed beyond its capacity last year, and the profit we. are earning there,. will, more than pay interest on the new structure we are erecting. Tho western fiords and the national park behind are being stocked with big. game and fish, which will interest sportsmen, and will supply an ad-^ ditional attraction. Elk have been liber-f ated in- King George Sound, and moose near the Seaforth River, behind Dusky Sound. I am trying experiments with salmon in the Seaforth, which I hope will end in successfully establishing that fish in our waters." ¦ ACCOMMODATION HOUSES. In. regard to the statement that the Government had taken over the control of accommodation houses at some resorts, and, after spending much money, had disposed of that control at a great sacrifice, the Minister said that the department had leased several accommo-. dation houses, notably at Te Puia (north of Gisborne), Waikaremoana (in Hawkes Bay), and at Pukaki, and Te Anau. HANMER. - His remarks in reply to the 'Hanmer deputation, he added, had not been fully reported. . The complaints in regard to that place were connected with details of management, and what he had said in reply applied to Hanmer alone, and not to resorts generally. He had stated that if those small details which formed the grounds of the complaints were not carried out by the department's manager at Hanmer it would be better to/ lease Hanmer to some" person who could take complete control of. it, and who would not want to have a man stationed at every little point. In the way the deputation seemed to think was necessary, it -would not pay to do that.