TOURIST ROADS

Evening Post, Volume CXIII, Issue 112, 14 May 1927, Page 12

TOURIST ROADS

MOUNT COOK AND LAKES

BIG MOVEMENT AFOOT

The. enterprising head of the Mount Cook Motor Company, Mr. E. L. Wigley, is one of New' Zealand's private eitiEens who, besides his business connection with the tourist'traffic, has a real knowledge of its importance to tho future of the nonunion and a genuine desire for New Zealand's own snko that it should be developed. "Good Roads for Tourists" has been tho slogan e>f h5« company for many years. The Moiwt Cwk .servlco was established origUxsUy- fwn Vairlie. connecting \vU*v the he*vi or 1 tho branch railway, and w» s Ve-WSy varried ou over road that playeA h*Y<Sv» w itl> tires and machinery. l« due course it wris extended heyw,<i the Hermitago to tako in tho Qtago Uke tfhtrlct. and has long boon numbered aix\wg »ho great tourist trips «\f the wtM, operating now direct trow Timaru.

The vajrvou* local authorities whose territory \» afteoted by the service k*ve »U d.o>ne> something to assist in the jvrovfoion of a reasonable travelling; service on the roads, but there is room for great improvement, and with a view to" the eventual achievement of co-or-dinated effort on the part of all concerned Mr. Wigley recently entertained a large party at tho Hermitage, those represented being the Vincent, Lake, Maokensio, Levels, and Kaitahi .Councils (thY engineer in ench instance being iueluded in the party), also Messrs. J. Horn, M.F. (Wakatipu), J. H. Marks (Public Works Engineer, Dunedin), F. Langbien, (Public Works Engineer, Christchureh), A. W. Tyndall (Highways Board engineer), and others.

The party assembled for tho. weekend at the beginning of this month, and first had a couple of days' sight-see-ing, doing the Hooker Valley, etc., and a number oven making an ascent of Mount Bealoy. The conference itself was of a very informal character, the whole aim being to secure; a complete expression of private opinion. Views, of course, were very mixed, but real good was -attained, and some noteworthey addresses were delivered. T&e great difficulty as in all back-country places away from settlement, is the paucity of rating value for the provision of fundg to keep roads open for a heavy volume of traffic which is a burden rather than a blessing to tho settlers concerned.

THE MONEY REQUIRED. After the conference . concluded representatives of tho local bodies and tho district engineers at Dunedin and Christ church respective^, met in committee, and discussed-the matter-in detail, and as a result of their deliberations the following motion was unanimously agreed to:—

"That the County Councils conftcrned furnish a return to tho two district engineers showing the total rate money which they can. make available 'from their respective sections iof the Arrowtown to . Hermitage road;,that they also advise as to tho amount of-tho land fund moneys which are available for expenditure on this particular road; that they ascertain what contribution the Duocdin Motor Club and tho South Canterbury' Automobile. Association will make; this information to be obtained.s. that the Government engineers will be aware of all the sources' of revenue: when they make their 'recommendations to tbo Public Works Department." Tho conference considered that £3000 a year will bo required to maintain tho road in a reasonable way, and to slightly improve it

It is impossible in the space at command to give moro than an extract or two from the speeches delivered, but the following are noteworthy. "The tourist-resorts oro a great national inheritance." This was a statement of Mr. Wigley's. Ho said they should be exploited to a far greater extent than was being dono at present. Tourist money was "easy'! money, waiting to be picked up-, and he was at a loss to understand why this country had not before awakened to the great wealth which it could socure through the tourist ttaflic. To produce meat and wool was quite right, but why not get the tourist money as wcllf No country in the world had such magnificent -scenery, as New Zealand, yet this Dominion made the least use :of it. ?' You • don't realise iho great asset yon have, got" was what the globe trotters told-them;-and it was true.

NEARLY ALL PROFIT. The difference between the exports j and the imports of New Zoaland 'was 1 only 10 per cent, in favour, of the exports; in /other words, of New Zealand's £50,000,000 worth of exports, only 10 per cent remained' in the country as aew money. In the case of the tourist, traffic however, there wa»' * profit of £90 from; every £100 brought •in by. •■ tourists. This i could not' be 1 disproved. He believed that New Zealand could make its tourist traffic bring in £6,000,000 a year, and if it did, they would bo able to reduce the rates, or abolish them altogether. Switzerland, a much smaller, country than New Zealand, got £70^000,000 annually front its tourist traffic, and there were. no taxes there. The tourist tovenue obtained by Franco amounted to £100,000,000; Canada got £27,000,----000, and California £100,000,000. In the House in 1914 Sir Joseph-Ward had said that there was nothing so prolific in bringing new money into a country as the tourist traffic; arid Mr. W. M. Hughes, when Prime Minister of Australia, had said that evcry'ls spent on publicity returned 20s in progress and development.

: Ij»st year -9609 tourists had come into New Zealand; and.estimating that each one left £100 here, that would not give thcin quite £ i; 000,000. It was estimated that everyone who leaves NewV Zealand takes £300 out oil the country with him. ' Mr. Horn: "That'estimate is low." ' 'ill. Wigley 3did he believed it was. It was estimated that £5,000,000 a year went out of New Zealand in this way, and that only £1,000,000 came in. There was no doubt that the tourist traffic could, bo worked up so that it would help.Now Zealand in a variety of ways; It-would even be an advantage to the man on the land, in that it could be made a means whereby taxation eonld be reduced, and it would be the means of attracting new settlors. It would'also help to provide better transport;by Jand and sea, as well as better accommodation. MORE "TEAM WORK" NEEDED. Mr. J. Bitchic, chairman of the Vincent County, Council, said that -we' had arrived.St the stage whcii we must'have more'team work in New Zealand—individual counties should not work on their own. The public were not going to bo'satisfied with the back country re ids as they were at present. Was it a, fair thing to ask local bodies to do all the paying? .The Government would benefit- most from the tourist traffic, arid 'the Government should', find most of; the money, for, road improvement. The. road between Arrowtown and the Hermitage certainly required improvement. There were three ways of securing this—-by'making it a main highway, ,'oE which' he did not approve; or by "making it' a Government I'oad; | asking the Government to provide a

sum of money to be augmented by tho South Canterbury Automobile Association, tho Dunedin Motor Club, and tho local bodies interested. Three thousnnd to £4000 a year -would make a big improvement in this road, and if "tho Government tfere asked to. flfind twothirds of this it would bo a fair thing. If. that were done, there would bo » chance, of.-getting, .something dorm nt once, whereas-if they nsked tho Oovearninent to find all tho money, they might get nothing. He. was sure that. .V scheme satisfactory to all could bo evolved. ' ■

Tho -representatives of tho other counties indicated their readiness to co-operato towards tho oml vropiMcil. Air. Leo (Lake County)' siiitl that his county was intimately associated with tho Mount Cook Motor Company. Luko County had Iho highest tourist roml to keep up .in tho wholo of Now X.oalaud. It ran through country from which very.lit.tlo could bo got in rnten. irom tho point of view of the votepayers, it could bo done without, but they recognised that it was of grout valuo from tho liolnl of view of Ui<i tourist traftlc. They -realised, too. Hint, they must do their share .for the beiu'tlt of this traffic, and lie-agreed Unit thfl Government, tho ■ local bodies, and tho Automobile Associations in Tlninru and ttnnedln ch'onlff net, in coucort, us -Mr. Uitohij had,suggested. JjVir a perwanewt.. solution'of tho difficulty, howover, wreaked assistinieo uiusV como trow.the. Government, and there should i»o increased taxation on motors. Then, and only then, would tho roads ho trot uv really good order.

A broad-minded statement enmnnted fronv Mr.,.Q, J,. Talbot (Mackouziu County Council), who afterwards went ou to remark .that they did not know lu.tho South Island what . big rates were. Ho -mentioned n .riding in the Aorth Island where the rate was lSd in the £, and 9d over tho whole county. Ho also mentioned a. caso of a settler in-tho North Islaud—a dairy farmer—who was paying a rate equal to £2 per- cow, of which he had 45: rhey wore willing to pay these rates provided they wero given good roads. Air. Horn pointed out that 90 per cent; of tho land (about 2,000,000 acres) between tho Hermitage and Atrowtown was Cm.yn land. The whole of the rentals from this land went to the Government, and tho Government should therefore contribute to tho improvement of the road.