BEAUTIFYING WORK

Evening Post, Volume CXXV, Issue 82, 7 April 1938, Page 10

BEAUTIFYING WORK

CITY SURROUNDINGS

AIM OF WELLINGTON SOCIETY

PUBLIC INTEREST

The Wellington Beautifying Society has, except for occasional public appearances, as in Arbor Day and special plantings, carried along quietly for several years, but if it has worked quietly it has worked effectively, and, best of all, has gained the interest [and sympathy of very many.people, not only in Wellington, but through the two islands and even in Australia. There are indications that the movement started in Wellington by a few enthusiasts— regarded by some people at the time rather as cranks—.will spread profitably in other centres. The society has never had anything like the funds it needed, but it has made do with smallish contributions and with gifts of seeds and plants, quite a big proportion of which have come through the mail from as far away as Oamaru, Greymouth, or Wanganui. This year the society is in a position to make some return for the interest and help, and will be able to send away seedlings grown from the seeds which came to Wellington a few years ago from Timaru, Oamaru, or wherever it may be.

Many thousands of trees and shrubs have been planted along the roadsides and on hills about Wellington by the society, but for a commencement the committee looked upon the encouraging of public interest as almost as important as planting. Partly it took that view because it had no option, for stocks were expensive, and it had little money; but, through the ready cooperation of the Mount Crawford Prison authorities, stocks are now being home-produced, and well over 30,000 nursery stage trees and shrubs are flourishing. Oakum picking is a thing ■of the past; from any point of view it is desirable that the guests of his Majesty's Government should be busy with useful work, and the raising of tree seedlings will make for public benefit. The society supplies the materials, including those for. glasshouses, frames; and so on, and the prison authorities , the labour, an arrangement which had made a considerable expansion of activities possible. About. 15,500 young trees are available for planting this season, and a larger number will be available next year, for the glasshouses and frames are being increased. READY FOR THIS YEAR. The present stock is mainly _of natives, but it is not proposed to stick too closely to natives, for deciduous trees have a proper, place .in planting for beautification. This season's selec- i lion includes 6000 pokutukawas, 1800 koromikos, 1000 kowhais, 1400 kaka beak, 1000 ake ake, 1000 karaka, and so on. Flowering gums also have a good place in the list. Mr. R. L. Macalister, who has made the nursery one of his main interests, j said today that there will soon be room for thousands more seedlings, and the society will be pleased to receive seeds of such trees as karaka, ugaio, pittosporum, lace bark, olearia, myrtles, puriri, rata, pohutukawas, rangiora, rowan, and other attractive trees and shrubs. The prison authorities, he said, had been most' helpful, and in addition to looking after the nursery, had planted] and were looking after seven or eight thousand trees planted on the'slopes between the Massey Memorial and the Mirarnar, Wharf. DISTRIBUTION PLANS. The general plans for the coming planting season, he said, were to/allocate 3500 seedlings to the Marine Drive section and 2100 to the hills committee of the society; 1000 would be offered to the Hutt County Council for planting on the hillsides to Day's Bay; 5.00 to the Eastbourne Borough Council, which had shown particular interest in native trees in its streets, and parcels also to the Lower Hutt and Petone Borough Councils and the Makara County Council. Whether very much could be done in planting the Hutt Road was a question, he said, for trees planted on the lower levels were likely to be destroyed by stock, and the tiigher levels were privately owned and not ■ much could be done there. Moreover, hugs holes were being dug out for quarries and there seemed a likelihood that whatever might be done >would be undone in a few years' time. However, the position was not hopeless, and beautification was necessary. Other allocations included 2000 trees and shrubs for N the eastern bank of the Art Gallery grounds, and a total of between three and four thousand to local authorities and societies, such as the Johnsonville and Paraparaumu Beautifying Associations, the Cockayne Memorial Committee, the Paekakariki and Titahi Bay Progressive Associations, and so on. To make some return for the friendly support of other centres, it was hoped to be able to send small parcels to Timaru, Oamaru, and Picton, and possibly other centres. "These people have been most encouraging and helpful," said Mr. Macalister, "and, apart from making a return in a small way, one of our aims is to spread the idea of beautification by planting." Carriage to points outside Wellington, Mr. Macalister added, had been undertaken by Captain S. S. Holm, so that transport costs did not arise. That was one instance of practical enthusiasm, but there were many more, and none more enthusiastic, for instance, than that of Mr. E. G. Sundgren, of Karori. He had been a consistent contributor to the society and had now made an offer to contribute the labour of himself and eight men for a day's planting or preparation of ground on Ward Island, the Hutt Road, or wherever the society might desire. "The society has fulfilled its first two aims," said Mr. Macalister. "It has gained public interest, and it has made a real beginning to improve the city surroundings., in no wise working in competition with the City Council or other local bodies, but essentially in co-operation with them."