A GENEROUS GIFT

Evening Post, Volume CXXV, Issue 92, 20 April 1938, Page 10

A GENEROUS GIFT

LOWER HUTT AREA

FOR USE AS PUBLIC

RESERVE

A very fine area of native bush has been given to the Government as a public reserve by Mr. and Mrs. H. M. Hayward, of White's Line, Lower Hutt, according to an announcement made by the Minister of Lands (the Hon. F. Langstone) today. The area, which is to be known as Hayward Park, comprises about 43 acres, and in addition to a luxuriant growth of nikau, punga ferns, etc., there is a splendid variety of most of New Zealand's native, flora.

Mr. Langstone said that for many years the conservation of this area of native bush had been the aim and object of-Mr. Hayward, who was a very keen naturalist. As evidence of Mr. Hayward's keenness, there were miles of tracks which had been laid down through the bush, and these had cost a fair sum of money, to say nothing of years of arduous work by the donors.

"It gives one intense pleasure," said Mr. Langstone, "to visit this reserve and take an enjoyable walk through the glades of trees and.ferns. Small streams trickle down the hillside, and these, during heavy rainfall, become foaming torrents, all of which adds beauty to the scene. The area is very close to th&Hutt and Petone boroughs and, indeed, the city of Wellington is within a few minutes' drive. Situated as it is on the hillside, the visitor obtains one of the finest views of the Hutt Valley, the city of Wellington, and, on a clear day, one can even see the Kaikouras in the .South Island.

"In accepting, on behalf of the Government, this splendid gift, I wish to thank publicly Mr. and Mrs. Hayward for their public spirit and generosity in donating this fine reserve to the nation. As Minister of Lands I am instructing the Under-Secretary of Lands to complete the transfer, with a view to its formal public reservation. It will be known as 'Hayward Park.'"