WAKE UP DUNEDIN!

Evening Star, Issue 17325, 13 April 1920, Page 8

WAKE UP DUNEDIN!

[By Dr Gordon Macdonald.]

In January last I made over a 4.000-mile journey in the North Island, and saw and heard much that set me a-thinking. Progress and prosperity seemed to pervade its whole atmosphere. Excepting a few miles around Wellington—and to a minor degree in one or two other spots —all thej railways run along great and fertile plains.! All of these plains are well fitted for agri-b culture, yet they are almost entirely used] for pastoral purposes. Cows, cows, 'every-• where, with sheep and a few horses; | scarcely a human beiim is to be seen* working in the fields. Strange, too, the. few patches of oats and wheat observed! are no further advanced than in Canter-} bury. From the numerous tree stumps! and dead timber seen everywhere, it is I clear that at quite a recent date they were all more or less bush-clad. Frorn Palmerston North to Waipukurau, on the Napier line, and from WoodvilJe well down the Wairarapa Plain, in all a distance of about 150 miles, the destruction of timber has been phenomenal. The country all around here is literally covered with bleached skeletons. Much the same can be seen around Mount Egmout, and from Plankton i;n towards the Thames. Millions of valuable trees have succumbed to fire or axe.

Considering the time it- takes to grow commercial timber, the great lack of it, and its high cost, this destruction has been both foolish and wanton. Timber destruction seems to be a mania in New Zealand. It harbors pests, it destroys grass, it returns no immediate revenue; therefore it is a weed, and fit only for destruction. Foolish reasoning, for in the very next breath these people buy timber from Australia, America, Norway, and Sweden. How different are the conditions _in Southern Europe, for there every tree is a ward of the State, and even the roadsides are put under tribute to grow timber. It is curious, too, that no effort is being made by station-holders or farmers to grow valuable timbers. Around their homes from the far north to the far south one sees European pines, willows, poplars, ■ with_ an occasional oak and gum tree, flourisaing, but excepting the 'two last naim,., ti.ese trees are of no commercial value. Everyone seems to work upon the lines of immediate profit and never mind J the future. By tho various processes ol cultivation those plains could easily carry millions more both of humans and their friends; indeed, the province of Auckland alone could easily carry the total population of the Dominion. To one brought up in the British Isles, where birds of various kinds fill the air, it is stiange to travel along these plains and find them almost devoid of bird life. Most New Zealand land birds haunt the forests, and thus the open fields are left silent. The great need of the North is the shovel, and. successful as it is, it will become immensely more successful when the shovel grows hundreds more of blades of grass or ears of wheat, and so of men and animals. Auckland is a fine, prosperous city, with rncst picturesque surroundings. Immediately adjoining the main street, however, there are -a number of lanes and narrow streets that are likely to become a source i °f tiouble when the city numbers its hundreds of thousands. Most of the streets nw.-;y from tho business thoroughfares are lined with beautiful trees, that lend a charm of their own to the locality. The streets are clean, and well paved, makin'r walking and riding a real pleasure. The tramway system is very extensive, convenient, _ and commodious. The water supply is defective, but the corporation are engaged upon the construction of a W ® tor i ! B e reservoir, some 20 miles N.N.W. of the city. The harbor arrangements are excellent, and continually progressing. The wharves all ran alcrm one aide of a street; they are railed off? and so easily protected. The fine expanse of sea, its numerous islands, bavs, peninsiha.s. and mild climate make harbor excursions a real pleasure. Tho Picture Gallery and Public Library are two fine institutions, housing some valuable books and pictures. The Museum is very inter€?tUi§ et h u o ! ogicaJ!y, but not such as one would expect in a large commercial city, the public gardens and parks are extenbut most of them are not well kept, considering the favorable climatic conditions. Lpon the whole, Auckland is undoubtedly attractive to the visitor and to such individuals as seek retirement under its conditions. It has a very large stretch of mixed country behind it, a favorable situation for a port, and a progressiva people, but it lias not eveiythin". The c.imate tells its tale in the faces, the physique, and the movements of its people. Iney lac.c the ruddy cheeks, clear skins, no sturdy build, and active movements of tho -Southerners. They have some very nice things; but they have not everything, tor wmch let us be thankful. it would be a misuse of words to call W_e.hn.gton a beautiful city. It is certain,v a great, business emporium and an excellent seaport; but, having said that much one sums up all its attractions. 11. is a basin, with a limited horizon. The activities ot its people are wonderful, and it is astonishing what they have accomplished in the face of great natural difficulties. Most of the streets in the business part are splendidly paved, but thev are too narrow and too short to lend themselves to ornamentation or architectural display._ Brick and cement are the two great, rivals, and neither material lends itseh to Classic structure. All the great . buddings in the city have a dark, gloomy ;and more or less forbidding appearance! largely due to the materials of which thev are constructed. The new Parliament Buildings are worthy of inspection, and the fact, that they are entirely built of a greyish-white New Zealand marble adds to their charm. The tramway service here is also excellent, being very extensive, convenient. and commodious. The water supply is defective, but very extensive additions are contemplated. The harbor arrangements are excellent. As in Auckland; the wharves are all one one side of mi Stl r> et lN- ra r e -v oS a - nd ? asil Z protected. A l6 fa o k’-brary is fairly good, while the Art Gallery and Museum are merely iniantde. One hears that the WellinJtonians are. a purely commercial people, i n , overmuch for art or learning, while the state of some of their public institutions lends countenance to the taunt. Welliimton, owing to its physical surroundings, never can became a great city. It is a .Venice, a Constantinople, an Alexandria an Acre, and is likely to suffer their fate, .It has a few advantages; bub it has many j disadvantages, and will not therefore become the hub of the universe. | In contrast with the above.”Dunedin is making -little progress. Its population is stationary and its trade departing. Everything has more or less a langurshing appearance. During- the great gold booms its progress was phenomenal." It seemed to have become intoxicated with its success, and is now suffering a slow recoverv ;Go where you will in the North, and viu ■ fand Runedm men and money successfully I running every sort of business. Speak to j these men and they, shrug the shoulder, i and say; Dunetmi! Ah, yes; too slow itoo cold with neither heat nor heart in .its people nor its country. See, here ; Nature is warm and generous, and all | things thrive. Ungrateful sons, to thus I turn and rend their old mater. Dunklin 1 "' as a Prosperous and populous city when ! o , rt i ll l c ‘ ni centres were in their swad- . eking clothes,_ while these centres are now j ius iy young giants, proud of their streno-th and mightily independent. Dunedin, howiever, has a climate and a soil that cannot ; be surpassed zor the production of a v'sor- . and Progressive people, and pluvnixlike it will some day arise from its ashes. At present it lacks self-confidence. Do we want anything—electric power, closer .settlement, new roads, new railways new i mines, new factories, a new socialVystem .a new_ anything—then the Government must give us it! The milestones of historv point unmistakably to the fact that no individual no nation, ever succeeded that assumed the role of mendicant The prophets of old have told u, that God j helps -him who helps himself; whiD the j great Carnegie modified it by savins “ that the gods aye send wool to a' wob once begun. Wake up. Dunedin; vour son* 1 acquit themselves well abroad, then whv hot at hjimal *