GLORIOUS WEST COAST SOUNDS

Evening Star, Issue 21720, 15 May 1934, Page 23

GLORIOUS WEST COAST SOUNDS

SCHEME TO USE WONDERFUL HARBOURS RAIL CONNECTION AND USE OF "HOME SHIPS " [Contributed by Captain Cm,a Ml Donald. J Do the people of New Zealand—and especially of the South island—realise the great asset that the work of Nature has given tilery hy the use of some of the above sounds for harbour facilities for the southern end of the .South Island and lor tourist. traffic? The lime has now arrived lor the South Island people, also their Government, to put the thinking cap on for the purpose of making use of the best and most beautiful harbours in the whole world for the benefit of the generations to follow, which arc bound to increase very fast, both in New Zealand and Australia. From a leading article in the Dunedin ‘ Evening Star ’ of March 2, 1934, it would appear that the Government is considering making Milford Sound a port of call. This is a step in the right direction, but can only be/looked upon as a very small beginning, because what is really required is to make all the other beautiful sounds accessible to all who wish to visit the most attractive scenery in the whole world. There are twelve sounds, and each has its own beauty. I understand the present intention is to have a motor road to Milford. This may prove sufficient for those who wish to see the track and the head of Milford Sound, hut a tourist when sight-seeing has a great dislike for “returning on his heels,’’ as the saying is, to where he started from. Therefore, the aim lot popularising the West Coast sounds should he to continue the Riverton branch railway line from Tuatapere to the .south side of Preservation Sound or Inlet—a distance of about forty ■miles. EASY RAIL CONNECTION. There is no difficulty along the coast line in connecting this great sheet of water, which is one of the largest, deepest, and safest harbours' in the world, with the main railway system all over the South .Island. There is also plenty of flat land at Preservation Sound for a railway station—in 1 act, there is sufficient flat land to build a fairly large township. Puysogur Point lighthouse is, and has been for many years, at the entrance to this sound as a coastal light—this harbour therefore could he a free one for shipping. From this harbour, what is called in other parts of the world a “ house ship,” accommodating to start with, say, 200 people, should run as may be required through all the sounds to Milford and back. In summer time this would make the finest tourist round trip in the world. By aiming at such arrangement the large and fast ocean liners, which would be too expensive for cruising about these sounds, could pick up or set down tourists at Milford or Preservation. I might here state that it would not he-possible to have a motor road from sound to sound, therefore' the house ship is the only economical method of opening out these glorious sounds to the travelling public. SERVICE OF THE FUTURE. 1 am well aware that my critics will say that it would never pay to cqnnect rail to Preservation. To such I say that the work and thought of man is the living capital by which civilisation progresses, for. without man’s work and thought money, whether gold, silver or copper, is dead. Again, ever since the dawn of history mankind has been trying to conquer the sea and its wild, moving waves, but so far man’s only method has been, and is, to build large and larger ships, and the passenger ocean liner of the future will be much larger and faster than at present, and too large to depend on working economically such tidal ports as Bluff, Dunedin, and Oamaru. But hy having Preservation deep-water harbour connected, as already stated, with the main railway system of the South Island, the need of the. large passenger liner and of the people would be economically served for all time. Ido not believe that the air can ever take the place of the sea for the multitude. Those of ns who wish to look ahead for the benefit of those' to follow must come to the conclusion that harbour boards cannot keep on borrowing and spending money on trying to accommodate economically the future passenger liner in tidal harbours where the law of Nature is operating against the efforts of man. The Old Country has found this out long ago, and there they concentrate on deep-water harbours only for large passenger liners having proper rail connection. In the meantime, if the Otago and Bluff Harbour Boards wish to assist in popularising passenger traffic to the southern end of New Zealand, they should give special privileges to the large intercolonial passenger ships when running excursions to the West Coast sounds. 1 will further say that in my opiinon it would be more in the interests of the people of the South Island to make rail connection with Preservation than to connect Blenheim with Kuikoura. FULL ROUND TRIP. By the suggestion put forward above tourists from Melbourne, Hobart, Sydney, and Brisbane could be landed in the south, travel north, and depart from Wellington or Auckland, and those coming into New Zealand at the northern end could travel south and depart, for Australia in largo ocean liners without having to go back over tracks already seen. Verv few people realise that great benefit to health is gained from the amount of bush chemicals inhaled in the atmosphere of those sounds. in conclusion, the rail connection suggested at Preservation deep harbour for fast passenger ships would bring Sydney or Melbourne within two and a-half days of Invercargill and Dunedin. 1 think it a pity that so few of the New Zealand people take an interest in the most beautiful scenery produced by the work of Nature on the surface of onr planet.