EGMONT PARK.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 8 August 1924, Page 5

EGMONT PARK.

RIVAL INTERESTS. Though there may be a little excuse for grumbling by those people who hold the Mountain responsible for Taranaki’s wet weather and biting winds, the fact that Egmont National Park is a valuable asset to the province cannot be too widely known and-, realised. As a tourist resort, the grandeur of the .snow-clad peaks, rugged cliffs, and tortuous gavines is unsurpassed in the Dominion from a mountaineering point of view, and to the visitor to Taranaki the only wonder is (says the Stratford Post) that there is not more co-operation among the authorities in the various districts lying within the shadow of the Mountain in the direction of prospecting to the full the' avenue of trade apd health-giving properties of the Mountain. , While a modicum of friendly antagonism is desirable, and indeed necessary, in order to reap the full advantage of the ramifications of trade, it is regrettable to find many otherwise esteemed citizens allowing themselves to be blinded by parochial interests when the question of dealing with thei Park as a national asset is concerned. To be candid on the matter, there is no doubt that for some reason Oir other little encouragement has been given to the residents on the East, or Stratford, side of the Mountain by the re'iiesetitaliVes of the North and South Houses to bring it into line with the others. Perhaps, it may be stated, Stratford had itself to blame for allowing the House to fall into decay—at the present time, it is reported to be quite uninhabitable—but the truth is that an underlying current promises to undermine still further the foundations upon which the future interest of the Park rests. These would suffer, and a particular locality would possibly secure the benefits accruing therefrom.