EGMONT PARK RESERVE

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 16 September 1924, Page 9

EGMONT PARK RESERVE

• INTERESTING INFORMATION. Mr C. Goodson, the representative of the Hawera Borough Council on the Egmont National Park Board, last night placed some interesting information concerning the board's operations before the council. At the outset Mr Goodson said there had been very few financial contributions from the boroughs and counties towards the maintenance of the Egmont National Park, so he took it that the council had not worried very much about what the board had been* doing. Proceeding, Mr Goodson said that the membership of the • board was made up chiefly of representatives of certain boroughs and counties in Taranaki. There was also a representative from the Government to look after the interests of forestry, and the chairman was the Commissioner of Crown Lands. The Government paid a subsidy of £2OO per annum towards the administration, but that was a very small amount when they took into consideration the fact that the upkeep of the track on the Hawera side cost £360 per annum, and their share of the Government grant was £6O. Further, revenue, however, was derived from tolls . collected from the visitors to the hostels. This source ill the cage of the Hawera hostel brought in about £SOO per annum, of which half went to the local committee and half to the proprietor of the hostel. The trouble was that the tolls did not give the committee enough to keep a man constantly employed on the track, hut nevertheless he contended that their track did them credit when they remembered that the track to the New Plymouth hostel was closed. One reason why the Hawera track was in such good order was that the committee was fortunate in having a. good supply of gravel handy, which New Plymouth had not. Continuing, Mr Goodson said that the hostel had grown almost beyond their control, and the time was fast approaching when they would have to erect a much bigger and more up-to-date building.. In the past two or three individuals had had to provide the bank with a joint and several in order to obtain money for providing the hostel, and their overdraft now stood at £6OO. Fortunately they had a very good man in Mr Murphy. Passing on, Mr Goodson said the hoard had certain powers delegated to it in respect of the care of animal life. Some time ago the league had comrdained about the goats on the ranges. These goats, said Mr Goodson, had strayed up into the ranges from the farms, where they had been placed to keep down the blackberries. Naturally, up in the ranges they were in their natural surroundings, and consequently they had increased rapidly, with the result that they were destroying the ferns and ring-barking the trees. The board had given persons permission to go into the reserve and shoot the goats and the wild cattle, hut they Found that these persons were also shooting the wild pigeons; also they shot the fanners’ -cattle which had straved up into the reserve. Thev had no funds to employ labour to destroy goats, and he thought that the Government would see that they would have to take steps and assist the hoard in the way of supplying some assistance.

• His Worship the Mayor (Mr L. A. Bone) thanked Mr Goodson for the information he had given. He said he did not think that people realised the debt of gratitude they owed to the men who had been hearing the financial responsibility and giving their time free for so many years.