SCENIC RESERVES.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue LXVIII, 11 July 1912, Page 5

SCENIC RESERVES.

RECENT ADDITIONS

Tiie annual report on scenery preser* yafcicm in the dominion shows that during last year an unusually large area of land was acquired and reserved under the Scenery Preservation Act, 1908, and the amendment of 1910. This was partly due to the fact that a pastoral run oi: over 40,000 acres was- included lin th<?. reservations, and also because 29,000 acres of hilly and mountainous. Crown land' in the- Wetland- districtwere also proclaimed under i'J&& Act,, ' Deducting, these area*, about 20,000 j acres scattered throiigXoat the domin-j ion were :#Mcr'- t« the recistiVr. scenic 5 reserves, anv,i rank as pwnianent additions to the- beiiucy-spcts '-v? XeW Zealand. NEW HESERVATICMS. Ninety-nine separrsfce1 reserves weremade, aggregating 94>000 acres, and the most intenssting of them may be briefly described:.. In tl\e.> Auckland: district the beautiful Hoagi's Track, bs.tween Lakes R«ito-iti and Eoto-ehu (near Rotorua), is at last- piseservet?,, both as a specimen pA-' lovely bush scenery and as a memento "of the famous raid of the northern Maori warrior when he dleseendsd- upcir the-!. Maoris of Rotorua and captured their ; pa on Mokoia Island!. Bart of?" the slopes of the Ngong<atalm Mountain at „ Llotorna were proclaimed, the land being already the property of the Crown, but the native area has not yet been acquired. Three areas near the Waitomo Caves have been reserved, one completing the caves reservation, an-" other being bush land in close.-proximo ty, and the third being situated on the' road from Hangatiki S&atiorf to the' caves. In the "Wellington district several areas of native land on the banks of the Wanganui river were taken under the Public Works Act, and much of the beautiful scenery between Wangav--nui and Pipiriki is now preserved* uirder the Scenery Preservation Act. A reserve was also made in the Whakapapa Gorge, and is easily seen from the North Island main trunk railway line not far from Oio Station. An extension of the Makuri Gorge Scenic ReHill, overlooking Ohakune railway sta--serve was made by mutual arrange-*----ment with the owner of the-land' required. The tine bush-clad Rongokaupo fcion, was acquired by way of exchange; and two areas of Crown land in the vicinity of Ohakune township were1 also proclaimed. Several portions of forest land on the Pipiriki-Raetihi Road' were taken for scenic purposes, and are known as the Waharangr Scenic.Reserves, comprising the best of the scenery along the main road' a few miles from Pipiriki. In Westland nearly 30,000 acres of Crown land were reserved, the. consent of the Mining Warden having been obtained where the land was situated maa mining district. They included areas abound the lovely lakes of Brnnner, Wahap.n, Mapourika and Ryan, parts , of the banks of the Arnold, * Okarito, , Waiho, Mikouni, Waitangi-taomr, Wai^taha nid Kakapotahi Rivers, land on the Wilberg Range, Mount Te• Kihga overlooking Lake Brunner, the Rapahoe Range, and two areas in the vicinity of Greymouth. Nearly all' these' lands .vere unsuited for settlement, being rugged and mountainous country, covered with heavy bush, and not well" adapted for agricultural purposes. In Otaeo a pastoral run of 40,000 acres at the Routeburn Valley, at the head of Lake Wakatipu, was' set apart under the Scenery Preservation Act so as to protect the alpine flora in that locnlity. The land is of comparatively . little value from a settlement point of view, and comprises Mounts Sbnnrus. Erebus and Monius, Conical Hill, and twelve other peaks ranging from ! 3000 ft to over 6000 ft ti hfliah't. whilst the beautiful Lakes Wilson and" Harris tire included in the area. |

The year's operations resulted" 111 94.000 acres being added to the former reservations, Avhich totalled" 65T.000 acres at the beginning of tlie year. The reservation of over 400 acres* was revoked, and the net amount at the Hose of the fiscal year was just under 160.000 acres, comprised in- 282" separate reserves. It will therefore be seen that the year was a record one from a scenic noint of view, and has considerably added to the attractions of the dominion placed under proper- protection and care.

DONATIONS OF SCENIC RESERVES

During the year. two. generous; donations of land were made to the Government on condition- that. the> areas should be reserved under-the- Scenery Preservation Act; Mrs Sara Goodwin Seymour:, of Picton, conveyed to the Crown tlie picturesque Ngakuta:: Point, in- Queen Charlotte Sound : (about-1-liaH-way between Picton and the Grove. Tlie area is Sif acre*, and in additsba to its scenic attractions.. the spot is of historic interest, havirig-beeiv an e-H bury-ing-place'of the who formerly lived in the locality. The Messrs Mosrten Brothers, of! Hornby, gave five areas, totalling 6J: acres, situated on the Summit Road, Lyttelten-.- Tliis:l:ind' «'** placed under the administration, of" a Scenic Board,whose members aj&o-lnofir after the Kennedy's Bush Scenic Reserve, near Governor's Bay. The-donation-of" land for such a public purpose as scenery preservation is highly to be commended, and it is hoped that tile-foregoing examples may be followed by ofcher landowners in j various parts of New Zealand. KXPEXDITURB. Fbr the twelve months ended March 31' theAsxjjemliture out of the asenery preservations vote wa6 £5038 16fe sd, or £2208 more tfrari in the preceding year. , A perusi'4! of tlie statement of•'recounts p discloses the fact that a large propor- : tion of the expenditure was necessitated by tihe surveys and valuations of the land taken for scenic pwrposes, no less than £11(57 representing- the surveyof lands on the Mokaw River banks. The Scenery Preserratioft Act, 19G8; consolidated in the Act of 1908, provided a total sum of £100,000 for the purposes of the Act. Each year a certain portion of this amount ie appropriated by Parliament and authorised for expenditure. It will therefore be seen that a balance of £56,988 remains available for future- appropriations under the Scenery Preservation Act. The lands reserved required periodical inspection, eradication of .loxious weeds, fencing, and otherwise attending to, and the annual cost of maintenance and administration js a constant charge upon the vote.