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King Country Chronicle, Volume XXXI, Issue 4565, 5 November 1937, Page 4

On the authority of the British Forestry Commission, public entry to British forests, where public entry is permitted, caused the burning of 1800 acres of forest plantation in eight years, at a cost of £20,000. The New Zealand State Forest Service in its annual report quotes these figures to support its policy of refusing right-of-way over many forest plantation roads to stock and vehicle traffic. This refusal excludes, among others, anglers, and in the Rotorua-Taupo district has been criticised. The Forest Service: "New Zealand, with a fire hazard in all respects much more intense than that of Britain, cannot afford to incur risks and losses of this magnitude, and the State Forest Service feels that the British report quoted furnishes strong evidence in support of its present policy of total exclusion of the public from planted areas."