OKAUIA THERMAL REGIONS.

Matamata Record, Volume VII, Issue 586, 1 December 1924, Page 5

OKAUIA THERMAL REGIONS.

MYRIAD SPARKLING WATERS. Wondrous Future In Store. Mark Twain once wrote an article which he headed with the/ word" " murder," and other lurid terras. He described the scene of the ( outrage and gave all the sanguinary/ details. The people read the headlines and a few of the\ purple passages, /and rushed off in \great indignation to the scene. Had they read the article through with reasonable .attention they would have noted, that Mark Twain was meVely describing a dream that had disturbed his/ slumbers; no actual crime had occurred. Likewise, some of our good farmer friends out Okauia way who\ read the previous article under this 'heading made some rash statements toythe effect that we "had, in our article purporting to deal with Okauia Hot \ Springs, treated of only a part ,6f the region. Had they been i-easj6nably observant and noted that article was enumerated " No. If and th>t " To be continued," was? put at the end of it, they would have saved themselves some expenditure of generous indignation. Lfet us assure ikhem that we intend to treat the whole area, and not merely a part of ife moreover, what we write will be " off our own bat," ,and not pirated matter from excellent articles which appeared in the N.Z. Herald fifty years ago. To take the title " Special Commissionand then shamelessly flagiarise the lai-ger paper's articles as well, and on top of that to ignore half the Okauia Thermal Region—well! .well!

THE CRYSTAL SPRINGS.

The first article, by way of introducing the Okauia Thermal Region, described that portion of the area supervised by the veteran Captain Tizard, comprising the Opal and the Spout baths, Just over the bridge spanning the Waihou river one comes across the main body of the springs, of which the two first mentioned appear to be the outliers. The Chrystal Springs come as a revelation to 'the stranger, for they must coverj all told, acres of ground. The configuration of the country lends itself admirably to beautification, as it runs in terraces, hammocks, knolls and basins along the sinuous border of the Waihou river, into which the hot springs empty their healthgiving waters. And it must be conceded right away that the proprietor (Mr. W. Owen Garland) has done wonders in the way of " civilising" and beautifying the place. When he came to Okauia in 1916 thex*e was not a tree to be seen. A photograph he now possesses clearly shows the bleak countryside, nothing but native grass and fern, not even a solitary tree to act as a background for the figui*es in the photo. Now a fine house and gardens adom the frontage, and throughout the delightfully straggling terraced natural background native and imported trees abound, while roses ari-ay their beautious blooms and ferns their fronds from all sorts of odd nooks. There are the sycamore, horse, edible Spanish and sweet chestnuts, honeysuckle, eucalyptus, black and silver wattle, oak, and also a lovely copper beech among the many aboreal and floral graces. The transformation has been truly wonderful. There are, besides a very large bathing pool, several minor ones, and a whole host of springs bubbling up everywhere. The Chrystal Springs is indeed a picnickers' paradise. The proprietor supplies hot water for tea, and a few minutes' walk away is Wairere House (Mr. and Mrs. F. Underwood) where refreshments may be obtained under up-to-date conditions—and ice cream will be on the boards at any time now. Meandering along the peaceful prospect, one goes past an excellent crop of lucerne to a good bowling green and a tennis court, and when one realises that Mr. Garland has done the whole of the labour of filling, levelling, and banking-up with his own hands, as well as having kept trie place in order, one knows that here is a great enthusiast indeed. In passing, it is topical to /recall that Mr. Garland is an oldfowling devotee, and has figured/in many tournaments of note. For instance, on the wall of a very/good pavilion is a photo of „the following winning championship teanr/of Auckland Bowling Associationr J. V V. Dingie (skip), W. M. McCaHum (leadfer), w - °^ n Garland (measurer), G. A. Buttle (scorerju Mr. Dingle was a winner of the' International Challenge \Cup at the Chrystal Palace, tendon. Incidentally, the ground is historic, inasmuch as it was the scene of a sanguinary battle in *he early days between a tribe of Thame? a.i'l local

Maoris, and many " souvenirs " of the conflict and the habitation of the natives have been, found there, including the old Maori ovens.

THE FUTURE. i

Surveying the whole of the Region one is forcibly struck by the fact that although much/has been done, the future holds immense possibilities. The whole area should, from the. point of view /of national welfare, be owned and controlled by a single authority. There is scope for the justifiable expenditure of thousands of pounds,/ and in time tourists will f|ock there at the rate of as many thousands per annum as they now do in hundreds. However, even as things stand, the Okauia Thermal Region offers jfco/' the health-teeek*|r and the holiday Waker a haven that far surpasses, in/natural endowments, many a popular/health and holiday resort. Mr. Garlandy; work in creating such fine shelter within a few years has also shown theWttlers what can be done in this respect, and the wice ones have pot been s\ow to profit by the experience. He is\a true lover of Nature, /gifted with W constructive imagination; and a deep conviction of the beautiful truth, exemplified in his spacious landscapes, \ha,p: — I \ " Gardening is the purest of all 7 pleasures." \