THE WAITOMO HOSTEL.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19743, 16 September 1927, Page 12

THE WAITOMO HOSTEL.

HEAVY COST OF ADDITIONS.

COMPLAINT AT TE KUITI. LITTLE MORE ACCOMMODATION. SUGGESTION TO MINISTER. [by telegraph—own CORRESPONDENT.3 TE KUITI. Thursday The additions being made to the Waitomo Hostel and the apparently small increase in accommodation that would be provided for the expenditure involved were referred to at this week's meeting of the Te Kuiti Chamber of Commerce by the president. Mr. S R Craig, who stated that approximately £30.000 was being spent on the new portioi. the bmMing, bnt this j heavy expenditure would provide accommodation for onl\ 37 visitors The present building would accommodate 35 people, and the new building 59, said Mr Craig, bin wher, the scheme of reorganisation was completed it would be necessary to use portior of the old building for a billiard-room and offices, and the total accommodate! would provide for only 73 visitors that had been published from timt to time shower* that the Waitomo Caves wet becoming more popular every seasoi and that for the last three years there had been an annual increase of 2500 visitors The speakei stated that dunng one of his visits to the caves- he hact met a builder and discussed the new building. The builder was strongly of the opinion that to erect another storey would cost between £7OOO and £BOOO, and this would nearly double the accommodation. It. was the opinion of this builder that there A-ould be no difficulty in placing another rev on the new building, as the ground floor and the first storey were being most solidly built, while the whole was erected on solid limestone The floor level of the new building would be 3ft below that cf the old building, and it seemed that the old building woulo overshadow the new. However. th» point which Mr Craig wished to emphasist was that for the money being spent the increase m accommodation was. smab, whilt foj the expenditure of a few thousand pounds accommodation could be provided for another 50 people. Some surprise was expressed by members ol the chamber that til larpt amount of expenditure would result in sucx> h com paratively small additional accommodation being provided It was mentioned that the Waitomo hoste was really the only Government tourist resort that was pay ing, and its continually popular ity was evidenced by the followng figures, which show tht annual surplus over receipts for a period ot years,--1910, £229; 1911, £387; 1912, £648; 1917, £650, 1920, £1051; 1921, £2813, 1923, £1980; 1924, £2160; 1925, £3500. 1926, £4653; 1927, £5414. In 1926 there was a total of 10,548 visitors to the caves an increas* ot 2385 on the previous year, and in the year ended March 31, 1927. a further increase ot 2783 was shown. It was finally decided that the Minister should be written + o to the effect that the Te Kuiti Chamber viewed with surprise and regret tht relatively small number of guests that would be accom modated at Waitomo foi tht large expenditure, and that for another £7OOO or £BOOO the accommodation could be doubled. The chamber consic tred this extra accommodation should be provided.