DESTRUCTION OF BUSH

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22052, 7 September 1933, Page 10

DESTRUCTION OF BUSH

PROTECTIVE MEASURES URGED VALUE AS SCENIC ATTRACTION. (Per United Press Association.) ROTORUA, September 6. Following the recent decision to put through a telephone line from Rotorua to Ruatahuna, on the outskirts of the Urewera Country, criticism was cxexpresaed at the allegedly unnecessary damage done to the bush on the RotoruaWaikaremoana route by the Post and Telegraph Department gang putting through the line. It was claimed that a wide swathe was being cut and that the scenic value of the bush flanking the route was being damaged by the destruction of trees. A correspondent representing the Natives residing in the neighbourhood has now written to the Rotorua Morning Post, stating that it is the intention of the Native owners to clear a large area of the bush for farming purposes. This statement is viewed with concern in view of the fact that the bush along the route is among the finest in New Zealand. The road has only recently been constructed, and tourists who have been over it to Waikaremoana have expressed the opinion that it is unquestionably one of the finest scenic drives in New Zealand. Engineers also point out that if the hillsides flanking the road are cleared there is a strong possibility of the road being damaged by slips as the country is very rugged, and there is a very steep fall from the watershed to the road. The opinion is expressed that some steps should be taken to investigate the position and to protect the bush under the Scenery Preservation Act.