OTAGO EXPANSION LEAGUE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22057, 13 September 1933, Page 11

OTAGO EXPANSION LEAGUE

PRE-SESSIONAL MEETING NEEDS OF CITY AND PROVINCE VARIETY OF MATTERS DISCUSSED The pre-sessional meeting of the Otago Expansion League with local members of Parliament was held in the Somerset Lounge, Savoy, last evening, the president (Mr J. J. Marlow) occupying the chair. The subjects discussed by the meeting and commended to members of Parliament covered a wide range of important matters, from the age-old question of the Haast Pass road to the more recent, matter of an immediate prosecution of the proposal for the erection of an adequate maternity hospital in Dunedin. Third-party risk, forestry in Otago, town planning, civic and Harbour Board affairs, and representations by the School Committees’ Association were also among the subjects discussed. The members of Parliament present were Messrs A. E. Ansell (Chalmers), F. Jones (Dunedin South), and J. W. Munro (Dunedin North). Sir James Allen, M.L.C., was also present. The attendance provoked an expression of regret and disappointment on the part of the chairman, who emphasised the fact that the needs of the community were worthy of more general consideration and concern than was evidenced by so small a gathering. ’ The bodies represented were as follows: —Otago Expansion League, Otago Motor Club, Chamber of Commerce, Otago Hospital Board, Dunedin Amenities Society, the School Committees’ Association, and the Otago Harbour Board. The Mayor (the Rev. E. T. Cox) was also present. The. chairman, referring to the work of the league, stressed the importance of its efforts in encouragipg irrigation in Central Otago, and stated that its efforts would now be directed towards fostering afforestation there. Future generations would thank the City Council for what it had done in this direction. In planting from 1200 to 1300 acres every year it was doing good work. He hoped that the meeting, with the members of Parliament present, would be productive of a great deal of good for the province. HAAST PASS ROAD Mr G. J. Errington said that one need not apologise for bringing before the members of Parliament onee_ again the question of the early completion of the Haast Pass road. Its importance, both from a provincial and national aspect, was such that the league felt that the time was surely opportune for this road to be continued and ultimately completed. The reasons why the league had stressed the need of this road connection with Western Otago were many and varied, but it would suffice to mention but a tewj Mr Errington continued. In the first place, there were high-class virgin lands to be opened up, many hundreds of thousands of acres in extent, all ready to be taken up for settlement purposes. Many millions of feet of timber were walking to be cut and the land cleared for settlement, and all that was wanted was a road to allow the produce from those lands to get away to the market. There were settlements at Okuru and a few other isolated places where the benighted settlers had been promised for many years road connection over the Haast. _ Mr F. W. Furkett. late engineer-in-chief of the Public Works Department, had said just prior to his retirement that there were no engineering difficulties to be. met with in the construction of this road; that there were many thousands of acres of the very best land all ready for settlement; that some of the finest timbers to be found in the Dominion were situated there; that the natural outlet for the produce from these lands was at the railhead at Cromwell; that the road was essential as a tourist connection between east and west; that the only reason for its non-completion was want of finance; and that he was all ready to proceed with the job as soon as it was authorised. .... ~ From the tourist point of view the roaa was absolutely essential as a connecting link between east and west, and it should be ready for the time when New Zealand would surely be the Mecca or the tourist. • In these days of depreciated currencies and the necessity of balanced budgets frequent reference was made to the visible imports and exports. It is generally admitted. that the most valuable of the invisible imports of any country was its tourist traffic. The South Island had scenic charms to show, but these charnis were spread on both sides of the glorious Southern Alps, as well as at the ends of the Island. The want of this southern connection between east and west was an absolute bar to any round traffic, and placed such a handicap on the tourist in the way of lost time that the southern part of the sight-seeing tour was frequently eliminated owing to the dimculty in seeing the sights in a reasonable The construction of the Haast Pasq road would make possible a round trip of unsurpassed beauty and charm, a trip that for kaleidoscopic changes would be hard to equal anywhere, and one that could include glacial and mountain scenery, forest and lakeland, thermal springs and health spas, and the everchanging panorama of a beautiful countryside. The Governor-General (Lord Bledisloe) had recently stated after his southern visit “ that in no part of the world can there be found more natural beauty in so small a compass as can be found in the South Island of New Zealand.” One felt inclined to add that many of those natural beauties were most difficult to get at. and the league contended that the making of this road would make it possible for countless numbers to view these scenic charnis in a reasonable time, with a minimum of discomfort and the maximum of pleasure. The league had been told that want of finance was the main reason for the non-completion of this road. There were two aspects that impressed one. At present finance was scarce, but labour was plentiful. He was one of those who felt that better times would come again, perhaps sooner than most people expected, and when labour would probably not be bo plentiful. The question, therefore, arose whether it would not be wiser to undertake this work at the earliest juncture while labour was plentiful and as an unemployment measure. In this way they would prepare for that day of commercial and tourist prosperity that was surely coming again. This plea was, therefore, submitted so that the members of Parliament would be conversant with the reasons for the request for the early continuance of the Haast Pass road so that they could state a case for this muchneeded road connection between Otago and Westland, which had been promised by Macandrew in the dim and misty past and later by the late Mr Seddon. Mr N. Wood said that the proposal had the unanimous support of the Chamber of Commerce. The profits would no doubt go to the individual if the work were carried out, but there would be a great indirect benefit to the Government. The president of the Otago Motor Club said that the motor associations of the South Island strongly advocated the construction of the road. He understood that the difficulty at the present time was in persuading men to go into camp for 10s a week and their food. Whether the Government would increase the payment to the men he did not know, but the advantages to be gained from the construction of the road would be very great. TOWN PLANNING In urging a revision of the Town Planning Act, Mr J. L. Salmond said that Dunedin took a great interest many years ago in town planning. In 1916 Mr G. W. Russell was persuaded to bring in a private Bill, and in 1910 a committee set up to consider the Bill reported very strongly in favour of legislation being enacted. It was not until 1926, however, that the Bill was eventually passed, making provisions which, it was believed, would bring about great improvements in the cities. There was power to appoint a town-planner, and Mr J. W. Mawson became the first director. On account of the conditions in the Dominion-vested interests, parochialism, and jealousy between towns and boroughs—he was able to do little, and his resignation followed. No attempt had been made to rectify the mistakes in the Act. “We are just straggling along.” he added, “and towns are growing without any plan or method.

The mistakes made in the past are costing the ratepayers thousands of pounds a year.” , . Mr Salmond urged in conclusion that those mistakes should not be allowed to recur, and asked the members of Parliament to give the matter their attention. Mr Salmond was supported by Dr Kerens, who said there had been a serious check to the development of regional and town planning in this country. lor six months the directorship of town planning had been vacant, and no announcement had been made with regard to the appointment of a. successor. There were serious defects in the existing town planning legislation, and though the Government had been urged by the Municipal Corporations’ Conference, by the Town Planning Institute, and other interested bodies, to bring down amending legislation, nothing had been done beyond bringing down the emergency legislation necessitated by the Napier earthquake. The Napier Town Planning Regulations drawn up under the powers conferred by the Hawke’s Bay Earthquake Act, 1931, supplied many of the defects in the original Town Planning Act, particularly as regards the_ assessment of betterment and compensation, and they had proved most satisfactory in practice. With this demonstration of the practicability and efficiency of these amendments, it was most important til at the Town Planning Act of 1926 be amended in these particulars. That the whole subject was of fundamental importance would be gathered from the fact that in England last year a Town and Country Planning Act was passed, embodying the proposals which were now being urged for New Zealand. The following extract from the speech of the Minister of Health at the' third reading of the Bill was significant.

It is because I am sure that the powers of this Bill, wisely exercised and properly controlled, will have the effect of increasing the national wealth that I believe this to be a measure appropriate to the present time. _ The experience of all who are practically concerned in this sort of administration teaches that the small percentage of the total cost of development that we should pay, and that we will pay m the fotm of charges for planning ahead, will be the greatest possible assurance of economy and the best development of our national assets in the future. Shortly before giving' up his office Mr Newton, late secretary of the Department of Internal Affairs in New Zealand, a man who had had unrivalled experience in local body administration, stated that in his opinion regional and town planning went to the heart of most of the important problems in New Zealand to-day. FORESTRY IN OTAGO

Mr E. Tamblyn stressed the need for a vigorous and comprehensive plan °* forestry in Otago, especially in Central Otago. He admitted that the Forestry Department in New Zealand was _ doing good work, but it was doing it in the wrong part of the Dominion. There were altogether 348,000 acres of plantations in New Zealand, in Otago there was nothing to speak of in the way of forestry. Southland’s largest area was 3060 acres, and the biggest plantation in Otago was, roughly, 6000 acres. CentraT Otago was badly in need of forestry, and in view of the results that were at present following trials and experiments he could not see why more should not be done in this part of the province. The speaker referred to what the City Council had done in this respect, and said that its activities were an example to the Dominion. What they wanted members to do was to push on with afforestation in Central Otago. It was absolutely essential to development, and should not be delayed any longer. THIRD PARTY RISK Mr J. L. Passmore, speaking for the Otago Motor Club, ‘referred to the anomaly in the Act with regard to the liability of the estate of a motorist who might be killed at the same time that he killed a third party. The case or Findlater proved that the law recognised no liability on the estate of a motorist killed in any accident in which he killed or maimed someone else. This was a matter of vital _ importance to all classes of the community. There had been a lot of agitation in the matter, but eo far no great progress had been made, though he understood that a promise had been made that the matter would be brought up in the.coming session. If nothing could be done during the forthcoming session the motor associations would take steps to have a private member’s Bill introduced. CIVIC REQUIREMENTS

The Mayor said there were a few things which the City Council wished to place before members o£ Parliament. One was the rate of exchange, which _local bodies wished to see reduced by 15 per cent. It would save a lot of money on loans and interest, and should greatly assist local administration. The speaker also made an appeal for better pay and better work for the unemployed, as well as more consideration for unemployed women and reasonable provision for youths under 20 years of age, hundreds of whom were at the most impressionable stage of life and in danger of being ruined for life through the lack of any employment. The Government was now taking £4,000,000 from the taxpayers, and he thought another couple of million could be added to make the improvements h e had outlined. , ■ ~ Mr Cox referred also to the necessity for the proper development of mining, upon which the future of Dunedin eo largely depended. The gold mining industry was in need of proper development at the present time, and he cou a assure members that anything they could do to hasten that development would greatly assist the city of Dunedin and the province of Otago. He hoped^that no opportunity of improving facilities for the development of gold mining would be lost. MATERNITY HOSPITAL FACILITIES Dealing with the subject of better maternity facilities in Dunedin Mr W. B. S. Knight (chairman of the Otago Hospital Board) said the matter of providing a new obstetric hospital had now been under consideration for a great many years, and without labouring the question of ancient history, he would just like to go back to 1929 when a definite offer waa made by the Government to provide the sum of £50,000 for land, buildings, and equipment for the obstetric hospital to be erected in Dunedin, ouch hospital was to be placed under the control of the Otago Hospital Board, and was to provide accommodation for such cases as could not provide for private medical attention, and was for the training of students and maternity nurses, -this was to take the place of the present bt. Helena and Batchelor Hospitals, and m consequence of expense to be placed on the Otago Hospital Board a special grant of £2OOO per annum for five years waa to be made to the board with a suggestion that such grant could be reviewed at the expiry as to whether the same should be continued for a further period Some considerable time ago, he continued, the women of New Zealand set themselves out to provide a large sum oi money whereby they could, with the promise of Government subsidy, endow a chair of obstetrics at the Otago University, This was accomplished, but the Government subsidy had up .to the preeent not been all forthcoming, but he understood the Government hadl made arrangements with the Otago University Council to provide sufficient money to cover the salary of the professor. However, when he arrived in. Dunedin theie was no opportunity for him to carry on his duties except in the present ancient premises, although in the Batchelor H pital the equipment was kept up to date and many students had received their training since its opening. lhc f e J® ta .* about 750, many of whom, had obtained eminence in their profession. Up to August 31. 1933, 4818 children had been bora in the institution. . Hpwever. the time came when such institutions became obsolescent, and had to. give way to new and more up-to-date institutions, ihe delay in arriving at unanimity regarding the site, and, no doubt, the present depression, caused the matter to he held over. He was now pleased to state that the Otago Hos pital Board, Otago University Council medical faculty, and the honorary -staff had arrived at unanimity as to the site upon which this new hospital could be erected, and the board proposed, with the Minister’s consent, to acquire this site, contingent upon and subject to the Government undertaking to build thereon and equip a 24-bed hospital. The professor of obstetrics, in submitting the plans, stated that they were merely suggestions and used as a basis of calculation, but did not represent the final ideas. They showed that the building would go on a site of 152 ft by 100 ft, and the estimated cost of such building was £24,000.

Thig revision of the previous proposals had taken place in view of a request made by the Minister to a deputation which recently waited upon him, that a modified proposal should be placed before the Government for consideration. The same obligations which apparently devolved upon the Government of 1929 must still lie with the Government. of to-day, and, although the board was, in common with other public bodies, suffering from the want of ready money, still it was' prepared to ask its ratepayers to stand by the proposal to acquire the site upon which the building could be erected. The Government had a proposal that it should expend money on the St. Helens Hospital. The original estimate was £4OOO, but this expense had now grown to what had been stated, between £6OOO and £7OOO, and it was very doubtful even if the larger amount was spent, that such an old building—about 60 years old —could be made available for the purposes required. In his opinion, if it was absolutely necessary to spend only this amount, and the Government was not coming forward with a major scheme, the money could be better spent on the Batchelor Hospital. However, the board was not advocating that, but for the Government to go on with the modified scheme. The subsidy on the wages to be spent on this building had been promised, and the St. Helens Hospital could no doubt be disposed of, so that the amount asked for from the Government to-day would be: — Estimated cost of building .. £25,000 Less subsidy on wages . • .. . • • S’,ooo £22,000 Less selling value on St. Helens 1,500 £20,500 It was not likely that this total amount could be spent in the current financial year, but if the Government would grant, say, £IO,OOO this year, or even the amount it had been proposed to spend on St. Helens, £7OOO, and make the balance available next year, he was sure this would meet the wishes of all concerned. . The Governmetn had no doubt an obligation to the women of New Zealand, that wag those women who had subscribed the money for the endowment of the chair of obstetrics. At a recent conference of the Otago Hospital Board and Otago University Council it had been agreed that the re-conditioning and extension of St. Helens Hospital would not be satisfactory as a teaching school for students either from the financial, educational, or humanitarian, point of view; It was not with any desire to embarrass the. Government that the board was advocating the erection- of this hospital, and, no doubt, from a hospital point of view Batchelor Hospital would serve the purpose of providing for nursing of indigent women, but in the present circumstances St. Helens Hospital had been called upon to do more than was originally intended, so that if St. Helens Hospital were .closed a larger number of persons would be seeking admission to the Batchelor Hospital, and would thus test the bed capacity of this institution to its utmost, no doubt preventing many Hospital Board cases being admitted. Summarising the proposals and objections,* Mr Knight stated that St. Helens Hospital was a building over 60 years old. It would be an absolute waste of public money to spend any amount, whatever on this building. Even if the proposals were carried into effect, there would be accommodation for only two students, whereas there should be sufficient for five or six. It was also doubtful whether it would bring this institution up to the requirements for the training of students to the satisfaction of the General Medi--cal Council. It .was also suggested that the money to be utilised for the renovations and additions to this building should be used as a nucleus this year for the proposed new building. The previous offer made by the Government up to the present had not yet been officially ■withdrawn, but it had been considerably modified. In place of £50,000 with the yearly grant l of £2OOO for five years, the offer was reduced to the modest sum of £20,500, which would be spread over more than one year. 1 ;I£ St. Helens was to remain, open it would not be run as economically as a separate institution. If the new hospital were portion of the main block of the Dunedin Hospital,, the cooking, heating, and part accommodation of the staff would be amalgamated with the main institution. Dr Newlands assured those present that the board was urging a very real claim. It was taking a liberal view of the matter. If it took a narrow view it could say that the present hospital sufficed for charitable aid purposes. It knew, however, that the community was greatly interested in the matter and in its educational institutions. . The presence of students in Dunedin, he had heard it said, resulted in £50,000 a year being spent in the city. Finance had been made .an excuse for not going on with the scheme, but the Hospital Board hud shown how a saving could be made. It was a proposition that the legislators could back up wholeheartedly. SCHOOL COMMITTEES’ ASSOCIATION Mr H. H. Johnson, representing the School Committees’ Association, urged members to take up the matter of the reinstatement of subsidies for incidental expenses, .or alternately the increasing of the capitation allowances. He stated that the total of grants made by the Government to school committees m Otago during the past five years was £50,000, and the committees themselves had raised over £30,500. The opinion was held that the methods it wag necessary to employ in raising this money were not in the best interests of the children morally, but in the circumstances the money had to be obtained in the best way possible. The speaker also stressed the necessity for a revision of . the proposals with regard to schedules in district high schools which, it was feared, would accentuate rather than stem the dangerous drift from district high schools to larger centres. Mr G. Warwick endorsed the representations made by the previous speaker. He claimed that it was not the function of school committees to raise money, for improvements to grounds and buildings. It was all very well for the Minister of Education to say that he appreciated what the school committees were , doing, but so far as the committees themselves were concerned a breaking point was being reached. SIR JAMES ALLEN’S REMARKS Sir James Allen congratulated the league and other organisations on their activity. These organisations, he said, were the real life of the community. Referring; to the proposal for the erection of a new maternity hospital, he stated that the reputation of Dunedin medical students was such that, as High Commissioner, he had never had any difficulty in placing an Otagotrained man in a hospital at Home. It was, therefore, important that the qualifications of the students should be maintained at the highest standard. He endorsed everything that had been' said, with respect to the necessity for such a hospital, and he claimed that it was in the interests of the whole Dominion that the modest demand should be met. , Sir James Allen also stressed the importance of afforestation, because it was creating an asset for the future. He would use what influence he had in assisting to bring to fruition a great many of the proposals that had been outlined. PRESSING NEEDS Mr W. B. Steel said that the worthy representatives of the Legislature present did not need to be reminded that the motto of the Expansion League was the motto of the importunate widow —that one only got what one wanted by much asking. If they wanted a concrete and present-day example of the truth of that they need only look at the Post Office. For years and years' Dunedin had harangued, reasoned, blustered, and implored, and had kept at it until the contract was signed and sealed. In this connection ho wished to pay a tribute to the members of the Legislature, past and present, who had helped towards that goal. To Mr Taverner they owed the Post Office, for he it was who put matters in train by getting the plans put through and the foundation laid—Sir Charles Statham for his continuous work; Mr Downie Stewart, who brought the subject again and again before Cabinet; and,to other city members who not only backed up deputations and augmented bombardments from the platform and from the floor of the House, Dunedin’s grateful thanks were due. But Dunedin had other needs as well. It wanted a steamship service between the South Island and Melbourne, the railway duplicated between St. Leonards and Sawyers’ Bay, the wonderland of .the Western Sounds made available to. sightseers, both local and overseas, and a united effort to improve trade with the outer world by shipping Otago produce through Otago Harbour. They wanted

every facility and encouragement given to the closer settlement, and more intensive cultivation of the back country* especially in the Upper Clutha Valley. They wanted a sane, reasonable, and .effective management of goldfields, tha encouragement of legitimate mining ventures, the prevention of the destruction of good land in the search for gold, and the elimination of the "wild-cat,” They wanted, in short, more elbow room to work out their own salvation, after the manner of their fathers, by grit, industry and a close attention to their own business. The chairman asked that the resident* should be given better communication by boat between Queenstown and Glenorchy. MEMBERS’ REPLIES Mr J. W. Munro said that every item on the agenda paper had his wholehearted support, but the most important question of all waa the national matter of the new maternity hospital for Dunedin. Still, he thought that this necessity would be provided in the very near future. Mr Munro said he was surprised that the question of the damming of Lakes Wanaka and Hawea had not been brought up at the meeting, particularly in view of the part such a project would play in the development of the gold-mining industry. He was convinced that an unprecedented boom in gold mining wa* pending, and he thought that one of the best ways of making the most of the opportunity was to push on with the damming of the two lakes. Mr Ansell said that the Otago members stood loyally together. -There was no political colour so far as Otago’s needs were concerned. He heartily supported the Haast Bass road proposal. There was no finer scenery in the world than could be found in that district. The request for a new maternity hospital would have their -wholehearted support. He would not touch on exchange matters, but he would like to say that all were in favour of obtaining a better class of work for the unemployed. The question, however, was how that could be done. He hoped that the Mayor did not suggest borrowing. He hoped that there would be no suggestion of sending immature boys into camps for tree-planting. Good work was being done by local organisations, and he hoped that boys would take what opportunities they could to obtain technical training that would fit them for their work in later life. He hoped that nothing would be done that would injuriously affect the-district high schools. Mr F. Jones expressed bis approval of the Haast Pass road project, but. stressed the fact that sending single men out to remote camps for 5s or 10g a week was not the way' to carry out such works. The Motor Club’s advocacy of a revision of third party risk legislation was, to ■hi* mind, worthy of every support, pnd he did not think there would be any serious difficulty about having the law changed. Referring to the maternity hospital. Mr Jones said that the site which, had been chosen was admirable, and if the hospital could be erected for £22,000 that would be “ very good business.’’ From a health point of view the erection of this hospital was more important than the new Post Office. Touching on town planning, Air Jones claimed' that the Harbour Board should decide what it would do with its reclaimed land. Parts - should be set aside for workers’ dwellings, and the southern endowment could be used for sites for factories. A large amount of useful work was being done by unemployed, and he hoped that if the Government could not find more money for these men the Mayor Would be able to put forward a scheme that would assist. Mr Jones expressed surprise that suburban railway fares had not been mentioned. It waa unfair that Aucklanders should be able to travel at cheaper rates than those paid by Dunedin people. That was a matter that must be rectified.