WATER AND TREES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23204, 31 May 1937, Page 16

WATER AND TREES

NEED OF CENTRAL OTAGO Mr C..W. J. Roberta, Mayor of Cromwell, is never-tiring in his efforts to promote the interests of the little hilllocked township at the terminus of the Central Otago railway; and, in fact, of the whole district which it serves. Mr Roberts is an enthusiastic advocate of tree planting for Central Otago, and contends that if the precipitous, rocky slopes of the Central Otago line were clad in " silent sentinels" the journey from Dunedin to Cromwell would be one of unalloyed pleasure, and would be equal to a trip through the famous Canadian Rockies. This, he says, is not his opinion only, but is the considered view of world travellers. Moreover, trees dotted across the vast expanse of flats, as well as on the hills, would add greatly to the beauty of the landscape, would increase the rainfall, break up the winds, provide plenty of timber for fencing and firewood; and if the right kind of trees were planted it would be possible to grow all the wood that is required for fruit and butter boxes, and there would also be some for export. The mica schists of Central Otago, he told a Daily Times reporter, were wonderfully productive, provided they were given plenty of water, and could be coaxed into growing almost anything. When the irrigation schemes that are in hand came to fruition, and if an apprppriate plan of afforestation were adopted, Central Otago would become a veritable garden. He sincerely hoped that the Government would see the wisdom of these measures. But they should not depend wholly upon the Government; the people should recognise that they also had a part to play. At the present time Cromwell has under consideration an underground sewerage scheme, which was proposed by its Mayor, and it is being wholeheartedly supported by every member of the Cromwell Borough Council. A survey of the borough has just been made by a Dunedin shortly a poll of the ratepayers will be taken. Such a system of drainage will lift Cromwell from its status of the old mining days, and will cause it to take its place among the important towns of New Zealand. Cromwell lends itself ideally to underground drainage, situated as it is on a hillside, at the foot of which the big Kawarau River and the swift-flowing Clutha meet.