SCENERY PRESERVATION. VISIT OF THE COMMISSION TO CATLINS FOREST. THE CROYDON BUSH DISTRICT.

Otago Witness, Issue 2650, 28 December 1904, Page 79

SCENERY PRESERVATION. VISIT OF THE COMMISSION TO CATLINS FOREST. THE CROYDON BUSH DISTRICT.

The Scenery Preservation Commis- . < sioners have returned from the South after j a general tour through the coastal districts ! i of Otago and Southland. After leaving , Dunedin the commissioners visited the Wai- j pori Bush, and subsequently they proceeded i to Port Molyneux, and from there went < right through the Catlins Forest and Seaward Bush, and thence to Invercargill. Mr J S. Percy Smith, the< chairman of the corn- . mission, has expressed Limself highly pleased Jj with the- splendid bush scenery between the , Catlins River and Wuirnahaka, and con- ' aiders that several beautiful scenic spots f should be preserved. As a result of the , 1 visit of the commission it is more than pro- j babl-e there will b© scenio reserves cstab- j lished at the mouth of the Tahakopa River ! ] and along portions of the Cafclins and c M'Lennan Rivers, and also, probably, at £ Table Hill. The magnificent native bush f of Otago and Southland is now 6O rapidly i disappearing that it \a to be earnestly honed i

comprehensive portions of it will be l-cserveSt in the Catlins district, for nowhere in the South Island could more beautiful bush be found, and, moreover, to the charm of thai? grand forest, with its great spreading trees and its luxuriant growth of tree ferns and the many other beautiful specimens of New Zealand ferns, is added the beauty of beautiful river reaohes and one of the finest sea beaches in this part of the colony. From the mouth of the- Tahakopa River to the Ratanui road is a broad sweep of firm sand, which at low tide makes an ideal drive, and a buggy wheel scarcely ever leaves a mark, so firm is the beach. In the background ar-3 the varied shades of the green forest, in late summer ablaze with the "glory of the bush," the crimson rata, and in front is the white surf, and beyond the blue of the ocean. Then, out from the mouth of the river is an island where the white column of surf at the blow-hole rises like curling volumes of steam every few minutes. At Table Hill, again, a glorious view of surrounding wooded valleys and hills, with the river wandering through park-like forest, is obtained. Two members of -the commission — Major Brown and Mr . W. Smith — paid a visit to Gore, and inspected the Croydon Domain and vicinity, ascending to the top of East Peak, from •which there is a magnificent v,iew of the hills and the Waimea and Southland Plains. Unfortunately, a heavy fog came on, but, sufficient was seen to convince the commissioners of the desirablenesss of obtaining, if possible, portions of the freehold adjoining the domain. The commissioners, guided by -the Mayor of Gore and others, then proceeded along the ridges to Whisky Creek Valley, and thence to the road leading to the gorge of the Waimumu, emerging in the vicinity of the old Maori encampment;. Practically all the land through which the route lay is Crown property, and as the scenery is extremely beautiful it is to be hoped that a recommendation will be made in the direction of reserving the whole of the Government land from the Eastern Peaks round to the gorge. The Cray don Bush is another of the fast-disappearing beautiful southern forests, and the people of the Gore district look upon it as one of the principal recreation grounds in their vicinity.