SCENIC BEAUTY

Stratford Evening Post, Volume IV, Issue 100, 6 April 1936, Page 7

SCENIC BEAUTY

Important New Road Opened in South. \ ! DIFFICULTIES OF CONSTRUCTION , Press Association— Copyrieht. \ Invcrcargill, April 5. ' An important link in the highways system of the South Island was forged yesterday afternoon when Mr. W. A. Bodkin, M.P., officially opened the road j from Kingston to Quecnstown. This I highway, 29 miles in length, brings In- j I vercargill at least 70 miles nearer I Quecnstown by road and eomplctcs a 1 system which opens to visitors the scenic beauties of the south. ' i Work on the road commenced under I the Ward Government prior to the dej pression but by 1929 only about nine ' and three-quarter miles had been comI pie ted when cessation of work on the | road was ordered. The Government had , then spent £30,00(1. In 1934 completion i of the road was authorised. j The road presented engineering diffi- | culties. The Devil's Staircase has through j stories of mishaps there in bygone years ! and through its steep and rocky appearS anee when viewed from the lake been ! regarded with respect almost amounting to awe but the road climbs it at a sur- | prisingly easy grade. There is plenty of j room for cars to pass and a strongly built j wall of rock and cement dispels all ' fears of an unwelcome fall into the deep j blue waters below. At places nearer I Quecnstown there are bluffs over which , the road runs well above the lake but t the same provision is being made for ; safety.

Devil's Staircase, The seven miles of road which lie | between Kingston and the Staircase pro- ', vide but a foretaste of the exhilarating : drive. The climb to the Devil's Staircase ; not only affords an excellent opportunity for looking out over Wakatipu but it enables one to appreciate the large amount of rockcutting and wall building which has been carried out Tiie scenery is more magnificent after ( Wye Creek. On the right are the worldfamous Remarkables. Below are the' rich blue waters of the,lake and to the left in the lake at their feet. For the last are Mount Dick and Cecil Peak reflected part of the journey to Qucenstown there is less grandeur but some charming pastoral country. There was a very large attendance at the cpsning ceremony. At the Kingston ! end Mrs. Leo Lee, wife of the chairman ! cf the Lake County- Council, cut a ribj bon stretched across the road and a procession left for the Queenstown end for i the official ceremony. About seven miles I from Queenstown another ribbon was j cut by Mrs. Lee. From Mr Semple. i Mr. Lee read a telegram from the j Hon. R. Semple, Minister of Public I Works, expressing the hope that the I prosperity of the district would be ad- ! vanced still further as a result of the I opening of the road. "" i Mr. Bodkin said the road would be a I valuable asset not only to Queenstown ] and district but also to Invercargill and I Southland, whose people would now be ! able to reach easily one of nature's finest ! beauty and health giving spots, j The whole of the Dominion, too, would I benefit for the portion of the road now j completed was an important part of the j highway system in New Zealand which j would enable tourists to see and appreci- ! ate to the full the grandeur of the I scenery on the round trip which would j now be available. Mr. Bodkin said the total cost of the | road was £63,000, of which £13,250 had | been provided by the Unemployment I Board.

Oilier speakers included the Mayor of Queenstown (Mr. 11. Overton), Mr. A. W. Wellsted (commercial manager of the Railway Department) and Mr. T. Ball (district Public Works Department engineer at Duncdin). In the evening a banquet was held at Queenstown.