Taranaki Herald. DAILY EVENING. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 23, 1918. THE MOUNTAIN HOUSE.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 16037, 23 January 1918, Page 2

Taranaki Herald. DAILY EVENING. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 23, 1918. THE MOUNTAIN HOUSE.

A well-known citizen of Auckland who has just spent a fortnight at the North Egmont Mountain House remarked to another Aucklander whom he met in New Plymouth that Mount Egmont is just the place for residents of the northern city to spend a holiday, that he had been there two or /three times and hoped to come every -year. It was possible, be pointed out, to leave Auckland in the afternoon and be at the mountain house, 3000 feet above sea level, in time for breakfast next morning. An inspection of the visitors’ book at the house discloses the fact that it is very largely patronised by visitors from outside Taranaki. Since the New Year there, haye been people from,

Wellington, Auckland, Whangarei, Hawke’s Bay, Wairarapa, and elsewhere, ah 3 one has not to look far in the visitors’ hook to find the names of people from the South Island, from Australia, England, and America. And everyone who stays there becomes an advertising agent for Mount

Egmont. Only recently a lady was staying there who came to recuperate in the bracing atmosphere after a somewhat serious illness and operation. She had not been there long before she actually climbed to the top of the mountain—a splendid evidence of the recuperative effects of a short sojourn at the altitude of the house. The controlling body is, however, faced with difficulties. The house is not half large enough, consequently applications for accommodation are constantly being refused. Why, then, is the house not enlarged P That is the obvious question, the reply to which is that the present house was erected by subscription, with a little Government assistance, and the balance provided by the Bank of Hew Zealand on the guarantee of a few local people. The brink overdraft is a temporary accommodation, which cannot be renewed indefinitely, and the tenure of the land is such than security cannot he given over the house. The position is therefore that while the existing liability remains* it is very difficult to find money for extensions. The Governmei'it is not inclined to assist at present, and if it were any grant it made would probably be too small to meet the urgent needs. A carnival of some kind has been suggested as a means of raising- funds, but we doubt whether the results would be suffi,cient. In the meantime people are being turned away for lack of accommodation. It has occurred to us, after seeing what is taking place at the Ngamotu beach, that the difficulty might be partly overcome if some sort of building permits were given to people , who have the means to erect small bungalows or huts on*the mountain side. The horse paddock, now of very little use for its original purpose, because m°st of thetraffic is by motor, might be cut up into building sites and let at a moderate rental to people prepared to erect approved buildings. The tenure, it may be argued, would not satisfy prospective builders, but surely as good a tenure might be given as at Ngamotu. It is not a new idea, having been suggested and dismissed years ago, but times have changed, the demand for accommodation is more insistent, and it is possible that what did not seem feasible at one time may be quite practicable now. What we suggest is a sort of squatter’s license, permitting a man to odbupy a few square yards and put an approved building on it for bis own use and with permission to let it to his friends. There are plenty of people in Taranaki who could well afford to erect a small cottage up there, even if they only occupied it for a few weeks in the year. A dozen such cottages would relieve the hostelry without robbing it, for the mountain will attract more and more people every year if accommodation can be given them. Writing recently on the subject we suggested that the time had arrived when the question of catering for the tourist and holiday traffic should be taken in hand more systematically. This question of accommodation at the mountain is part of the larger question, and not the least urgent, and something should -be done now to prepare for next summer.