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should also be attended to early, and negotiations should be put in hand to ascertain the ownership and assess the amount of compensation to be paid, also the necessity of providing new quarters for the residents, and the nature thereof. The various surveys, with plans and estimates, also plans of typical dwellings, could be undertaken by the Public Works Department. These recommendations, if carried out, will necessarily involve a considerable expenditure, and we would like to offer some suggestions. The access road at Whakarewarewa, estimated to cost £200, we think should be treated as a national as well as a local matter, and funds be provided on the estimates to construct it, with some assistance from the Rotorua Borough and the Arawa District Trust Board. In connection with the town-planning of the back uninhabited area at Whakarewarewa, considerable rearrangement of the present sections will be necessary, and negotiations will have to be entered into with the owners ; but we do not anticipate much difficulty with this, as the area at present is inaccessible, and some of the owners expressed their willingness to fall in with any scheme for improving and opening-up this land. The demolition and improvement of buildings is a much bigger matter, and will run into several thousand pounds ; but this expenditure can be spread over a period of years. The individual Natives could not be expected to immediately find much towards this, and they suggest that the Government lend them money to rebuild on long-term loans, the repayment to be spread over a period of thirty to thirty-six years, and the loans to be free of interest. Another method would be for the Government to subsidize on buildings which replace those condemned by a competent authority, say, the Government Architect. Conclusion. In conclusion, we would like to stress the necessity for improving these villages. That the Natives are anxious for something to be done is evidenced by the fact that in September, 1924, the Arawa Trust Board proffered a request (copy attached) to the Borough Council that certain improvements be made ; many of which are included in our recommendations. The statements submitted by both villages which are attached hereto as evidence also indicate the desire of the Natives for reforms. The Government, the Rotorua Borough Council, and the Arawa Trust Board are all interested—the Government from a health and tourist viewpoint, the Arawa Trust Board as representative of the Natives, and the Borough Council as controlling authority, and also from the fact that the peculiar attractions of the district are a source of considerable revenue to the town. A copy of the evidence and the two written statements from the villages are attached hereto, also the following exhibits : — Exhibit A—Plan of Block I, Tarawera Survey District. Exhibit B —Plan of Village of Whakarewarewa. Exhibit B —Plan of Village of Ohinemutu. Exhibit C —Photograph of tea-room, Whakarewarewa. Exhibit D—Photograph of building types in Whakarewarewa. Exhibit E—Photograph of model Maori pa, Whakarewarewa. Exhibit F—Photograph of buildings (four) in Ohinemutu. Exhibit G—Photograph of buildings at approach to Whakarewarewa. We have the honour to be, Your Excellency's Obedient Servants, C. J. McKenzie, Chairman. John T. Mair, "1 Reginald B. Hammond, Peter Henry Buck, H. Tai. Mitchell, J Wellington, 19th July, 1926.
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