NEW PLYMOUTH.

New Zealand Graphic, 20 December 1894, Page 17

NEW PLYMOUTH.

VIEWED from the sea, there are few prettier places than the town of New Plymouth, with its line of

houses extending for two miles along the shore, and its white beach of ocean sands upon which foamcrested rollers from the mighty deep break ceaselessly. During a high wind the waves, thundering upon the beach and dashing in clouds of spray over the breakwater, form a magnificent spectacle. But the feature that specially rivets the attention of the visitor to New Plymouth on a fine day is the picturesque snow-clad peak of Mount Egmont rising to a height of 8,000 feet. The ascent of this mountain, which can be easily accomplished from New Plymouth in a couple of days, is a feat which any tourist of fairly robust constitution may unhesitatingly attempt. A commanding prospect of the North Island, its volcanic cones towards the east, the vast sea of forests covering the interior, and the broad spread of the sea, reflecting the lights and shades of cloudland, reward this enterprise—to say nothing of the celebrity which comes to the traveller who, on returning from his wanderings, can speak of an ascent of a mountain whose altitude equalled that of Snowdon piled on the top of Ben Nevis. There are higher mountains than Egmont in New Zealand, but 1 one more beautiful or more easily ascended, considering its great height. The soil in and around New Ply mouth consists of a rich volcanic loam, warm and fert' le, which earned for this settlement in the earliest tim s the name * Garden of New Zealand,’ a title which .extending settlement throughout Taranaki, the provin dal district of which

New Plymouth is the natural outlet and chief town, has tended to confirm and emphasise. A railway connects New Plymouth with Wellington, and farm settlement along its course has given birth to numerous thriving little towns. Upon the famous Waimate Plains, between New Plymouth and Hawera, and in the country around Stratford, thirty miles distant from New Plymouth, settlement, has progressed with extraordinary rapidity. No part of the colony is better adapted for farmers with or without capital. The growth of New Plymouth has been retarded by its want of a good harbour, while it has made steady progress, and the enterprising inhabitants, by the construction of a concrete breakwater, have fought against nature with a considerable amount of success. Coasting steamers of moderate size discharge their freight of passengers and merchandise regularly at the New Ply-

mouth wharf. The town contains some good public and private buildings, two newspapers, and many excellent shops. The residents are fully alive to the natural attractions of the site on which the town stands, but they have also done a good deal to beautify it. Among their efforts in this direction is the pretty Recreation Reserve, which forms the subject of our illustration. The stores of wealth in the titanic sands, which lie thick upon the shores, are for the most part unutilised, but faith is unshaken among the people that one day

these deposits of valuable metal will change the aspect of New Plymouth by setting into operation many blast furnaces and a prosperous steel industry. From the lips of those who love the rustic beauty of Taranaki’s capital, and who are unmoved by pecuniary considerations, the prayer will irresistibly arise tha* the day when New Plymouth shall be turned into a smoky manufacturing town may be long postponed.