EXPENDITURE AT ROTORUA.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXVI, Issue 43, 20 February 1905, Page 4

EXPENDITURE AT ROTORUA.

We have always been strong advocates of the policy followed by the present Government of exploiting our tourist resorts to the best possible advantage, Money spent in roading the Alpine districts in the South or in developing our thermal wonderland in the North is from the purely ms-ternl standi point a remarkably good investment, and may be reasonably expected tp produce dirgctly or indirectly a haadsome return. But we cannot afford to lavish money upQP our picturesque scenery without a discreet regard for our limited means and tbe probability of ultimate dividends j and from this standpoint we are inclined to believe that the financial policy of the Tourist Department at Rotorua is open to somewhat stringent criticism.

One point that has been brought under oar notice lately is the extremely elaborate scale in which the Sanatorium grounds are being laid out. No visitor can fail to be struck with the beauty of the gardens around the Sanatorium and the kiosk: and the officials in charge deserve the greatest credi/ for what they have done. But the great extension "of the grounds that is now being carried out does not appear to us to be warranted by the circumstances of the case. It would take a far larger population than Rotorua is likely to boast for many years and a far greater influx of tourists than anything Rotorua has yet experienced to render these immense walks and endless parterres necessary or even desirable. We understand that something like £1200 a year is being spent on the Sanatorium grounds, and we fail to see any reasonable excuse for this huge outlay. At the same time, many of the baths are in a condition that is neither attractive to visitors nor creditable to the authorities, and we think that the public \coixld appreciate a little extra expenditure in this direction rather than upon ornate and superfluous garden walks.

Another even less defensible item in tfio 1,-tGraa budget is tbe rote for a mw deep water wharf. It seems that the Department in charge made np its mind that a wharf was wanted at a spot that would give deep water berthage to any vessel requiring it, and arrangements were promptly made for surveys and plans. The sum of £700 at least is tc be expended upon this work, and it does not yet seem to have occurred tc the officials in charge to inquire what demand there is for it. Every body -who ha_ been on Rotorua lake knows that the launches and steamboats are all extremely shallow; in fact, anything drawing more than two or three feet of water would be practically useless on the lake, as it 'would be unable to get in close to the shore except in a few scattered spots. As this is* so, what is the object of providing a deep water wharf for boats that never need it. and art built especially for service in the very shallowest water. The reply to this conundrum must be left to the ingenuity of the Works Department. There is a very useful wharf on the lake already, anl if it needs extension there is no reason why it should not be enlarged. But this new deep water wharf at such I a cost seems to us a most preposterous fad. And while perhaps £1000 is to be spent upon this wholly unnecessary and useless purpose, money is urgently needed to give Rotorua good drainage works, and to improve the baths. It is absurd to talk about attracting tourists to thr lake by means of a wharf which they will never require. If the Department wants to improve Rotorua from the fisherman's point of view, it ought to put on a few men to kill off the shags. These voracious birds in great numbers are carrying on their depredations in all the streams from Taupo to Rotorua, and the slaughter of trout foi which they are responsible must be prodigious. A few pounds judiciously expended in shooting them and raiding their breeding grounds would do far more to improve "the Angler's Paradise than the hundreds of pounds that the Department contemplates throwin* into the lake or burying in the Sanatorium gardens.

One very useful work now beinz carried out by the Department is the construction of a read at Wairoa down to the level of Tarawera Lake, so that vehicles can be driven down to the boat landing. This will save visitors who make the round trip a very tiresome walk of about a mile, and it will, we believe, tend materially to popularise excursions on Tarawera and Rotomahana. The opening up of Tarawera Mountain for tourist traffic is also well worthy of consideration.