“GRAVE THREAT TO BUSH”

Press, Volume LXXXII, Issue 24907, 21 June 1946, Page 4

“GRAVE THREAT TO BUSH”

SUBDIVISION OF DEANS ESTATE APPEAL BY ROYAL ’ SOCIETY An emphatic opinion that the subdivision and draining of the Deans homestead property would mean the destruction of the native ffixsh in the Riccarton Bush reserve was expressed yesterday by Mr W. B. Brockie, who has charge of the native plant section of the Christchurch Botanic Gardens. He was commenting on a letter sent by the Christchurch branch of the Royal Society of New Zealand to the Christchurch City Council, the Riccarton Borough Council, and the Waimairi County Council, which read as follows: “In regard to the negotiations, now in progress, for the sale of land adjoining Riccarton Bush, the Canterbury branch of the Royal Society of New Zealand desires to stress the importance of preserving the natural conditions which give the bush its singular character. “Riccarton Bush, comprising an area of 15z acres, is the last remnant of the type of swamp forest which occupied considerable areas in and round Christchurch before European settlement. The original swampy state of the bush floor has already been considerably modified, owing to the drainage of land for roads and dwelling houses adjoining it, and the society fears that any further lessening of the soil moisture in Jhe bush, which would result from an extension of the built-up area along its boundary, would cause a drastic change in the physiognomy of the bush. “The society, therefore, strongly urges local bodies, who are ultimately responsible to future generations for the preservation of this *historic fragment of our country.’ to purchase the land in question, with the object of making it a public reserve. By so doing not only would a danger to the bush be obviated, but a fitting setting could be devised which would provide a magnificent view of the bush.”

Effect of Land Drainage The secretary of the society (Jdr C. R. Russell) explained that the subdivision of the Deans estate and the drainage of the land would, by cutting into a clay pan, reduce ground water in the bush reserve below the level necessary for the existence of swamp forest. He had undertaken to make a survey of the result of draining the land, and to present it to the next meeting of the society. Mr Brockie said there would undoubtedly be a tremendous public outcry if the trustees of the reserve were to grant a timber company the right to fell the bush. Yet. in his opinion, the destruction of the bush would be just as certain if the adjoining Deans hdmestead estate were subdivided and drained. , , . “From 55 acres, the bush shrank in the early years of Canterbury settlement, to 15 acres, while every other patch of native bush was destroyed,’ Mr Brockie concluded. "The foresight of Mr John Deans preserved this last remnant of a unique plant life, and it would be a betrayal of trust, not only to past but to future, generations, to allow it to die."