DAY'S BAY BUSH.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 50, 22 November 1907, Page 8

DAY'S BAY BUSH.

-.PETITION BEFORE CITY COUNCIL. RESERVATION APPROVED. Tho City Council decided last night to support a petition signed by a thousand ratepayers, in favour of the purchaso by ■ the Government of the Day's Bny bush for a national sconic .reserve. Opinions were expressed that the Coiincil might contributeto the,cost of purchase, the Mayor making it very plain, however, that. no . excessive pricei should be paid. Councillor F. AI. B. Fisher, M'H.R., in presenting the. petition, said that though the Scenery Preservation Society had been late in taking active steps in the matter, durjng the last three' days nearly a thousand residents of Wellington and the adjoining boroughs had signed their names, to the petition, asking tho Government to acquiro the bush. The bush had been placed under offer to the Government, and if had been stated, with what correctness ho could not say, that if it was not taken over for scenic purposes, a sawmill would be put in it,: If .'there was .one piece of bush anywhere in Now Zealand that ought to'bo preserved as a scenic rosort it was this bush, first because it .was accessible, being so close to the city, and secondly, because it was a magnificont pieco of bush. Ho did not think himself that there was any intention to put a sawmill there, but they were quite unable to imagine what.the company might do with the bush, and he thought that, it would, be a wise thing to urge upon the Government, now while it was interested in scenery preservation, ■ the necessity for acquiring the property. He also believed that whon the timo came, tho City Council should provide a portion of the cost of purchase. Monoy was being expended now on scenery, preservation in the most inaccessible places. Land was boing bought on the Main Trunk line, 160 miles from Wellington, and bush reserved which .the tourist would only see from the window of a railway train. Day's Bay sometimes attracted ten thousand of the citizens at one time. For the present, the petition did not suggest contribution on the City Council's part, but it was only asked that the Council should approve the petition as l an indication to the Government that it thought the bush should: be preserved. He could notjniagine that anyono could contemplate for a moment such gross vandalism as the destruction of the bush. In tho case of Wilton's Bush, the Council had contributed towards the cost of acquisition. But without touching the financial aspect, the Council should approve the petition, and he would ask individual Councillors to use their influence to sociire tho preservation of this bush for the citiaens of Wellington for all time. He moved, in pursuance of notice gi'rai at last meeting :—"That the Council notes with pleasure tho negotiations pending between the Wellington Steam Ferry Company and the New Zealand Government ro the, purchase as a national scenic reserve of the natural bush at Day's Bay, and urges upon the Government the desirability of acquiring the same."

Councillor J. Smith, in seconding the motion, declared that it would never'pay to put a sawmill in the bush, but they did not

know in what.other way it might he spoiled. He thought that the other boroughs should be asked to bring pressure. to bear on the. Government, and there would bo no harm in the Council paying its sharo of the cost of-purchase. The Mayor said that this. proposal was brought up about eighteen months ago, but the price which the. company then put ou tho bush was absolutely prohibitive, and tho matter dropped. Ho emphasised tho necessity for people retaining their normal condition ef mind when the negotiations wero carried on. He did not know what price was put upon tho bush now, but ho did not suppose the • Government or the Council would object, ty take it over for.tho amount on which tlio company was paying taxes. Ho ho]>cd that, whatever took place, they would go about the matter quietly and calmly. Be find beori astonished to find tho number of people in tho city during the last ftiw days who had all at onco dovolopcd an rosthetic faurta. People bad como to intorviow him at his' office in whoso minds hu had never discpvorevl previously any special love of tho beautiful, and one could not but be a littlo auspicious of the motives of somo of those who camo to boo one! It was tho duty of the Council to provide pleasnro rosorts, but they had cxponsivo schemes in hand, and they must not bo led to pay an excessive price which would limit their work for tho improvement of tire, city in other directions. While he thought that they should adopt this motion, and sco if the Government woiil 1 help them to accpiiro the proporty, ttioy should l>e very careful not to do this so as to give undue exponso to tho city and an unduo benefit to the company.

This motion was carried on a division, members voting as follows:— Tor —The Mayor, Councillors Ballinger, Fisher, Flotchor, Godber, Hindmarsh, Luke, Morrah, and Smith; Against—Councillors CarmioliaeJ, Cohen, Hales, and Murdoch.