THE BULLOCK TRACK

Evening Star, Issue 23380, 25 September 1939, Page 8

THE BULLOCK TRACK

ROOTING OUT MUHLENBECKIA NATIVE TREES SAFEGUARDED _ | CRITICISM OF WORK UNJUSTIFIED Judging by the agitation which has arisen over the work being undertaken by tho reserves department of the City Council in Duke’s road at a point generally known as the bullock track, there appears to bo a certain section of the general public more prone to words than to thought. It has been staled by many that this work constitutes an act of vandalism in that it is destroying the native bush. Nothing is farther from the truth _ .... The particular hillside which is the focal point of all the arguments abuts on to what will be tho main road into tho city. Both the Dunedin Amenities Society and the North Dunedin Amenities Society- are in agreement with the work. In'fact, both are sponsoring it. These societies are comprised of publicspirited men and women, who have nothing but the interests and preservations of the bush and all its attendant beauties at heart. They are people who have made a particular study of the flora and fauna of this country, and to assert (as has wildly been done) that they do not know what they are talking' about is nonsense. The work of clearing- the muhlenbeckia, with its all-enstrangling hold, from the hillside has been done under the close personal supervision of the superintendent of reserves (Mr D. Tannock), a man thoroughly competent to judge of the value of all manner of plant life. It is beyond the bounds of all reason to assume that a man who has spent a lifetime nurturing and cultivating trees <and shrubs should on the other hand destroy them. The idea is fantastic.

All that has bc?n done with the bullock track hillside has been to remove the muhlenbeckia. This hardy creeper has been responsible for the slow strangulation of the greater part of the native trees on the hillside. It, and not the axes of Mr Tannock’s men, has been the cause of the deaths of many kowhai which flourished there. Prior to the c clearing-up process, the hillside was nothing but a tangle of muhlenbeckia. Resting like (i blanket on and over the few remaining trees, it formed a destroying element during the heavy snow of winter, the weight of the latter lying on the muhlenbeckia breaking many trees to the ground. If any of the critics had taken the trouble to examine some of the trees when the muhlenbeckia was cleared away they would have seen the former bowed down under its weight and with their roots showing—torn from tho ground. The hillside in its wild, tangled state did not constitute a scenic spot. Today it presents a bare appearance to the casual observer, but a little clear reasoning would soon convince even the most sceptical that the denring-up process will improve it. The floor of the hillside will improve immeasurably. Shrubs and natives will be planted, and the whole will present a pleasing appearance in a year or two. The stone retaining wall being built is a decided improvement. It is set back beyond the original roadline, which has necessitated a certain amount of widening and the cutting of a few fuchsias. This, though, was unavoidable. What has happened on the bullock track hillside has been nothing more than what was done to many parts of the city’s Town Belt, and who can say that the native trees contained therein have not benefited by the spring cleaning?