SCENIC RESORTS

Gisborne Times, Volume XII, Issue 1074, 16 December 1903, Page 3

SCENIC RESORTS

(To the Editor Gisborne Times.; Sir, —There are probably, not a dozen men. in Gisborne to-day who work for the advancement, of the town without greed ox gain. The lust of ambition, inherent in us all, has developed alarfuingly in the soft, sunny climate of the Bay„ to thq furtherance of the individual and the deterioration of the Borough. Whenever a suggestion is offered in Gisborne, the sages put their heads together, and exclaim, “ He ofiereth a reward unto himself,” and it is surely so. The ostentation of the ambitious man is as easily pushed aside as the projects and plans- that harass our City Fathers. Perhaps, throughout the breadth of our fair dominion, there is not another place that could rival Gisborne in its lack of everything Ilia t. could make a town attractive., A small band of willing workers are slowly, reclaiming the wilderness, and showing, wliat Gisborne can produce. What have our City Fathers been doing for the last 2d or 3U years that wc have not a single public park or garden to walk or drive in, or to show our oversea friends when they drop in to see us at Chrislmastide ? Of course, we can take them up to the Recreation Ground, and show them the hand rotunda hiding amongst its .weeds ; 'then stroll over and have a glimpse at Victoria Domain, and finish up with a fine panoramic view of Kaiti lull from the breakwater —an eyesore to visitors, and a reproach to the town. If Sir James Prcndergast were to come here to-morrow, and view the attractions of the place, lie Would naturally want to know, if we still administered justice from among the scenery of McFarlane’s Ilall, as he was called upon to do in the days of Gisborne’s Certainly, he Would not iind much improvement in the public gardens, the parks, the avenues and squares that beautify a town. Considering the giant strides Gisborne has made compared with otlici towns, it is hard to understand why there exists not a single beauty spol—some public, rustic res-ting-place, where the surroundings do not offend the eye. The Recreation Ground, with its fine avenue of willows, its hand rotunda, and splendid footbridge, is destined to be the future Albert Park of Gisborne. Although in such a deplorable state today, the Recreation Ground possesses the natural advantages requisite to become Gisborne’s great holiday resort, of the future. When the battle of the rotunda site was being waged, the Gisborne Recreation Ground was as well known in New Zealand as IJagley Park, and it seems a pity now that the West,-enders have carried their point, and the rotunda has been erected, that they should allow the ground to develop" into the wilderness it has become. Doubtless, .those chiefly responsible for this neglect has each had his eye on the Borough’s commonwealth considerably nearer lfis own gates, and is ,slri\ing right manfully, without compromising his own interests, how he might best serve his electors.—l am, etc., RESIDENT.