NO REPRIEVE FOR TREES

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Volume 81, Issue 33, 2 November 1937, Page 7

NO REPRIEVE FOR TREES

Hastings Golf Club and Court Order AVIATION ENDANGERED Morfl was heard about the belt of treeg, that have been ordered to be cut down. at the Bridge Pa Unks, at the annual meeting of the Hastings Jiplf Club iast evening, when a proposal was rejected that further repreSentatitioas should be made to tho Minister of Publio Works for a reeonsideration of the matter. While general regret was expressed by various members at tshe destructioa of the trees, it was felt by the majority that the settleinent arrived at with the Hawke 's Bay and East Ooast Aero Olub precluded further consideration, In moving that a sub-commrttee consisting of the president, the vice-presi-dent and the secretary be appointed to place the whole matter before the Minister, asking hijn, to xeconsider the matter, Mr W« J« Whjte said that it was aet difdcuit to visualiso what the position was going to be when, the trees were cut down as directed by the Court following the serving by the Aero Club of a notiee to the golf club. "It seems to me so un-British that we should hunt aU over the district 25 years ago for a suitable site, thea ihe aero club should come _ just three or f our years ago and. do just what they liked and spoil our club," he said- "I really do feel that we should make a last effort to tako the_ matter before the Miuisetr aud explaiu the pogtiipn fully to him." The ehairman, Mr P. B. Kelly «• plained that, is the drst place, the aero club had approached the matter in. a friendly way and asked to have the trees cut down to 20ft. as it was com tended they cndangered aviation, When it came to a quegtion of compensation, however, the aero club could not see the way clear ot grant anyr thing, though the trees were valuable, for it was eventually anticipated that they would be used as timber, The nexfe» thing. was the receipt of a notice to cut down the trees and this led to the mattfer coming before the Magistrate, who ruled that j^he trees had to come down to 5ft. from the ground, "It is a matter of life and death as regards aviation," he said. -It is a pity the Aero Club 4id not go to the other end of Hawke's Bay, but, under Acts of Parliament, they can compel us to move the club-house lf it ie ebnsmered to be a danger to aviation! Xt is no good hitting pne's ' hedd^ up against a brick wall,- The committee could do no mere than it did in arriv. ing at a settlement. The trees have to go and there is no ghancc of our proventing the cutting'down of thein." 4 Mr White said he was not optimistic that any success would come of the representations being continued» but he thdught members would feel that at least every possible step" had beeh takou. might lead to havlng'the treeg cut down enly to 20ft. instead of 5ft.," he urged. » ' Mr W. |S. Averill opposed the proposal, contending that it would be mest improper to take tihe matter over the heads of the aero club, now that the matter had been amieably settled. 'The law is much widej, in its seppe than mest people realise. It is possible for the Public Works Deportment to come right into tho pentre pf Hastings and there is nothing to ptop them, It is only a question of compensatlon." "fld one wantp tp see aviation kept badn by golfj hor 40 «we want to see an ac'eident," sai4 the ehairman, an4> as an after-thQUght^he mentiened that when ihe notice wap seryed it was considered by ihe aero pfficials that the cutting down oi the trees was pf "extreme urgency/' but the trees wero still fhere. Mr A. S. Tonkin: We all know that it is quite eapy to cut down a tree and that it is a hard job to grow.another. It- is possible that there might have been a c'hange ef poliey on the part of the depurtment ahd that we might be ablc to save the tree?. " "There is no doubt that the trees are a danger," said Dr. E. Cashmere, who added that recently there was nearly an accident caused by the trees, * ' At this stage an amendment was°proposed that the matter be left to the ineoming committee to consider but after further -discussion this proposal was rejected and the motion was likewise dispoged of, the voting being pn the voices.