WAIKAREMOANA SCENIC RESERVE.

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XXIII, Issue 227, 7 September 1933, Page 8

WAIKAREMOANA SCENIC RESERVE.

The area it is proposed to have set

J. Ilv <ll LJ, IL 13 piUpUsLU LU HdVL 6CL aside for the above purpose, lies between a point two miles to the cast of Te Whaiti and that part of Lake Waikaremoana known as “The Outlet.”

Object in View: To create a scenic reserve and water conservation area along both sides of the route abovementioned, and to include in that reserve the forest lying between the road and the top oi' the ridges, thus providing an unbroken view of forest land, with the exception of clearings, already made by the Natives. Unsuitability for Settlement: The proposed area is composed of poor mountainous bush lands which will punish any man who attempts to clear the said land for farming purposes. It is not possible for any man to niake 6 per cent, interest on the cost of felling, grassing and fencing the said land or to make the farming of toe land, when cleared, a profitable investment. Unsuitability for Milling: The varieties of timber suitable for milling being very much scattered and the country

being very broken, will tend to make sawmilling a very unprofitable occupation within the prescribed area. This is, with the exception of certain areas on the lake side. As Native Bird Sanctuary: The proposed area is particularly well suited for the preservation of native birds, as much of the country is practically inaccessible, and many of the timbers supply the berries and nectar upon which the birds feed. Flood Prevention and Water Conservation: The area it is proposed to reserve on the western side of the Huiarau Range lies at the head of the Rangitaiki and Whakatane Rivers. Those two rivers flow through the lowlands which surround the township of Whnkatane and Tnneatua, and it is common knowledge that this part of the Dominion has suffered severely through floods in the past. If the forest in the hinterland of Whakatane is destroyed, then the floods will descend more rapidly and in much greater volume than at present. Then, again, upon the eastern slopes of the Huiarau Rango the streams flow into Lake Waikaremoana, which supplies the hydro-electric works with power. Therefore, the whole of the Lake Waikaremoana catchment area should for this reason alone, be proclaimed for all time. Effect Upon Natives: The Natives at present . residing within the proposed area will suffer no hardship through this proposal being brought into effect, for not only will their hunting ground bo preserved to them, but, in the event of Crown purchase, they will, in addii Lion, bo paid for their holdings.

Suitability for Scenic Reserve: The proposed area lies at altitudes varying from about 1500 feet to 3500 feet. The timbers and plant life will therefore bo of great variety. In the higher altitudes there thrives, at the present time, a fine forest of beech of the species known at Nothofagus Menziesii. This is the only main road in the North Island which passes through forest of this description. The scenery is, on the whole, of the finest and embraces Mountain, Lake, Forest, River and Gorge Scenery, which will be to the Dominion a most valuable asset, and to the tourist a delight from one end to the other. Once destroyed, it is gone for ever, and is irreplaceable. It lies in such a position as to connect Government interests at Rotorua and Waikarcmoana, and the road, which passes through the proposed reserve affords the East Coast a very direct route to Auckland and Rotorua, and likewise provides the Northern population with a new direct scenic route to Wellington. We would draw special attention to the fact that between the main TaupoRotorua route and To Whaiti, a distance of 34. miles,. arlcady no, less than about 18 miles Of Government plantations lino each side of the road. This, combined w’ith the proposed reserve, will mean that the route from Rainbow Mountain to Waikaremoana Outlet is almost entirely forest-lined. The possibilities of this part of the Dominion as. a tourist, attraction arc unlimited.