TERRACE END PIT

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVII, Issue 216, 12 August 1937, Page 11

TERRACE END PIT

BEAUTIFICATION SCHEME. ARBOR DAY CELEBRATIONS. To celebrate Arbor Day in a practical manner and at the same time lay the foundation in the beautification of the Terrace End pit, the Terrace End Progressive Association were the promoters of a very pleasing ceremony yesterday afternoon. A large gathering of citizens and pupils of the Terrace End School assembled at the pit to witness the planting of trees by representative citizens and school prefects, marking, as Mr T. W. Henderson said, the start i.n the transformation of an eyesore into a place of beauty. _ 4 Mr Henderson, who is chairman of the Progressive Association, presided and opened his remarks by stating that it was really an historical day. Through the co-operation of the City Council, he said, they were at last to see a “blot, on the suburb” removed. He appealed to the citizens, and particularly the children, to take a pride in the area, which would in time be one of the show places of the city. Cr. G. Tremaine. deputy-Mayor and chairman of the City Council reserves committee, congratulated the association oii its civic pride and on the realisation of its hope that the pit would he transformed. Speaking of Arbor Day, he said it was more than a mere name; it civiled for a practical demonstration of our love of trees. He pictured the heavily timbered country around the city which had met tHe eye of the pioneers, and went on to describe the changes which had taken place. In the march of time most of the bush had gone, and the duty of the citizens of the present day was to conserve the existing forests and replant the poorer country. New Zealand had not yet become “timber hungry,” declared the speaker, but there was a grave danger that she would unless the Arbor Day spirit took a real grip of the people. They had to follow the lead of older countries. The planting of trees was not only valuable from the point of view of timber and firewood, lie added; nor was the scenic viewpoint of major account. Trees played a big part in the rainfall of a couiitry and in the prevention of soil erosion. Mr Tremaine stressed the damage which had been done in the United States through disregard of these factors, particularly the danger of erosion. But for trees, _it was no exaggeration to say, in time the sand dunes of Foxton might encroach on the fertile lands of the Manawatu. The children, in particular, had a duty to perform, not only to plant trees, but to protect those already planted. He especially mentioned that care should be given to the Terrace End pit. Mr J. A. Nash; president of the Progressive Association, said it was particularly gratifying to see the children present as. after all, the foundations in reafforestation laid to-day would require to be built upon by the men and women of to-morrow, and lie thanked the headmaster (Mr A. W. Thompson) for providing the opportunity for the children to be present. Unfortunately, there did not seem to be to-day the same spirit regarding Arbor Day as had existed some years ago, added the speaker, who went on to urge that that spirit be reborn. In Germany there had been a law; he declared, that when a tree was cut down two others had to be planted, and lie urged that such a policy — perhaps not legally—should be adopted by the people of New Zealand. Arbor Day had been allowed to lapse in some measure. Wherr lie was Mayor of the city he had tried to impress upon the people its significance. Palmerston North owed a great deal to its curator (Air P. Black), whose efforts in the cause of tree-planting in streets and reserves were commendable. The Terrace End Progressive Association deserved congratulation, added Mr Nash, and the co-operation it had received from this City Council was in every way praiseworthy. It had been said ‘that “to cultivate, a garden is to walk hand in hand with God” and he urged the children to capture the tree-planting and garden-loving spirit. “There is a junior Chrysanthemum Club in this city,” concluded Mr Nash, “and every child should belong to it. Napoleon once stated that where flowers degenerate man cannot live, and the children should take a lesson from that very true statement.” Messrs Tremaine, Nash and Henderson then each planted a she-oak tree, and this was followed by cheers for the Progressive Association and the City Council. Shrubs were also planted by four prefects of the school —Nancy Esau. Gloria . Cook, Devon Christensen and Ronald Elley, and with cheers for the school the ceremony concluded.