A CIVIC RESORT

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24226, 19 February 1940, Page 4

A CIVIC RESORT

SCHEME FOR WAIPORI 9 MUNICIPAL PLAYGROUND PLANNED USE OF LAKE MAHINERANGI Within 90 minutes’ motor drive of the city and tucked away in the hills at an altitude of 1100 feet, lies an artificial lake visualised lately as a playground for the people of Dunedin, comparable with some of the larger and less accessible lakes of Central Otago, and blessed by advantages that distance will always deny to Wanaka, Wakatipu, Te Anau and the rest. • Lake Mahinerangl, for all that it is man-made and circumscribed in area and depth, presents more than 2000 acres/of rippling surface to-the warm inland sun. It is nine mUes long, and its winding waters have a score of sunny sidelings in the numerous arms that have penetrated the undulating hills. Built for the greater development of the hydro-electric scheme at Waipori, which had its origins in the activities of a private company many years Ego, it is only now being regarded with a seriously calculating eye by the municipal authorities as an addition to the many watering places adjacent to the city, which almost without exception have the extreme disadvantage of being tidal and. therefore, on occasions an affront to the nostrils.

The Electricity Committee of the City Council has given official recognition to the proposal for sr playground at Waipori, and is at present investigating the possibility of an immediate start being made with the planting of shelter belts and ornamental trees and shrubs to enclose a park following on the lines of the beautiful and wellappointed domain at Queenstown, which is regarded by many as the chief attraction of the tourist resort on the shores of Lake Wakatipu. After visiting Waipori, in company with Mr M. R. Skipworth, who will shortly succeed Mr D. Tannock as superintendent of city reserves, members of the committee were greatly impressed by the feasibility of the project, and a definite report on the subject will shortly be furnished to the City Council. It is understood that, in view of the uncertainty .of present conditions and the need at the moment for concentration on more serious ■ matters, no immediate action will be taken in the direction of putting the plan into operation in its entirety. Consideration so far has been confined to the preliminary work of providing ah appropriate setting for the fanous amenities proposed. ‘, The committee has satisfied itself that there is suitable land on the lakeside for the laying down of lawn tennis courts, croquet, and bowling greens; and facilities for all kinds of aquatic sports. All these together with children’s playing areas and probably a golf course, could be provided at reasonable cost, and it is considered that in a comparatively short period of years a fully-equipped and attractive week-end resort could be established. r •

“It is not the sort of thing that can be done in a day or a year, said the chairman of the Electricity Committee (Cr D. C. Cameron)-, talking to .a Daily Times reporter on the spot. but 11 a start is made now with suitable treeplanting, everything should be, ready when times are more propitious. We cannot start planting too soon and once that work is put in hand, it does not matter how long the rest is delayed by circumstances. The longer the trees and shrubs have to grow the better. If we had to wait 20 years the effort would not be wasted.” An Enthusiastic Advocate The idea of such a resort has lately been enthusiastically canvassed by an ex-city councillor who has for years spent his Christmas vacation at Queenstown. “In the last 25 years.” he told a Daily Times reporter, “I have spent 21 Christmas Days in Queenstown—and they have all, been enjoyable—but I honestly think that Queenstown has nothing to offer that we could not give people at Waipori—except, perhaps, snow-capped mountains. At Lake Mahinerangi holiday-makers could enjoy boating, swimming, fishing and hiking, and there is no reason why, on one of the many arms jutting out into the lake,- there should not be a park with all the facilities afforded in the domain at Queenstown.” Whatever people said' about Queenstown, he continued, few could deny that: hundreds went there every , summer for ' bowls, tennis-or croquet in' the park, and for -the delightful change of climate the district-afforded. Why could they not have the same at Waipori at- not a fraction- of the cost, and with only.an-hour or twos travelling from Dunedin? ■ ;■ ■; “ Waipori is 42 miles from the sea —far enough inland to give a complete change of air—and it is 1150 feet above sea level, compared with Queenstown s 1050 feet. It is approached by one of the most beautiful scenic drives in the South Island, and in every respect it is admirably suited for the establishment of a huge resort for the city of Dunedifi. ~ . “And, what is more, it would be a holiday centre with a community of interest exclusively centred in Dunedin. What does Queenstown contribute to Dunedin? It always did incline strongly to Invercargill, and the opening of the QueenstownKingston road hfs forged the last link in the chain of trade and accessibility which binds it to the Southland centre. On the other hand, a properly-; constituted holiday resort at Waipori would be serviced and supplied entirely from Dunedin, with a resultant benefit to business in punedin, and there is no reason why in the years to come it should not attract visitors from Eli parts of the Dominion in the same way that Queenstown does to-day. And finally, he declared. Waipori could be a week-end resort to an extent impossible for Queenstown, Pembroke or Te Anau. It required a days journey to reach Lake Wakatipu, and another .day had to, be spent on the return. Not many business men .could afford the .time to take their families so far sway more than once a year, but in the case of Waipori a family could leave home on the Friday evening, spend a couple of days in solubrious surroundings, and be back in the city in time for the commencement of the .business or school day on the Monday.

The Lesson of Queenstown

The practicability of the scheme may be doubted by some, but the experience of Queenstown should, suffice to illustrate how the desert can be made to blossom like the rose by the application of a little effort. The peninsula on which the Queenstown Domain has been laid out is one of the two almost identical projections into the lake, as one of the accompanying illustrations shows. Both were bare of vegetation of any kind not so many years ago. The native grasses Of Central Otago struggled vainly to cover the harsh brown of stony outcrops and disfiguring scabweed. and for five months of the year the surface of the land was cracked and burnt by the fierce Central Otago sun. But the possibility of a garden was there. Only water and work and some artistic planning were required to produce the beautiful domain of to-day. Shelter, belts protecting the windswept slopes made it possible for decorative trees and shrubs to flourish and flower-beds, ponds and playing grounds followed to complete the invaluable amenity that , exists to-day. The parallel abutments into the lake, as depicted in the photograph accompanying this article, provide a contrast that speaks for itself. Land. soil, rainfall and growing conditions' on the 8000-acre reserve at Waipori hold out promise of even more striking success at Lake Mahinerangi. Already millions of trees have been planted under the municipal afforestation scheme, and the manner and pace of their growth indicate how effectively the sunny hillsides in the locality respond to the ministrations of the forester and the landscape gardener.