RESERVES CONSERVATION SOCIETY.

Otago Witness, Issue 2817, 11 March 1908, Page 16

RESERVES CONSERVATION SOCIETY.

GRAZING ON THE TOWN BELT. The nineteenth annual meeting of the Dunedin and Suburban Reserves Conservation Society was held in the Town HaJl on the 28th February. Mr T. Brown (president) occupied the ohair, and there were •.bout a dozen other gentlemen present The annual report contained the following clauses: — Mr A. R. Barclay, M.P., having instituted a movement to have Nicol's Creek Acquired as a scenic reserve, your committee endeavoured to aid in bringing about this •desirable end, Th« Government having intimated that while it would not bear the cost of purchasing any further lands for scenic purposes near centres of population, it would eubsidise any moneys provided by local bodies or private subscribers for that purpose, a sub-committee was appointed to wait on the Financ* Committee of the City ■Council with a view to ascertain what action, if any, could be taken in the matter. The committee of the council was favourably •disposed towards the project, but as, so far as could be ascertained, the owners of the land which it would be necessary to acquire entertained such very exaggerated ideas of the value of their properties &9 to preclude *ny hope- of the acquisition of the waterfalls *nd necessary lands for purposes of public ktoreation at a xeaeon.ble figure, no definite .results followed. Had the movement tak«n gu*etic&4 shape your committee was preoared to vote < sum from its slender funds towards the attainment of the desired end. Dr Riley brought* the notice of your committee th,e desirability of acquiring a lrc«h.-cT*a gully at Evanstlale, which ' vvas in m -similar position ac regarded the attitude ■of the Government, and your committee wes Prepared to render some little financial aid, oat so far no action frae been token. Your committee again urged upon the Maori Hill Borough Council the desirability at taking •teps -to preserve the remnants of the bush upon the unused read lines in the Loith Valley, anS it having been brought under ft« notice thet Visitors to Whare Flat frequently broke down large boughs- from the fcowhci trees when in flower, «n «jppe.l was in the local papers- requesting ?£» public to abstain from such conduct, .mna. from tearing down the maesee of native • clematis which still adorn the few remaining fetches of native tnj»h. The unsightly appearance of the approaches to Dunedin A>7 i^il was considered, but trftet discussion further consideration of the matter was post--raaed to a future date. The committee takes MUs opportunity of congratulating 'the cjti:c*ns of Dunedin on the acquisition thj-ough 4b« liberality of Mr Bobert Glendining Vf » -viuter garden, which -cannot fail to become * most desirable Addition to the amenities .«f the city. Your committee regrets having |to record the loet sutrUined by the society ■through the death of Mr A. G. Begg, who &«d been a member of the society from its £oc«.ptiou, an<3 for auvny y«*re proved a most • -loeiul menibeT of committee. The Chairman,* in moving ihe adoption - '©* tho ais mud report (previously published) a.u»l baldjicc sheet, Mid that the finances flwsre about the same us formerly. The Only mattar In connection with the report •!•*• required to touch upon wae the troat- - Kiw.: .iK-t-^J o :t lo the »ooi<»fy l>y '.he Ke

serves Committee of the Oity Council in connection with the work" at tho Art Gallery, it 6 a-ction making the work a moro serious chavge than it, should have beeu. The Art Gallery, its contents, and the favourable lease had all been gained by the public through the instrumentality of the \ Art Gallery Trustee*, who would simply hold it until it was paid off, when it was to be handed over to the City Corporation as a free gift. Thi6 wae what made the society feel keenly the manner in which it hid i been compelled to carry on its work in connection with the garden, which likewise was a civic improvement. During the past year the society^ had not been very exacting on the general public, and had again to acknowledge general support and sympathy. There was one matter, outeide the report, which he felt called upon to refer to, and which was exercising the minds of many citizens. That was the fencing off into grazing paddocks — seven hi number, ranging from under an acre up to four acres — of the Town Belt, between the Southern Cemetery and the Mornington tian-'line. This had been done by the" vorporation ostensibly for the purpose of eradicating the goree and broom which had been ailowed to take complete possession there. Whether this scheme would have the desired effect remained to be «een. The sections had been let for grazing horses until October next. The experiment would be fully tested by that time, and they hoped it might succeed, for in *uch ca*e th<j people would be a ble to enjoy the much prized privilege of gaining acoese, as of old, to thie beautiful o^en space without women and children being alarmed by Ihe playful gambols of from 50 to 100 horsee on a Sunday. It was to be deplored that the culpable neglect of the City Cmmcil had allowed the gorse to gain the mastery, but they hailed with satisfaction any serious attempt to undo the mischief. It was etated by those in authority that the expense gone to for fencing, laying on a water supply to each -paddock, etc., was solely to cure the gorse nuisance, which, it was believed, would be accomplished by th<» hcrses Bating out tlic goree. In the meantime, much old go-so and newly grown gorpe alike seemed to be no temptation to the animale. The eooiety had contemplated taking in hand a portion of the goree-infeeted area on the belt and spending £50 to £70 in ploughing and cultivating it and laying it down in good grafis. and it was a pity that it had not been able to carry that idea into effect, *br it had been very successful in its previous efforts, with the_ assistance of the public and the corporation. On the other hand, he did not think the corporation had been very successful at any t.im<» in dealing with the Town Belt. In fact, the only change that had taken place had been a retrograde one. He would urge the younger section of the people of Otago \to study the history and purposes of tho Town Belt, why it wa6 created, and for whom. He would lik« them also to read up the incidents connected with its management up to the present. For those who were not posted up in these matters ho would mention the old business of ibe fewr hospital, which was erected on tie belt on the hill above Kaituna Bowling Oieop. Tho corporation wa« via mod <»c-.e:al times against thie expenditure, and

was told that" an injunction would be j asked for; that the Town Belt was for the recreation of the peoplo of Otago, and was only in the hands of the corporation for recreation purposes. However, the fever hospita.l was built, and three public-epirited men appealed to the Supreme Court, and the hospital had *o go. The action of , these three men was at the time much criticised, but the lime would come when their action would be praised. The next t>tep ; was to cut up portions of the belt into sections, including what is now known as Jubilee Park, but then known as Tomlinson's paddock. An indignation meeting was held, a-nd at the auction an emphatic protest was made against any more sections being let — three having already been disposed of. As a result of the agitation Tomlinson's place was resumed by the corporation, and eventually converted into a park by the society. Other sections were left, and were said to be temporarily fenced for some purpose, but the fences were there j still, though very dilapidated, and one of the sections was simply a macs of brown. It must be 25 or 50 years ago since these sections were let— and they were let temporarily ! He said now, in the light of past history, "'ware hawks" to tho proposal to turn any part of the Town Belt into paddocks. Tho matter would have to be watched, and if the society did not watch it it would be a derilection of public duty. He gave the corporation credit for desiring to get. rid of the gorse and broom, but the chairman of the Reserves Committee ■had said it was a business transaction. He did not think the corporation had any right to have business transactions with the Town Belt. The putting in of a water supply, and the taking of no proper steps to grub up the established gorse and broom made it appear as if it was another attempt to use the belt as a means of augmenting the revenue, and so defeat the object the long-headed founders of the province had in view when they set the reserve apart. — (Applause.) Dr Riley seconded the motion for the adoption of the report. It wa 3 with great pain that he witnessed the fencing in of any portion of the reserves. He agreed that a careful watch should be maintained, and the occupation be not allowed to continue for more than a year or two at most. He would like to see the society take up the matter of having the bush clad gully at Evansdale reserved. It was a very favourite resort of picknickers and campers from town, and wae likely to become still more popular in the future. The scenery commissioners had visited the locality and strongly recommended the Government to acquire it, but the Government had declined. The 30 aores could have been procured for about £80. The Government was willing to assist if those interested would also contribute towards the cost. He had brought the matter under the notice of the committee, but it could not see its way to take %he matter in hand, whilst willing to donate £5. He thought the opportunity to secure this reserve should not be lost, for a« time went on the property would become more valuable and thepe was the risk that it would be destroyed. He sug-

gested that the society should take into consideration the raising of a special fund to acquire the lands adjoining Evansdale Greek. i Mr G. M. Thomson said he could not help thinking that the expenditure incurred j by the City Council in fencing the paddocks in the neighbourhood was money wasted, j The putting of horses on that ground would have no effect whatever in stamping out j gorse. It would have been better to have speait the money in eradicating the gorse in some other way and in the planting of treet The eradication of gorse was an extremely difficult thing. It kept coming up every time the turf was disturbed. In . his opinion the money had been wasted, I and he thought that even the gorse and broom were preferable to the rough style of fences that had been put up. Mr Thorn- , son put in a strong plea for a vigorous . effort being made to improve the condition of the foreshore to the northwards of Pelichet Bay railway station. It was at present a disgrace to any city, and was simply hideous at low water. It was an even greater eyesore to the north side of the city than the Oval was to the south side. Mr A. Bathgate, secretary of the society, said that it was very desirable that the Evansdale Creek should be acquired, and ' the society would be glad to take in hand the administration of any fund collected for that purpose, and also to give a donation to suoh a fund, but it really was not within its province to initiate the movement. He did not think the attitude of : the Government was unreasonable— namely, that where reserves were asked for near the centres of population those who would be specially benefited should find portion of the funds which it would eupplement with a pound per pound subsidy if the area and locality were approved. It was the policy the Government had acted upon in regard to scenic areas acquired in the neighbourhood of Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch. With regard to the gorse on the Town Belt he had his doubts as to the efficacy of the lines that had been adopted. . Sheep would graze on young gorse, but he did not think horses would. He advocated the corporation doing something at once to improve the condition of the area which it had acquired for a park adjacent to the cemetery at Anderson's Bay. He had • hoped that the council would at once have planted pines and other trees that would stand the sea breeze, so that in time the place might have become a pleasure resort. ' He suggested that " Onetea," which meant white sand, would be an appropriate name for the park ! Mr A. R. Barclay, M.P., congratulated the society on the good work it had done, and for the active support given him in certain efforts he had made for the acqui- ; sition of Niool's Creek as a reserve for the people. The Government had agreed to give a pound for pound subsidy, the society wae agreeable, but the Finance Committee of the City Council had declined to have anything to do with the matter. He made that statement on the authority of the Mayor. A difficulty seemed to have arisen on account of the high price asked for the land by the owners. Ab, however, there wa3 ample

provision for taking the land at a pric© fixed by an impartial tribunal, the price asked by the owners need noc be taken notice of at all. That was a matter that 6hould not be lo9t sight of in considering 1 the subjeot. He took it that Mr Thomson waa stating an ascertained fact when he said that horses woutd not. eat down gorse, and, that beiner so. it looked as if there must be some other object in putting horses on to the Town Belt. Mr W. Burnett said the society's original name was "Amenities Society," but h« thought they were forgetting the amenities." It seemed to him that the society was turning itself into a society for the abuse of the City Council. Ha was a member of the City Council, and also a member of the Reserves Conservation Society, and tried to do his duty oa both bodies. The council was an elective body, and if it was not good enough to represent the people let them .put in men who would represent their views. As far as the fencing of the Town Belt was concerned, he was ,proud to say that he fell in entirely with Mr Tannock's suggestion. The council had been continually met with, the accusation that it did not take any interest in the Town Belt; that young women could .not pa6s through it without being annoyed by larrikins ; and that it should do something to clear that unsightly mass of scrub away. The council did its best. He would not say much for himself, but he would stand up for Mr Tannock in every way. He was a gentleman to whom that society owed a great deal, and would owe still more. There was not a more clever horticulturist 4 han Mr Tannock south of the line, and ho had the interests of the ctiy and of the society at heart. When. they made the statements th&v did about the' gorse they were casting a serious reflection on Mr Tannoek. and, added Mr Burnett, "my friend.'' As for the City Council, most of its members were returned on the retrenchment ticket, and they miaht possibly have carried retrenchment to the extreme. That could easily be altered, but, in the meantime, they were pledged to carry on the government of the city with the utmost economy, and also, he hoped, with efficiency. He congratulated the society on having suoh a man as Mr Bathgato for its secretary, and he was sure that any remark derocratorr of Mr Tannock did not have Mr Bathffate's approval. Mr G. M. Thom&on explained that no on© had a higher opinion of Mr Tannock than he had, for he knew of no one in New Zealand who had a better grasp of his subjeot. He was speaking of a matter of fact in his reference to gorae. It would be found that no number of horses would get rid of gorse. They might kill what was there, but it would be up again next year. He had not for a moment reflected on the City Corporation. The President, replyin? to what Mr Barclay had said as to the City Council beintc to blame for the negotiation* for th« acquisition of NicoPs Creek being broken off, said that the Finance Committee when approached on the subject asked for particulars as to cost. t,hat being essential to any recommendation it might make. The figure that had bp«n mentioned was £600. but when it wa.s dieoovered that the owners' idea of v»lu« ran into thousands the society itself broko off the negotiations. The City

Council u;i- in :io ".iy v -puiiMble for wli.tt had occurred. Uc Had omitted in hi* earlier remarks to make mention of Mr Tannock's groat services u> the city. That gentleman had never been belittled b\ the society, nor ><.•! had be been lound fault with. Tho motion for tho adoption of the report and balance sheet was then carried unanimously. ELECTION" OF OFFICKHS. Tho retiring office-bearers were re-elected —viz. : President. Mr Thomas Brown ; vice-president, Mr T. R. Fisher; members of committee — Messrs J. Allen, M.P.. G*. M. Thomson, A. S. Paterson, A. Bathgate, and Dr Hockcu.