PROGRESS AND FORESIGHT

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 1, Issue 21, 17 September 1931, Page 2

PROGRESS AND FORESIGHT

The report prepared by the landscape architect, Mr F. Tschopp and submitted to the Borough Council at its last meeting is probably unique in the history of municipal goveriiment in. New Zealand. A careful survey of the document, which comprises 51 pages of typescript, shows that no phase of his subject, comprehensve though it is, has been overlooked by Mr. Tschopp. Primarily, the purpose of his; engagement was the preparation of plans for the systematic beautifying of the streets, parks and other public lan^s of the borough for the guidance of the council and the Beautifying Society. It is highly improbable, however, that at the time the council offered to retain his services for one month as gesture of goodwill and a sma.ll contribution towards the society's proposed activities, either the council or the society had visualised the wide ramifications of a properly organised scheme of aesthetic development. For more than the tasteful lying out of grass plots and the pianting of trees and shrubs is involved, as becomes apparent from a perusal of the report. In undertaking such scheme/ the requirements of the future must be kept steadily in view. Indeed, these actually are the first consideration if the benefits of the time and rrioney expended are to be1 fully enjoyed. That present and future traffic requirements, both vehicular and pedestrian, must be considered js obvious ; what, perhaps, is not so obvious is the intimate relationship of such things as public utilities like water and sewerage mains; stormwater drainage; power transmission and telephone and telegraph lines, refuse collection and even the delivery to homes of tradesmen's parcels. Each of these, however, and its probable futurb development has a definite bearing on any scheme such as that under consideration, as Mr. Tschopp shows clearly. It would, no doubt, be a comparatively easy matter to design a scheme for the beautifying of the town which would meet present_ needs, or even the needs of the next' 10 years or so. But this as, Mr. Tschopp repeatedly emphasises, is not enough. What is required, if disappointment and actual waste of both money and time, are to be avoided, is a plan which will serve as the foundations of a scheme capable of meetirig the needs so far as these can be foreseen of the city which Rotorua will undoubtedly become within the next 50 or 60 years. This involves not only such questions as those mentioned above, which it is the province of the council to deal with, but also the selection of the trees and shrubs to be planted. Here it' is necessary to consider such factors as size, shape, habits of growth, length of life, etc., and as Mr. Tschopp points out in his introductory remarks, he has made in this connection a number of somewhat revolutionary suggestions largely with the ob-

ject ot givmg to Rotorua a characteristic atmosphere. With these there will be a certain amount of disagreement, largely because they are innovations, but also on grounds of local knowledge. Many will feel that as a stranger, Mr Tschopp carinot be expected to possess a sufficiently deep knowledge of the New Zealand native flora to enable him always to form a sound judgment regarding the suitability of individual species for use out of their normal environments. Tudging from the report itself, however, and remembering his credentials, it will probably be found that Mr. Tschopp has sound reasons with which to support his suggestions which, it should not be lost sight of, afe, in matters of detail, no more than suggestions and are not advanced by him as hard and fast rules ihcapable of modification. We feel, therefore, that from any point of view Rotorua may congratulate itself on possessing in Mr. Tschopp's report a document of the very greatest value, especially to an important tourist centre. Other towns, which are first, if n'ot wholly, commercial centres, can perhaps afford to neglect more or less the aesthetic side of their development. A tourist centre eannot do so. It is of the utmost importance to Rotorua that it should make itself attractive in every possible way to tourists and visitors and not depend, as it has'so largely done in the past, upon its natural attractions, unique though these admittedly are. With Mr Tschopp's report as a basis and a guide, it will be possible now to initiate a development scheme which can be prosecuted with energy and as rapidly as financial conditions will allow in the confident khowledge that, while its suggestions are applied or adapted with intelligence the outcbme cannot fkii to be the creation of one of the most/ soundly designed tov^ns in the Southern Hemisphere, as it undoubtedly will be ihe most be&utiful.