ROTORUA'S FUTURE

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 417, 29 December 1932, Page 7

ROTORUA'S FUTURE

VARIED PROSPECT A DISTRICT FOR WHICH FUTURE HAS MUCH. IN STORE FORESIGHT A NECESSITY (Specfally Written for ^the "Post" by E. Earle Vaile) The area in which our pleasant lot has been cast is peculiarly blessed by a ben'sficent nature. Of New Zealand as a whole it may truly be said that its one and only resource is grass. But, by the speeial favour of the gods, tbis is not the case witb the Rotorua district. It is the proud possessor of varied sources of unlimited wealth. Agriculture First and foremost, I place agriculture, which is rightly called "The Oldest of the Arts." But ours is the newest of country. Emerson, in his great essay on "Power," has said "A feeble man can see the farms that are fenced and tilled: the houses that are huilt. The strong nran sees the possibls houses and farms. His eye malces estates." Now our country, being in its naural state, nearly all scrub coyered, looks uninviting and frightens the feeble-minded. But there ara hrave souls who haye confidently thrust aside all difficulties, accepted th's risks and pioneei'ed the breakingin to productive1 use of the greatest area of cnltivable and Jiabitable land in the Dominion. Let anyone look on the country surrounding the town of Rotorua and, remambering it as it was a few short years ago, ruh his eyes and wonder if they can be telling the truth. And farther afield, stretching out into the remotest wildI erness, man-made oases will be found 1 — Reporoa, Strathmore, Broadlands, Ngakuru, Galatea, etc. With these examp'les who can douht ultimate success ? Pumice soil, like all others in New Zealand, varies much in quality, but there is none of it useless. Such relatively small portions as are unsuited to agriculture, are wonderfully adapted to the growth of timber. The great majority of pumice land is very easily ploughable and workahle in all weathers, for the soil never parches 'and never cakes. It is an immense advantage to the farmer to he able to work his land when it suits him and not only when it suits the weather. All operations on pumice land can be carried out at an absolufaly minimum cost and the soil is much improved by cultivation. The more it is worked and trodden the better. Analysis shows it to he rich in potash up to the average in phosphates but deficient in nitrogen. Potash-loving plants such as turnips, flourish amazingly and so do elovers. Nitrogen is thus added to the soil almost without expense. The response to phosphatic manures is remarkable. In the briefest tirne and at a very low cost, the raw pumice lands . can be turned into rich dairy pastures equal to anything in -the Waikato. Indeed our country is very similar to the Waikato. The soil has the same analysis; the country has the same physical features; it neecls the same treatment; it is situated in the same valley. As the Waikato used to be despised, so the pumice lands are now. As the Waikato is now appreciated and valued, so will the Rotorua lands be. Folk will ere long wake up and say "Lo! another Waikato." The destiny of this vast area is to carry the densest and most vigorous population in the Dominion^ It will surely he cut into small farms and intensively workecl. One thousand acres here and in the Waikato will carry a more nurasrous and more independent population than 10,000 acres of the boasted hlue papa country, with its shepherds few and far hetween. The farmer standing firm in his furrow, is • • est -.jo asset an ycountry can possess. Affonestation It is claimed, and with justice, that the Rotorua-Taupo country is the greatest timber-producing country in the world. It has been proved that the growth of a tree depends chiefly on the range of its roots, and in the loose pumice soil the roots wander whither they will. Trees 100 feet high may be produced in twenty years. I have myself erected a building with timber (eucalyptus framing and pine boarding) grown from the seed in fifteen years. In the Rotorua-Taupo area, no less than 300,000 acres have been planted with forest trees, and before many years the annual yield from this will vastly exceed the total yield ever made by all the sawmills in New Zealand put together. This will constitute the largest industry in New Zealand outside farming. Its value and importance is yet but faintly Visuali- , sed. i Tourist Trafiic At present many people would place this first among the resources | of Rotorua and I am far from minim- j ising its importance, but it must he ! remembered that I am writing of the ! future. Anyhow I claim that one settler is worth a score of tour- j ists. The settler is with us the year through, whereas the tourist is mostly seasonal. Moreover, the freeholding farmer will remain unmoved by earthquakes oi' disasters, which wpuld put the tiinid tourist to flight. ! But, if not potentially the greatest, ' the tourist trafiic is a very great. asset and source of a large ready- ■ money income to the town and dis- ^ trict of Rotorua. Where else in the world can a tourist route be found equal to a run through Rotorua, Waiotapu, Wairakei, Orakei-Korako, Rotokawa, Taupo, the great lake, Takaanu, the mountains and the Wanganui River? Not anywhere 'else can he found such an array of volcanic wonders, unless perhaps, in Yellowston,e Park. But Yellowstone is open only about four months in the year. The rest of the year it is snowed-in. It must not be forgotten, too, that there are many scenic attractions of a non-volcanic character. Given a fine day, the five lakes trip gives the . tourist a glimpse of a fairyland beyond compare: Aratiatia and Huka enthral * and fascinate the onloolcer by the hour: Taupo Moana, the largest lake in the Dominion, has many a bay and strand to charm the holiday maker and so on to - the snow mountains and the "New Zealand Rhine." Year by year a greater numher of Dominion and Overseas anglers visit this district to enjoy the best

trout-fishing in the world: and this can be made a source of great revenue. A Health Resort Rotorua-Taupo, with a little foresight and energy, could he made the health resort of the Southern bemisphere. The curative properties of its waters should be made more widely known; and its wonderful air, so crisp and so sparlding with sunshine ; "just like champagne" — and ever so I much cheaper — combined with a dry J soil under foot, should make this great area the mecca of all those who have, ; or are threatened with "chest trouhles." The slopes of Tauhara Mouni tain afford ideal sites for sanatoria in the most pleasant, as well as the most healthful ofi surroundings. Natural Heat and Power As yet nothing whatever has been done to utilise commercially the rej markable resources of this area in natural heat — quite costless and merely waiting to he harnessed. In other i countries engineers are discussing 1 great schemes to sink shafts thou- ; sands of feet to obtain heat and power from the magma. Here we have : those great assets on the surface, right at our very feet waiting to be used. Most fortunately they are situated in an accessible area, enjoying a mild climate and a fertile soil, and they exist in boundless abundance. In I pther countries not nearly so fortunately situated, these natural advan- ' tages are put to great use^ In Ice- ! land, California and Italy, much weal- ! th is won not only from utilisation j of the power in industry but from the ' raising of out-of-seasori crops. f . Other Resources At Rotokawa and Waiotapu, great deposits of sulphur exist, at Rainbow | Mountain there are said , to he valuabls deposits of porcelain clay; at two spots seepage of • oil have been discovered. At Aratiatia exists the most adaptable water-power in New Zealand. But no steps whatever have been taken to develop these resources. One Thing Lacking All these great natural advantages which should combine to make our Rotorua the largest inland town in

l$~ew' Zealand, wait upon one thing— ad.equate access. Of what use is it raising fat lambs, fat cattle, chaff, hay, etc., if the goods cannot be mov'ed to market at a profit? Why waa Aratiatia not chosen for the central power station of the North Island? No transport. The heavy machinery could not be got to the site. And yet there are people in Rotorua so blind, so prejudiced hy party politics, as to deride and even to oppose the provision of the one thing necessary. ^ This hrings us to what is basieally important— that the people shall have eyes to see. We want Emerson' s men of power. Men who can see things not only as they are but as they can. he made with hrains and enterprise, with couraere and energy. . "If ,the

people have no vision they perish.", ;