ARTHUR'S PASS

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 598, 1 August 1933, Page 7

ARTHUR'S PASS

ATTRACTIVE BEAUTIFYING SCHEME FOR ; RESERVE. AN ALPINE GARDEN. Christchurch, Saturday. Details of a scheme for the heauti- | fying of the reserve near the Arthur's Pass railway station were placed before a meeting of the Arthur, Pass National Parlc Board on Friday by Mr. M. J. Barnett, superintendent of parks; and gardens for the Christchurch City Council. In his report, Mr Barnett stated that it would be possible to estahlish one of the finest al- | pine gardens in the Dominion. His j 1 proposal is that the work should be j ■ carried out by relief lahour. ! The board appointed Sir R. Heaton ' Rhodes, Professor Arnold Wall, and the chairman (Mr. W. Stewart) to . 1 confer with Mr. Barnett and plan the 1 . work. I In his report Mr. Barnett stated t that it was agreed by those members , i of the board present at the inspection ; ; on June S that in all planting none : | hut indigenous Lrees should be used 1 1 and that in the main these indigenous plants which were peculiar to Arthur's Pass district should be made use, of. | There was no reason, however, why j j native plants from other parts of the : West Coast and Canterbury could not be incorporated in the planting scheme. Much of the material required for furnishing the shrubberies, etc., . could not he in corporated l could he easily obtained from the ! neighbouring bush. In the majority of planting it was recommended that ! the trees and shrubs be planted not | less than six f eet apart in every way. ' ! No douht this might appear to he . somewhat close, but with New Zeal land trees and shrubs 'close planting

in the intial stages h'ad a beneficial effect and brought ahout a quicker development of the subjects. Later on, however, when the speeimens begin to crowd and suppress one another, it would be a simple matter to thin out the less valuable species and give more room to those which were to remain as permanencies. Among the suggestions made by Mr. Bdrttett were the planting of shrubberies along the railway boundary '• and the railway embankment, the planting of uncommon and interesting dwarf shrubs, such as the whicord veronicas and pigmy pines, in the north-west coi'ner of the reserve, and the planting of a few chosen groups of trees and a few individual speeimens in the main portion of /the reserve, the object being to obtain a park-like effect. An Informal Vista. "It has been suggested," he. stated, "that an avenue of trees could he planted along the proposed deviation of the roadway. I hesitate to recommend such an avenue, The introduction of anything in the nature of straight lines in such surroilndings would not he in kqeping with the general outline or -contours of the neighhourhood. An' informal vista along the proposed jleviation would be very niueh more ejfective. In connec. tion with this proposed d^iation, in the plan submittdd by theVLands Department it shows a roadway' one ehain wide. I have allowed for a roadway half 'a chain wide, as this, I think,would be quite sufficient to acconjnlo-" date through traffic." . Along the foot of' the '^ky. terrace

hounding the present roadway there was an admirahle site for an alpine' garden. All the materials were to hand for the construetion of what could be converted into one of the most interesting features of the district. A start would he made at once to form what would be the commencement of one of the finest alpine gardens in 'New Zealand. Under judicious handling the rocks could readily be brought into proper relationship one with another. The pockets and interstices could be filled with soil and rubhle and planted with representatives of the alpine flora in which the Arthur's Pass district is particularly rich and for which it is famed. Large masses of drifts of the more notahle plants, such as Rununculus Lyallii, Celmisia coriacea and Ouri-sia machrophylla, could he readily estahlished. Shrubs, particularly those of outstanding interest, reed not.be excluded. Indeed, their inclusion could :'he all to the good. Would Be Unique. j The north-east- corner of the terrace would merely be a start, the nucleus as it were of a general scheme of utilising the whole of this terrace as a site for an alpine garden which i would, if brought to consummation, ' prove to be unique in the Soulh Island | if not in the whole of New Zealand. : I Such a scheme, no doubt, once started, ' would receive the whole-h'earted support and encouragement' of those interested in the preservation and cultivation of our New Zealand flora. I Here it would be possible at comparatively little cost to get together a comprehensive- collection of New Zealand alpines growing in their natural environment and under conditions which were so essential to their well-

bemg. The question of preparing the ground and carrying out the initial planting operations could well he carried out at the present time, the report stated. From four to six men under the siipervision of a competent foreman would soon accomplish a fair amount of work. No doubt arrangements could he made to obtain these men from the Unemployment Board, provided suitahle aecommodation could he provided at the work. The foreman or supervisor would need to he a man competent to control and direct labour and with a knowledge of the work to be undertaken. Mr. Barnett also suggested that consideration should he given to the question of establishing a garden in the vicinity of th'e railway station.