PA FOR MT. EDEN

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 369, 1 June 1928, Page 8

PA FOR MT. EDEN

OINCE there are people prepared to object to anything on general principles, through sheer contrariness, it is not at all surprising that voices have been raised against the proposal to construct a model pa on Mount Eden. Such criticism has its use, however. It stirs enthusiasm and evokes determination. One of the objections raised against the pa is that it will tamper with the city’s natural point of vantage. No such objection, it will be noted, was l'aised when an incongruous edifice of brick and concrete was built on Mount Eden as a refreshment pavilion. The model pa, as planned by a Maori architect, would surely be more in keeping with the unique beauty of the mount than the modern structure referred to. It is the aim of those concerned Avith the preservation of Maori history to construct a pa which shall be a memorial to the whole Maori race; and what better place could there he for such memorial than on the historic slopes of Maimga-Wlh.au? The proposed pa, judged from the sketch published in The Sun on Tuesday last, would greatly enhance the beauty of the mount, and what could more readily convey to the visitor a picture of what Auckland was like before the advent of the pakeha? In the words of its critics, the proposed pa would spoil the contours of the mount, interfere xvith its panoramic features, establish a probable “nuisance,” and so forth. There is no foundation for any one of these criticisms. It is a good scheme, and a good plan, worthy of the full support of citizens. And the Mt. Eden Council should not he called upon to provide the whole of the cost. The pa will be a national memorial, to the whole Maori people, and a great attraction to visitors. There should be no hesitation on the part of the To Akarana Association to ask for public subscriptions to forward the work.