The Sun 42 WYNDHAM STREET, AUCKLAND TUESDAY, JANUARY 22, 1929. CONDITIONS AT ROTORUA

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 568, 22 January 1929, Page 8

The Sun 42 WYNDHAM STREET, AUCKLAND TUESDAY, JANUARY 22, 1929. CONDITIONS AT ROTORUA

THE discovery of the true extent of tlie deplorable conditions at the Rotorua bathhouses has come rather belatedly, for the twin reasons that most overseas visitors have chosen to conceal their surprise behind a mask of politeness, and that New Zealanders themselves, being- inured to such things, regard them as the inevitable concomitants of a State-controlled institution. For many years now, there has been a Ministry of Tourist and Health Resorts, but only recently has the department emerged from the torpor that formerly surrounded it. Even now it seems to have failed to grasp the essential principle that to attract tourists, a country must first have accommodation and facilities. A well-directed stream of publicity will then serve its useful purpose; but if people come to New Zealand and see that the vaunted resorts are being permitted to fall into decay, they are liable to be rancorous in their expressions of disappointment. There is this much to be said for the Tourist Department: It is a sort of Cinderella organisation, administered under a portfolio that is usually one of the last to be allocated. But it must nevertheless be the chief target for reproaches over conditions at Rotorua. The late Minister of Tourist and Health Resorts, the Hon. W. Nosworthy, has retired from the hurly-burly of political life, and will not be occupying his front seat in the House of Representatives when questions about Rotorua are asked—as they undoubtedly will be —next session. Even if Mr. Nosworthy is able to view his position and his record complacently, it is unlikely that his late associates in the Reform Party will be able to do so; for the blame for the position into which the facilities at Rotorua have fallen must lie at the Reform Government’s door, and the remnant of that party must bear the brunt of whatever reproaches are released in Parliament in the immediate future.

It is true that the Reform Government set in motion the slow processes of restoring and replanning the native villages of Whakarewarewa and Ohinemutu; and it is equally true that nothing has so far been accomplished. Whakarewarewa has been just as much the centre of recent criticism as the neglected baths in the Government grounds, and though it is less of a hygienic reproach that Whakarewarewa should look decrepit and untidy, it is still beyond argument that the scenic feature should be as spick and span as the health resort. There arc elements of the picturesque about the narrow lanes at Wakarewarewa, and no one will wish to see those elements hidden behind the tiles and stucco of suburban architecture. Moreover, there are the inalienable rights of the native residents to be considered. Their graves alone do not constitute a striking adornment, but it is difficult to see how they could be removed or modified without giving offence. The native inhabitants are of a cheerful and easy-going type, perhaps reared on the theory that diving for pennies is the limit of human effort. To eliminate the bizarre and picturesque elements would undoubtedly remove much of Wliakarewarewa’s interest and charm.

Present concerns are'more for the bathing facilities in the Government grounds by the lake. Vivid pen-pictures, revealing these facilities as a centre of decay and neglect, support the evidence of thousands of Aucklanders who were in Rotorua over the holidays. Most striking of all commentaries on the situation is the fact that it has now become distinctly “unfashionable” to bathe at Rotorua. Keenly alive to their local problems, the public men of the town have many suggestions for improvement of the facilities, and have outlined plans that make an agreeable study. Though disheartened by the poor response given to their earlier representations in official quarters, they are now confident that the widespread popular clamour will help to win results. There is a call for heavy expenditure, that the Government cannot reasonably shirk. If the United Government seizes the opportunity, it will place an immediate practical success to its credit.