ATTRACTING TOURISTS

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 888, 4 February 1930, Page 7

ATTRACTING TOURISTS

MINISTER WILL HELP ROTORUA SPECIAL INDUCEMENTS JTroni Our Own Correspondent ROTORUA. Today. j The Hon. P. A. do. la Perrelle, MinV o r of Tourist and Health Resorts, drived at Rotorua on Saturday night and held conferences with Sir Joseph Ward, Mr. C. H. Clinkard, M.P., Mr. H H. Sterling, General Manager of Xi w Zealand Railways, and other officials during the week-end. The Minister attended a meeting of tte Borough Council yesterday morning and was welcomed by the Mayor. T. Jackson. Mr. Jackson referred to several local needs and asked for Government assistance. The Minister said that 30 men would bo engaged to clear the land near the cricket ground in the Government Grounds for the purpose of forming sports grounds and a golf course. After a conference with Ur. Duncan ( n charge of the Government sanatorium), Mr. Clinkard and departmental heads, he had decided to open the baths, bowling greens and tennis courts on Sundays. It was also proposed to run special week-end excursions to Rotorua. The new bath building would give the best accommodation for swimmers, being 100 ft long and 75ft w ide. His department would spare no effort to make Rotorua attractive and would offer special inducements to Australians to make massed tours. The Minister said there was no reason why £25,000.000 should not come to New Zealand through tourist resources. With regard to loading work, lie would recommend to the Public ’.forks Department that the steep declivity from Wairoa Road to Lake Tarawera should receive immediate treatment. Replying to the Mayor s question regarding aviation grounds, the Minister said the subject was outside his jurisdiction, but he fully realised the necessity for grounds at such a place as Rotorua and he would see what he ould do to advance the project. The health conditions at the native village of Whakarewarewa were a somewhat delicate subject, but he proposed to visit Rotorua again shortly end would ask Sir Apirana Ngata to accompany him and they would go into the question. A deputation from the A. and P. Association asked permission to hold an art union to provide funds to build show buildings, to provide agricultural scholarships, and to enable them to employ a permanent organising secretary. The Minister expressed sympathetic views, but said the application would have to be atended to in rotation as other institutions had made similar requests.