MORE ABOUT AMENITIES

Taupo Times, Volume I, Issue 9, 12 March 1952, Page 4

MORE ABOUT AMENITIES

In recent comment on near-drowning accidents at the wharf; the need for giving more sytematic and far-seeing attention to the improvement of Taupo's wonderful bathing assets was stressed. But that is only a facet of the manysided problem of capitalising our tourist attractions. We have only to look at Rotorua, fifty odd miles away, to realise the enormous advantages that tourist resort has reaped from paternal care and lavish expenditure of the general government. The Rotorua municipality did indeed inherit a rich legacy when the State handed over its responsibility for the local adminstration. By comparison what has the Government done for Taupo ? Precious little. We have had to get our own hydro-elec-tricity scheme at our own expense. Our thermal baths are in a wretched condition because there has been no money to spend on improvements. There was some talk during the previous Government's regime of doing something about the A.C. Baths. But talk is cheap. It is part, a very substantial part, of the equipment for political salesmanship. To come to the point, a magnificent asset for the development of a highly lucrative tourist resort has been neglected. There is nothing that Rotorua can provide the tourist and the fisherman that Taupo could not provide in as generous measure of constructive imagination on the part of the Government can be brought to bear on the question. Consider our fishing. On the whole, the anglers are fairly well treated. The lake and tributary streams provide an anglers' paradise. But what of their women folk ? It isn't every woman who is interested to spend all day and every day angling for a bite. Facilities for recreation should be provided for them also. We should offer them good tennis courts, croquet lawns and bowling greens. The game of bowls is growing rapidly in favour with women. We are fortunate in having a good golf links which will be even better in the near future. But with regard to the other sports facilities above-mentioned we can offer nothing comparable with Rotorua. The provision of such amenities for visitors — and the permanent residents too — costs money, a lot of money, to judge from what has been spent, and is being spent, on Rotorua to boost its tourist attractions. Taupo's natural resources for development as a first-class world-famous

tourist resort constitute a strong claim for a large expenditure of State money, for a definite change of Government policy, which hitherto has apparently been founded on the impression that Taupo is Rotorua's poor relation. Such a view is fantastic and short sighted. What is needed here is a progressive association with a strong executive with a mandate for energetic action.