Egmont National Park Board.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 7912, 30 August 1905, Page 3

Egmont National Park Board.

The annual meeting of the Egmont Park National ParK Board will be held in New Plymouth on Thursday next. The following is a summary of the report ol the Chairman (Mr Francis Simpson), which will l/e read at the meeting :—During the year the North Egmont Committee have carried out a number of improvements to the track and house. Some £2U Iras been spent in grading the former a out the house, and opening up another up the ridge to above Hutr.phri s' Castle, 'lhe original track d..- ■ ei.d>.-d into the gorge below the Castle, and on the return journey in foggy weather it was somewhat' ilif.cult to pick it up. All who have used it, have been loud in their prais- . s at the new track. The house has been vastly improved by the erection of a new room for the caretaker, and the lining of the oilier rooms. Mr F. Morris and his wife are acting as caretakers of the house, which was kept open during the wiut.r months. The lackjof a metalled road has accounted lor the small number of visitors, but if ,a good road were assured, the number ol winter visitors would increasc £ The number of visitors during the year was about 2000. A pleasing fact disclcs'.'d by the visitors'- book was that nearly 300 of them were from other parts of- New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, Great britain, etc, showing that incomplete as the accommodation is, in some respects, it still attractsj outside visitors, and augurs well for what may be expected with improved roads and better accommodation. The Dawson's Falls House is greatly increasing in popularity, and when one notes douWe the number of visitors over that ol the previous record year, the executive of this house have every reason to feel sanguine of its future prosperity. The visitors last year totaflcd 2608, as compared with 1270 for the previous one. The house is of very easv access from the railway by a good metalled road. On the route very impressive falls of over 70 icet on the Kapuni River are passed. There is a convenient track from the house,to the summit which can be reached in from three to fonthours. From the house Hacks radiate in various directions through the bush including one to Hastie's Hill, * li'iputian mountain in itself of -mi feet. Within six miles is Lake ~ j La bout six mil « s i" extent situated % thfl Beehive Hills. The Dawson s and Bell's Falls are always well worth the visit to those who a r v not too aml,.t,ou.,to.scale the summit of the mountain. Funtham's JVak -it titude 71100 ft, can be easily ,-p (l che,i and from here n magnificent view of Tonguriro and Himpehu aod the active volcano Xgaruhoe can bo obtained More horse paddock accommodation is being provided, the track is being improved, and suitable guide posts to Fantham-s Peak ure being provided. J luring the year about 200 persons visited the Mratiord bouse, from which a delightful view can be obtained. Most of the visitors drove to Dawson's falls, the distance being trifling mid the track fairly casv . i !eaul j ful amJ impressive scenery Is met with en route. 'lhe western house is chieflv patronised by the local population and its visitors are nominal. The track is in splendid order, and travelling on horseback one can canter most of the way.

It is gradually becoming more, manifest that (he Fgmont and Dawson's Falls Houses are totally inadequate to meet the requirements of visitors, and it j. ; ~n i , n f()|( , pt j(ln hi time when larrer ones will li.iv.. to lie erected. With roads that would stand vehicular trallic, and houses to accommodate the numerous visitors, the Hoard should soon tie in n position to lay out tracks equipped with jruide.posts, directing visitors to the various places of ii" ter-st and lienuly tlint al.onnd within the reserve. It is hoped some effectual means will lie devised 1.. cope with the cattle trespass nuisance, which if not checked will mean the failure of one of the objects fftr which the reserve was v. -ted, viz. the preservation of native bush. While engaged in lining one of th. rooms at Dnwson'n Falls House, the caretaker, Mr St. Clair, unfortunately fell mid broke his leg. Tt wotii<; be a Judicious step for the Hoard t. have an ambulance stretcher, etc., at leach of 'he houses. Another regrettable, though fortunately rare, occurrence was the disappearance of

Mr King, ft visitor to the northern .slopes of the mountain. This gentleman, despite the warning from the I caretaker as to the dangers of a proi jeclcd ascent during a snowstorm, I hazarded the trip, and though on his falling to return search was made by • the caretaker and various paries fur several days, no trace of him could he found on account of heav.' snowstorms and rough weather. The report concludes with a description o( each route to the houses. and a statement of expenditure tinder the supervision of the District Road Engineer and by the litiard.