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FORESTRY COMMISSION.

SITTING IN NEW PLYMOUTH. SCENIC RESERVES. The Royal Commission on Forestry sat in the Town Hall, New Plymouth, yesterday, for the purpose of taking evidence. The Commission comprised the chairman (Mr. 11. D. M. Haszard), Dr. L. Cockayne, F.R.G.S., and Messrs T. W. Adams, F. Y. Lethbridge, S. I. Clarke and C. P. Murdoch. Mr. Phillips Turner is secretary to the Commission and Mr. W. H. Russell official reporter. Several witnesses were heard and much interesting evidence adduced. EVERETT ROAD RESERVE. As New Plymouth representative on the Egmont National Park Board, Mr. W. A. Collis brought under the notice of the Commission the Everett road reserve, asking that the reservation be not lifted. In support of his application, he pointed out that this was one of the few remaining areas of low-lying forest. For the benefit of future generations, some evidences or specimens of :the low-lying forests of this district should be preserved. The forests were being depleted to such an extent that it would probably be the only surviving piece of real genuine low-lying forest. ° Mr. R. C. Hughes endorsed Mr. Collis' remarks.

MOKAU RIVER. PRESERVATION OF ITS SCENERY. ! Mr. T .C. List, chairman of the Expansion and Tourist League, referred at j length to .the matter of the preservation of river and mountain scenery in North Taranaki. For some time past tne 'League had been urging upon the Government the necessity for protecting and preserving what remained of the incomparable Mokau. Some of the best | -stretch.es had already been destroyed, I and more was now threatened with destruction. The former owners of one 'large 'block were, lie understood, willing to reserve, without compensation, the IbushffrQnting the block on the river'side, tfro'm tfhe water's edge to the sky line, but -for some reason that had yet to, be explained the Government of the day did not .take prompt steps to proclaim the land involved a scenic area. The block subsequently changed hands, and most df the bush was felled and the fire put flwough, so that where a short time ago some of the most beautiful bush in the world adorned the river jbank—bush which probably took decades to'grow and could not be replaced in less time, if ever—was now a scene of desolation, a veritable eyesore to the visitor. One could .probably understand the destruction were the damage to the river of any settlement value. But for the most part it had no such value. It possessed no value other than scenic. It was to prevent more of the river's scenery sharing the same fate that the ] League was anxious to cn'Bst the support of the Commission. There were considerable areas still remaining that had been surveyed as scen'ie reserves but which had not yet been gazetted' and taken over by the Government. There were also portions of bush scenery on native lands that should be proclaimed. Again, there was a fine piece of bush on a section the lessee of which was willing to hand over if the Government would but pay for the necessary fencing. When approached by tlie League' on'this matter recently the Prime Minister expressed hi* entire sympathy with the desires of the League in this matter, but explained that it was a question of finance, involving a cost to the Government of £IO,OOO for compensation to owners. He submitted then and submitted now to the Commission that the preservation of the bush for which compensation was being sought was absolutely necessary in the interests of the settlers themselves. Once destroy the bush and the banks, especially soft banks like those of the Mokau, would sooner or later fall into the river and cause continual erosion, impede the flow of the river, and ultimately seriously affect, if not absolutely block, the river as a means of communication, the only means of ingress and egress, it had to be noted, holders of most of the sections had or ever would have to their properties. But apart from this important consideration, the price put upon the land required to preserve the river • scenery could, it appeared to those qualified to judsre, not be justified before a Compensation Court, and if the State had to pay compensation it would probably be' found to be a sum considerably less than that mentioned by the Prime Minister.' In any case, it was felt by the League, and other interested in the preservation, of river scenery that a strong effort should he made by the Government to secure for present and future genera-■ tions what was left of the beautiful scenery on the Mokau, even if it did entail the expenditure of a few thousands of pounds. This river would before very long be as popular a tourist route as the Wanganui river was. The road connecting Totoro at the head of the river with Te Kuiti was being improved, and with the opening up of settlement the upper reaches of the Mokau would have to be snagged and cleared to allow of vessels reaching Totoro. Tourists and holiday-seekers would be able to leave Te Kuiti, motor or coach to Totoro, and journey down the Mokau to the township, thence coming on to New Plymouth. A prettier or pleasanter trip there was not in New Zealand. . The river scenery was therefore a valuable asset to the country, and everything should be done to preserve it. He trusted that the Commission would be able to visit the river and see for itself what had taken place, what was going on, and what was threatened, and he felt sure they would have sufficient patriotism to recommend without hesitation the Government to see that no more harm was done. The mistake was made years ago, before the bushman's axe and match began their work, when the whole of the bush for a mile each side of the course of the river, with, of course, the necessary outlets for settlers, should have been reserved, as in the case of the Wanganui river, in Mr. Ballance's day. This might not have been easy, owing to the complicated state of ownership of most of the land affected, but it was worthy of more attention than it received, and posterity would have something very pertinent to say of our legislators' slackness in the matter.

PATTA RANGES. There was another Tnattcr, continued Mr. List, to which the League desired to direct the attention of the Commission. Tt was to the maintaining of the l'atua or Kaitake ranges as a scenic reserve. An effort was being made by interested parties to have the low-lying land on those ranges thrown open for settlement, the statement heing made that at present the reserve was nothing else than a seed-lied for noxious weeds. He trusted that the Commission would not fall in with this view. To cut down the bush on this land would he a scandal, and a calamity that would fall most heavily on the very people who were anxious to see it done. The bushclad ranges and mountain acted as Nature's reservoirs for the whole of Tarauaki. But for this provision the pro-

vince would not be the well-watered, \ fertile, closely-settled and prosperous j place it was. The water, unrestrained ! by the moss, vegetation, undergrowth, shrubs and bushes, would tear its way quickly to the sea, .carrying probably much good land with it, and, in summer time, soon drying up and so depreciating the stock-carrying capacity .of the land. As for the ranges harboring weeds, it was difficult to see how this could be where the undergrowth and bush generally was bo thick and luxurious in growth. Once cut away this bush, and the weeds would be given an .opportunity to nourish that they did not possess at the present moment. In conclusion, he trusted that the Commission would give the matters he had mentioned its earnest consideration, and take the view of the local Expansion and 'Tourist League, which, as they could see, was.animated by no interested or selfish motive, but only with the patriotic desire to have : national assets of pre-eminent value and importance preserved for the people of to-day, their cluMrem and their .children's children. : ,

The chairman asked Mr. List whether he was aware that some .of the land on the Mokau was changing hands at £0 per acre.

Mr. List replied in the .negative, but stated that it may have referred to some of the low-lying fiats which had been cleared some considerable time ago, and which the League was not concerned with, and not to that land covered with bush.

The chairman explained -that ;a committee of the Commission had. already visited the Mokau, and as a result of an inspection of the country they recognised that a great deal of the country was of a precipitous nature, but the question was that when it came to the Compensation Court the prices demanded would probably be found to have a very important bearing on the subject. He added, however, that in hi* ©pinion the settlers would not yet get back in grass the value of the money they iiad spent in clearing a lot of the land. Which would slip away when the trees began to rot.

Returning to the subject Mt. List said, in answer to the chairman, that it was difficult to understand why much <jf the land had been cleared. One «f ifcbe contractors had admitted to foam that they had to fall so many acres, and they did not trouble to take the seetiie resources of the river into account. The contractor also admitted that Hie land on the river banks would, when cleared of its beautiful bush, not (Sustain a rabbit to the acre.

Mr. E. C. Hughes followed in a similar strain to Mr. List's evidence, deploring the fact that already some of the glorious scenery had been irretrievably lost. It was heart-breaking to see the steep cliffs with the charred stumps on their face.

The chairman asked if there were any gentlemen who would be prepared to subsidise any offers on the part of the Government to pay compensation. In certain other places the Government had found compensation, on condition that .a contribution was made by some people in the district. In reply, Mr. Hughes said that the district had not many wealthy men who were ia a position to contribute to a very appreciable extent. If an appeal were made, however, he believed that the people of Taranaki would respond in some degree. Mr. List enlarged on what had been done and was still being done by the people of New Plymouth in connection with the upkeep of Pukekura Park, the mountain', anfr other scenic spots. They had done their share—in fact, a little more than their share—and, referring to the case in point, he contended that the Mokau river was a national asset, not a local one, and should be treated as such. The chairman' remarked that only this week the Commissioners had had the pleasure of going through Pukekura Park and had formed the opinion that it was one of the finest, if not the finest, to be seen in the Dominion. It redounded greatly to the credit of the citizens of New Plymouth.

Mr. S. I. Clarke added his word of praise, stating: "They are the finest I have seen."

Several questions were also asked in regard to the Patu Ranges, all of which served to emphasise the difficult of keeping the reserve free from the ravages of stock. Settlers took advantage of the unfenced portions of the reserve to turn their cuttle into the bush, particularly in the winter.

Mv. (i. 11. Billiard (Commissioner of Crown Lands for Taranaki) referred to several points arising out of the representations of previous speakers. Referring to the Mokau, he emphasised that personally he considered that the hulk of the land comprising the banks of the Mokau river had no value for farming purposes. He also held that it would be unwise in the interests of navigation to wholly denude the banks of the virgin bush. It was important that sufficient road access should be afforded the settlers along the flat portions of the river.

Briefly replying, Mr. List said that the League had no desire to interfere with the proper access of the settlers to their holdings. BUTTER-BOX TIMBER. Mr. J. Johnston, Government grader at New Plymouth, was questioned as to the suitability of various timbers for butter boxes, in view of a probable shortage in the future of white pine. He said there had been experiments made in Wellington with pinus insignis, and that they had turned out very well. Tawa had been used for making butter casks, kit was not very satisfactory for the purpose. He did not know anything about poplar. He was asked if parchment paper were used if any timber could be utilised. In reply, he said that there was a lot of inferior paper being used, and this absorbed the moisture in the timber, and in turn affected the quality of the butter. It was nenccessary to use paper of the very best kind for lining. He had seen butterboxes made made out of paper pulp, but had had no experience of their use. In the interests of the dairy industry it was advisable to prohibit the exportation of white pine, as the supply of this timber was on the short side.

lIAXGANUI RESERVE. SUGGESTED CUTTING UP. On behalf of settlers interested, Mr. 11. Okey. M.P.. urged that the Manganui reserve should be thrown open to settlement. This was important, because of the noxious weeds trouble, and the settlers did not think that it was required as a scenic reserve. The roads had to be maintained by the settlers, and if the reserve were settled it would be productive of a considerable sum in rates, thus lessening the burden they had to bear. The settlers had recently depntationised the Prime Minister on the. subject, nnd Mr. Massev had replied that the Forestry Commission would enquire into the matter. Mr. Okey also pointed out that a. number of settlers wished to give evidence in support of their claims for the lifting of the reservation on the area in question, but had been unable to attend that day. In reply, the chairman stated that if the settlers reduced their statements to writing and forwarded them to Welling-

ton next week, they would receive consideration.

COST OF BUILDING.

Mr. C. W. Govett submitted to the Commission the following evidence:— At the present time it seems impossible to build small houses suitable for artisans and working men except at a loss. lam of opinion that to build houses which will not pay at least « per cent, on the cost of building and 5 per cent, on the cost of the land may be philanthropic, but from a business point of view it is madness. I have endeavored by means of correspondence in the local papers and by interviews with builders and carpenters, to endeavor to find out how the object I have in view can be attained, and I thought perhaps that something might be done by way of building houses to stock measurements, but I have been always told that houses cannot be built at the present time at a profit, owing to the price of timber, which is notoriously rising in value every year. Under tlieso circumtanees. it seems to me that with a scarcity of New Zealand timber it is the imperative duty of the Government for the time being of New Zealand to do everything in their power from every direction possible, and in order to do this to reduce or abolish altogether duties on imported timber. The present policy of endeavoring to stop the importation of foreign timber keeps up | the price abnormally high and eneourj ages the destruction of timber, some of | which has not properly matured, and j also the cutting of timber at probably i unsuitable times of the year, when the sap is rising instead of falling. I have no special knowledge about timber, but my professional experience shows me that the houses which have been put up during the last few years will never last like the timber used in the houses built, ! say, more than thirty years ago. I have had, for some 25 years, a good deal of experience with regard to planting and growing native trees, and am, at the present time, chairman of the Pukekura Park Board, one of the main objects of which is to grow native trees in the Park. Though the young trees there are extremely well sheltered and have tevery advantage, their slow growth shows that it would be quite hopeless ever to think of growing New Zealand trees for the sake of their timber, when there are so many exotic trees which grow much quicker and are also so much hardier. I say nothing about the evil climatie effects which are following the denudation of the. forests, and the necessity of making large forest reserves (though I feel very strongly on this subject), as well as regards the loss of beauty. In reply to the chairman, Mr. Govett said there was very little building done in New Plymouth with bricks or concrete. There had recently been an importation of Oregon pine into New Plymouth, but nearly all the timber used was more or Jess local.

THE TIMBER INDUSTRY.

TARANAKI'S POSITION.

After the luncheon adjournment, Mr. Chas. Ahier, timber merchant, gave evidence touching on the supply of timber in the district. The only Taranaki mill of any size that he knew of was owned by Mr. Simons, on the Carrington road, at the foot of the mountain, and it was turning out 80,000 to 100,000 feet per month. There was another mill on the Egmont road, which was not turning out more than half that quantity. There was any amount of timber in Taranaki, but it was not profitable to work it, in the absence of railway facilities. There was plenty of timber in the Opunake district, but nothing short of a railway to New Plymouth would bring it into the realms of profitable milling. Local merchants were getting timber from the Main Trunk, but it was inferior to that of Taranaki. The rimu in Taranaki, of which there was a large quantity in the Opunake district, was the finest in New Zealand. The price of rimu averaged from 15s Od to 10s. Tawa was not used for building. The price paid by the merchants for white pine was lis Bd. Up to this year he supplied boxes at Is 3d per box, but next year he thought the charge would be Is 4d. In the south it was Is Bd, but in New Plymouth there was keener competition. lie attributed the increase to the fact that timber was becoming scarcer. Touching on the reported purchase of a large tract of white pine in the King Country, Mr. Ahier said he did not think that there was any field in New Zealand with 50 years' supply of any class of timber. It was aP nonsense! Oregon pine was being re •tailed at anything between £1 and 255. It was a very much superior timber to the class of timber coming from the Main Trunk. The Main .Trunk was very young timber, full of sugar, and that was what the worm lived on. The Tarnnaki timber was a very hard timber, and when it dried there was very little chance of the worm getting into it. He did not' attach much importance to the theory advanced that it was wise to cuttimber in certain periods of the year. He had no faith in pinus insignis as a building material. The reason the houses decayed so quickly was due to putting the paint on so soon. If the paint were kept off for two or three years—so as to allow time for evaporation and thorough seasoning they I would last a third of the time longer.

A Commissioner: That would he sudden death to the speculative builder! Continuing, Mr. Ahier said that "birds sang" on the virgin trees, which three months later were converted into houses. He did not favor powellised timber. He thought the timber should dry naturally, and this was only to he obtained by merchants stocking sufficiently large quantities, in order to enable it to become thoroughly seasoned before passing into the hands of the builder. Mr. Clarke ask Mr. Ahier whether he considered it a matter of importance that some scheme of tree-planting should be indulged in.

Mr. Aider replied that as succeeding generations experienced a shortage of timber, a suitable substitute would bo provided. Personally, he thought concrete would some day be • universally adopted for building purposes,' even to the doors and joinery. This concluded the taking of evidence, and members of the Commission subsequently paid a visit to the oilfields at Moturoa. They will leave by this morning's mail train for Wellington.

Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/TDN19130501.2.53

Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 291, 1 May 1913, Page 7

Word count
Tapeke kupu
3,503

FORESTRY COMMISSION. Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 291, 1 May 1913, Page 7

FORESTRY COMMISSION. Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 291, 1 May 1913, Page 7

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