"THE SLEEPING BEAUTY."

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 286, 12 May 1915, Page 8

"THE SLEEPING BEAUTY."

IMPRESSIONS OF. NEW IPLYMOUTH. Frank 'Morton writes in tlie Triad the following: impressions of Ndw Plymouth; If you want proof that Taranaki is dulled by its own fatness, go to New Plymouth. To me, the place had only been a name on a time-table. I had quite naturally eonic to think of it as a couple of hotels, a store, and a street or two. For these misconceptions I cannot lie held in any degree blameworthy. New Plymouth does little or nothing to advertise itself, and that is a truly amazing thing. For the place is beautiful —more beautiful, as to its surroundings, than any other provincial town 1 know of in New Zealand. Tt would be a perfectly delightful place to spend a holiday in. Almost the whole of its area is generous with tree;?. Close at hand towers the grand old mountain, Father Egmont, given of all goods things to Taranaki. The roads are excellent for motoring, and the adjacent country is all that is possible of the most enticing. It is a town of quiet and good comfort. There are several live men in the town, and they are. still regarded with a certain wondering suspicion. If there were fifty of them, all Australasia would hear of New Plymouth as a pleasure-resort within this next twelve mouths. As it is, the little company of keen and public-spirited men is doing its best. Progress against a deadweight of public apathy is not easy, but progress is being made. The progressive few in New Plymouth have built and equipped the Mountain HosVry. The progressive few are beautifying the sea-front. Why is not New Plymouth a popular holiday-resort already famous? I want to know.

I cannot insist too strongly on the loveliness of New Plymouth. It is a loveliness that New Zealand has yet to learn, though some few people have discovered it. The people of the town, dulled by long habit and their lifelong sleep, take it as a matter of course, nnd seldom think about it. The New Plymouth Expansion and Tourist League is doing a lot, perhaps as much as it can do; but it is not doing nearly enough. When enough is done, summer visitors on pleasure and relaxation bent will go to New Plymouth by the thousand. Father Egmont alone merits weeks of pious attention. The Sugarloaves are by no means to be neglected. The trip to the -Mokau is a long delight- Pukekura Park, which is right in the town, is the noblest scenic reserve in the Dominion, a joy to every cultivated sense. The reserve itself is singularly beautiful, and the glimpses it affords of more distant scenery are superb. The climate, making due allowance for its generous rainfall, is as nearly as possible perfect. There is plenty of good fishing to be had near at hand. The people, as I have already tried to point out, are amiable and most courteous. At my hotel I found genuine comfort and homeliness, despite that terror of the smoking-room. If you write to the Tourist League you can get pamphlets or any other information' you require. Don't miss tho place .