NEW PLYMOUTH'S OPPORTUNITIES

Taranaki Daily News, 2 October 1919, Page 4

NEW PLYMOUTH'S OPPORTUNITIES

Tiie remarks made on Tuesday night j by Mr. A. E. Sykes, at a meeting of. the New Plymouth Tourist and Expansion League, may be regarded as a clarion cry to awaken the municipality and tlie people to the great opportunities which exisi * or making the town even more beautiful and attractive than it already is. Mr, Sykes, as is well known, is a keen man of business who thoroughly underslands the art of advertising as the main road to success. He had 110 difficulty in demonstrating that New Plymouth lias the goods, though he is well aware that they need to bo taken in hand 'by experts to show them to the best advantage, with the result that they will return a handsome profit as well as give infinite pleasure to thousands of temporary visitors and permanent residents. A business mail who can set out from this town, visit America, see all the show places, and, on his return, say honestly, as a matter of absolute conviction, that "in no place he had been did they possess the natural scenic and other advantages of his own town," deserves to have his views and suggestions seriously taken into consideration. It is nothing new to have this testimony to the possibilities of Taranaki's seaport town, but there are features in Mr. Sykes's impressions which emphasise all that has heretofore been proclaimed reasons for making the most of the unique assets which the town enjoys, and at the same time indicate practical means for achieving the desired end. If America had a town and district possessing a tithe of the advantages of New Plymouth, it would be regarded as a veritable gold mine, and what would pay enterprising Americans should be equally profitable to the people of New Plymouth. There has already been prepared a plan for beautifying the town 011 a comprehensive scale, but the difficulty is to have a commencement made. On this point Mr. Sykes has given a very, practical lead by suggesting that the first work should be 1o lay out and plant the vacant land opposite the railway station, for in its present condition it makes a very bad first impression on visitors, stamps the town as somnolent and apathetic, and gives no indication of the real natural beauty of the place. We can very well do without a skeleton of this kind at the feast of scenic beauty which Is marred by the nakedness and ugliness of the land in question. The suggestion that the curator of Pukekura Park should be asked to laj out and plant this vacant plot is one that cannot, be too urgently pressed on the borough council. In fact, it would be .in the best interests of the town if Mr. W. W. Smith would undertake to act as the town's consulting landscape gardener. There need be no question of this work interfering with the supervision of the Park, but it would be a great boon to have such valuable expert advice as Mr. Smith could give, and it is safe to predict that the result would soon be apparent. The borough council is the authority which should move in this matter. Now is the time, and when a start has once 'been made, enthusiasm will be stimulated. It is a paying proposition. The interests of tile community are first and foremost and these can only be advanced by municipal enterprise and initiative. To neglect the opportunities that are awaiting seizure is to keep the town out of its just dues. There art. other valuable suggestions that

should bear fruit, but a start can be made by adopting the above suggestions. The people ci this town will do well to bear in mind that "without vision the town will never make the most of its many opportunities."