PARITUTU.

Taranaki Daily News, 24 May 1921, Page 5

PARITUTU.

PLEA FOR SAVING IT. ' REQUEST TO HARBOR BOARD. A deputation representing the Paritutu Preservation League waited on the New Plymouth Harbor Board yesterday with a request that the board should call a halt in the blasting operations on the rock. The delegates from the league—Mrs. (Dr.) Brewster and Messrs. R. C. Hughes, S. Percy Smith, and P. B. Fitzherbert—stated that they had no definite proposal to put before the board, but asked that the work should ndt be hurried on until time had been given them to go into the question, when they would possibly arrive at some method which might have the ultimate result of preventing the destruction of Paritutu. If the board was not inclined to go to the expense of getting an opinion on the rock outside their own servants, then the league would be prepared to find the money to get the information. As far as the Paritutu League was concerned, it was stated, they had no idea of opposing the harbor development, and in fact were heartily in accord with it.

In reply, the chairman of the board, (Mr. Newton King) said that Paritutu stone was the cheapest the board could get. The matter of securing supplies from Mt. Egmont had been carefully gone into, but the cost, and the delay in arrival of the stone, were prohibitive factors. Every member of the board regretted very much that it was necessary to touch the rock. The subject had been fully discussed at the board table, and it was only with the greatest reluctance that members gave their assent to the trial blast. Whether the board would be going right on with the operations was not certain yet, as they might have to stop on account of finances. It was the first occasion he had heard of the proposal for obtaining further outside opinion. The stone was shown by the last blast to be more satisfactory than was at ’first anticipated. The board, however, would give consideration to the representations of the league.