C.—6.

The other case dealt with concerned a small area of a little over 1 acre which was no longer of any scenic value. The number of scenic reservations in the Dominion is now 1,076 covering a total area of over 802,000 acres. Areas purchased but not Proclaimed by end op Year. Mention may be made of the following areas the acquisition of which was approved during the year but in respect of which the necessary proclamations under the Scenery Preservation Act have still to issue :— (1) An area of 4,490 acres 3 roods 23 perches of bush land on the Kaimai Ranges behind Matamata. The Waiteariki Stream, from which the Town of Matamata draws its water-supply, rises in, this block, and the Borough Council is therefore vitally interested in the preservation of the bush on the area. The Council accordingly agreed to join with the Crown in the acquisition of the land for scenic purposes. The total purchase price was £4,610, of which sum the Department provided £2,500. Of the balance of £2,110 the Council contributed £110 from its General Fund in terms of section 5 of the Scenery Preservation Amendment Act, 1926, and £2,000 from the unexpended balance of a loan for water-supply purposes authorized in 1922. There was no authority in law whereby the Council could use such unexpended balance of a loan to, join with the Crown in the purchase of land for scenic purposes, and special legislation (section 13 of the Reserves and other Lands Disposal Act, 1937) was therefore! provided validating the Council's action and declaring the payment of the sum of £2,000 to have been lawfully made. The Department was most happy to co-operate with the Council in this case, as scenery preservation and water conservation are very closely allied, and the land itself was definitely of great scenic value. (2) An area of 220 acres of freehold land on the Wangamoa Saddle, on the Nelson-Blenheim Highway. This is a bush area which the Department has been anxious to acquire for some years. The bush is reasonably attractive, and being one of the few remaining bush areas on an important road its acquisition was particularly desirable. Approval to the acquisition of the area at the price of £550 was given on the 15th February, 1938, and following on completion of the transfer to the Crown the land will be proclaimed as a scenic reserve at an early date. Gifts op Scenic Areas. The Department is pleased to report the following gifts of scenic areas to the Crown :— (a) Mr. W. G. Barnett has given a small but valuable area of scenic bush on the Waotu South Road. The Department is now attending to the survey of the land and its transfer to the Crown. (b) Mr. C. R. Clark has offered to give the Crown an area of about 74 acres of bush land near the Marakopa Falls Scenic Reserve on condition that the Department shares the cost of clearing a fencing-line and erecting a fence. The offer is a generous one and has been gratefully accepted. A survey is now being made, with a view to the completion of the transfer to the Crown as soon as possible. (c) Mr. H. M. Hayward has given an area of 43 acres 2 roods 6-1 perches situated at White's Line East, Lower Hutt. There is some nice bush on the property, and as the area lies on the hillside close to the Lower Hutt and Petone Boroughs the gift is regarded as a most generous one. The transfer to the Crown is now under preparation following a slight adjustment of boundaries, and the land will be proclaimed under the Scenery Preservation Act at an early date. Scenery Preservation Board. Meetings of the Scenery Preservation Board were held to consider scenic proposals in the North Auckland, Auckland, Gisborne, Hawke's Bay, Taranaki, Wellington, Nelson, Marlborough, Westland, Canterbury, Otago, and Southland Land Districts, and fifty-seven recommendations were submitted to His Excellency the Governor-General for the acquisition and reservation of areas of scenic and historic interest throughout the Dominion under the provisions of the Scenery Preservation Act. Supervision of Reserves. During the year special Scenic Boards were appointed or reappointed as follows : —The Dunedin City Council to control the Evansdale Glen Scenic Reserve ; the Rotoiti Scenic Board to control the Rotoiti (Nelson) Scenic Reserves ; the Birkenhead Borough Council to control the Birkenhead Scenic Reserve ; the Rangitikei County Council to control the Rangiwaea Scenic Reserve ; the Raetihi Borough Council to control the Raetihi Scenic Reserves ; the Taranaki County Council to control the Stoney Creek Scenic Reserve; the Edendale Town Board to control the Edendale Scenic Reserve; the Wanganui City Council to control the Gordon Park Scenic Reserve; the Collingwood County Council to control the Kaihoka Lakes Scenic Reserve ; the Manginangina Scenic Board to control the Manginangina Scenic Reserve, on the Kaeo-Okaihau Main Highway ; the Pelorus Bridge Scenic Board to control the Pelorus Bridge Reserves; the Willsher Bay Scenic Board to control the Willsher Bay Scenic Reserve ; the Weber County Council to control the Waihi Falls Reserve; the Upper Hutt Borough Council to control the Upper Hutt Blockhouse Historic Reserve; the Levin Borough Council to control the Waiopehu Scenic Reserve.; the

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