Premier Richard Seddon outlined his vision for 'God's own country' in 1903 as he steered the Scenery Preservation Act through Parliament. This act was an important landmark in preserving New Zealand's natural and historic heritage.
In 1890 when the kauri timber industry threatened to wipe out Northland kauri forest, 3.34 hectares were set aside by the government, and James Trounson, an early settler, added 386 hectares.
William Walter Smith was born in Scotland. In his youth he worked as a gardener in several English country houses. His family emigrated and farmed near Ashburton, where William later worked on the Mt Peel and Albury pastoral stations.
The establishment of scenic reserves along highways was to return great benefit for the travelling public once the motor car became more widely available in the 1950s and 1960s. Morere Springs Scenic Reserve is a well-known example.
New Zealanders' love affair with the coastline was reflected in the reservation of a considerable number of coastal sites. Stafford Point Scenic Reserve in Pelorus Sound was established in 1903.
Kennedy's Bush was the first Summit Road reserve established by Henry Ell in 1906. Ell was a promoter of the Port Hills Walkway and a campaigner for preservation of scenery and protection of native birds.
In his speech introducing the Scenery Preservation Bill, Premier Seddon was nostalgic about his first views of the Buller Gorge in the 1870s. Scenic reserves were established in the Upper and Lower Buller Gorge in 1907, and these have been added to since that time.
Officially, the Scenery Preservation Commission was disbanded because the government had found that some 'simpler machinery was necessary to more effectively carry out the purposes of the Act'.
