Scenery preservation in New Zealand
Our picturesque heritage
The time has arrived in the history of our colony when our scenery should be preserved, when the historic and beautiful places should be for all time conserved, and when we should do something to protect the thermal springs, which are of so great value to the country, from being destroyed and from falling into the hands of private individuals.
Scientific origins - scenery preservation
Science
European settlers in New Zealand struggled to rework the indigenous landscape. They wanted the trappings of civilised society they had left behind, not the wild and savage landscape of the new country. For many, the land and its bounty was a resource to be exploited. The forest was a source of timber for houses and fences; its removal was a constructive process of turning 'wasteland' into 'farm land'. Rocky peaks and swamps were of little value, useful at best for compensating Maori for the loss of more profitable lands.
Scenery Preservation Commission - scenery preservation
The Scenery Preservation Commission
The Scenery Preservation Commission identified scenic and historic sites and administered the Scenery Preservation Act 1903. The first commission was appointed in March 1904 under the chairmanship of Polynesian Society chair and former surveyor-general Stephenson Percy Smith. Other members were Henry Matthews, the government's chief forester; John Marchant, surveyor-general; William Smith, horticulturalist and amateur ethnologist; and Major Hoani Tunuiarangi, Rangitane and Ngati Kahungunu leader and member of the Maori parliament (Kotahitanga).
The Pink Terraces
Creative Commons License Type:
-None-
Credit:
Alexander Turnbull Library
Artist: Charles Blomfield, 1890
Ref: G0597
Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Matauranga o Aotearoa must be obtained before any reuse of this image.
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