SPRING2016
and his last substantial work was Urban and Regional
Planning Development in the Commonwealth written in 1988. He never published his professional and
private experiences of New Zealand. Perth-based and
Communist landscape architect John Oldham (19071999) also advised the NZ Govt in 1966.
It was the thoughtful development and conservation
advice about New Zealand’s regional tourist resources
and the model ‘tourist park’ at Wairakei that identifies Ling’s presence here during the 1960s. He sought
reforms of the governance of the public service in his
reports that were co-operative rather than competitive. He began his New Zealand field studies in 1964
with only Tourism Department staff in tow and by
1969 he says he had gathered staff from the Ministry
of Works, Lands & Survey and the Forest Service etc.
as he reviewed earlier and new places. He explained
this ‘following’ as changing attitudes to ‘conservation
policies to protect the environment’. A physical example of his applied tourism policy is found in a report of
a study of Queenstown in 1967. It stated:
“A Queenstown Tourist District has been defined
by the Town and Country Branch of the Ministry of
Works for regional planning purposes… Boundaries
have been determined on a visual basis as suggested
by Professor Arthur Ling, the English town planner
who reported on the planning and development of
some of New Zealand’s key tourist centres in 1964…”
Limited by no access to his 1964 NZ government
report held by Archives New Zealand, it is not known
if this tourist boundary policy was applied to other regions of New Zealand. The Tourist & Publicity study of
Queenstown did go on to explain that Ling: “… favours
a pedestrian precinct or shopping mall down Ballarat
Street, the main street, between Camp Street and
the waterfront.” And that, “The waterfront, the lovely
sweep of Queenstown Bay, require careful planning.
The present policy of not extending roads through
Queenstown Park should be continued…”.
His Government report from 1969 further stated:
“…just over five years ago when I had a similar assignment I visited Mt Cook, Queenstown, Te Anau,
Rotorua, Taupo and Tongariro. This time I visited the
Bay of lslands and other parts of Northlands (sic),
Greymouth, Hokitika, Frank Joseph and other parts
of Westland as well as the proposed Wairakei Tourist
Park, the Whakarewarewa State Forest and the major
cities of Wellington, Auckland and Christchurch.”
Ling’s 1969 New Zealand government ‘terms of
reference’ focused on ‘tourist parks.’ This was his
‘prototype’ – with three concentric zones – amenity
protection (outer); tourist park zone (middle) and at
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the tourist park centre, illustrated the following year
by Helmut Einhorn the ‘landscape development architect’, titled, Wairakei Tourist Park Development. Environmental Planning Report. Einhorn’s career appears
to be another output of Ling’s recommendations, “the
appointment of an architectural and planning advisor
at government level.”
Ling considered many sites as tourist parks across
New Zealand proposing one for Rotorua where he
asserted that it was ‘desirable’ that Maori ‘lead’ the
Maori Institute of Arts & Crafts at Whakarewarewa.
He questioned the local ‘definitions’ of public lands
and significantly recommended an ‘Environmental
Council’ that he said:
“It would be useful if there was created a central
co-ordination point at national level for all those
concerned with conservation of the environment,
the planning of land and it development for recreational purposes. An Environmental Council could
fulfil this function…”.
Professor Arthur C. Ling