Kaiti Hill

Kaiti Hill, always prominent on the Gisborne skyline, loomed larger last month when district local bodies adopted a comprehensive development scheme as a suitable memorial to Captain Cook.

The scheme, initiated by Mr A. B. C. Steele, Power Board chairman, suggests the levelling of a large area on the hilltop, and the erection of a tower surmounted by a statue of Captain Cook holding a torch. Beneath the tower would be a large room to display Maori artifacts. Adjacent areas would be laid out in lawns and shrubs, native plants, walks named after Cook's more prominent expedition members, a Maori whare, etc.

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The scheme has already met some criticism. It is said to be unfitting as a memorial to the great navigator, and a problem where vandalism is concerned. The curator of the local museum, Mr W. H. Way, has suggested instead that a fisheries research unit should be established as a memorial.

Others consider, however, that the scheme as adopted for recommendation as the most suitable memorial has a dramatic appeal which will find favour with the community, and that this aspect is vital to the raising of funds for the project in which the whole community must inevitably take part.