Letters: Concern over proposed Tauranga racetrack relocation

I have some concerns about the forthcoming proposal to relocate the Tauranga racecourse to an as yet unknown location in the region.

My concerns are:
- 34 hectares on central Crown-owned land.
- It is a great facility for Tauranga, for the function centre, and grounds for many events.
- It is flat, fertile and handy.
- Why not maximise the area for more events and attractions?
- It is a fabulous green space.
- It is close to public transport.
- If we pass it off, we will never have the like of it again.

Roger Mabbett
Bethlehem

No progress

I have lived in Tauranga for 42 years, so what is the progress in the CBD over that period? Effectively none.

I recall some 15 years ago being a party to a "cross-society" roundtable workshop over redeveloping the Strand waterfront.

I even sent photos of Guayaquil in Ecuador as a good example of a waterfront development. No reply.

What has happening since - piecemeal hotchpotch. I recently returned from the "5 Stans" (ex Soviet Republics) where two capitals have emerged from Soviet rule and in the past 15 years have rebuilt from c.200,000 population to 1.1 million each.

Ashgabat (Turkmenistan) is comprehensively designed with beautiful parks and high rises with all its buildings clad in white marble - stunning especially at night when lit up with differing and changing lights; Nu-Sultan (Kazakhstan) has a 3km long boulevard with gardens, fountains, lookout tower, etc, flanked with modern architecture from international designers.

No mucking about. As an ex-elected member in Tauranga, I can well understand councillor Max Mason's frustration with council decision making and lack of meaningful progress to enhance this fifth biggest city in New Zealand.

David Holland
Pāpāmoa Beach

Cook's discoveries

Tommy Wilson's repudiation of Cook's "discoveries" ( Opinion, July 19 ) requires a response.

"Discovery" surely implies the act of disclosure. A discovery which only remains known to the discoverer cannot in truth be termed a "discovery".

The voyages of Columbus, Magellan, Tasman, and Cook brought to the knowledge of the Europeans – and others including the Polynesians – of a world, peoples and lands, previously unknown to them.

The exploratory voyages of the European navigators stemmed from the 17th century period of "Enlightenment" with increasing scientific inquiries from the like of Galileo, Newton, Copernicus, Descartes and others. A major aim of Cook's voyage was to extend this knowledge through tracking the path of the eclipse of Venus across the sun.

The voyages and discoveries of the Polynesians - and of the Australian Aborigines – were of limited extent, remained known only to them and were only recorded in verbal memory – unlike the Europeans with written texts.

Eddie Orsulich
Otumoetai
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