In 1901, New Zealand established a Department of Tourist and Health Resorts – the first such body in the world. The Milford Track was soon identified as a significant tourist asset. The department took over the track in 1903, and soon issued a map of the track. This one was a reissue in 1921.
Another boost came from an article by the poet Blanche Baughan in the London Spectator. The editor titled it ‘The finest walk in the world’, and the description stuck. The article was later published in New Zealand as an illustrated pamphlet and sold out within two months.
Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi
Alexander Turnbull Library
Reference:
MapColl 834.51atu/[1921]/Acc.43843
Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.
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