A TRIP TO MOUNT SOMERS.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume V, Issue 1433, 16 December 1886, Page 2

A TRIP TO MOUNT SOMERS.

(Bv oon Special Correspondent.)

Being favored with a seat in the special which on Tuesday conveyed the Minister of Lands, .Mr McKurrow (Ohiof Surveyor), Mr March, and others of the Ministerial party up the Mount Somers line, I send you a few notes of the journey for the delectation (or otherwise) of your readers, many of whom I fancy have never made the trip on their own account. Leaving Ashburton station four minutes or so before the down express, in a carriage of which, as we dashed past, wo saw the Premier, Lady Stout, and family en route Dunedinwarda, we we-e at Tinwald in next, to no time, and neatly ran on to the branch line a few hundred yards before the up train, which was snorting along towards ns aa we glanced off and showed it our tailboard. Stopping here a second or two to pick up the genial laird of Windermere, we were soon swiftly dashing away westwards, making a speed of nearly thirty miles an hour over the smoothly laid road. Oscillation there was almost none, and we do not know of a line in the colony that—to use the professional slang—“runs more sweetly." Wo now had time to admire the exceedingly comfortable and well arranged composite carriage, which forms usually the entire passenger train. It consists of first and second-class compartments, smoking compartment and guard’s van—all parts of one “ couch ” —resting on two sets of bogie wheels, one set at each end, being at once light, compact, convenient, and cosy. Bowling along swiftly and comfortably —of course we were in the •* smoker we lit our pipe, and turned our attention to the scenery, which was what Punch describes as “ tooral looral.” Capital pasture on either hand told of juicy English grasses, and a so far favorable season, and the effects thereof were patently visible in the round forma of the sheep and oattla, which sprinkled the well-fenced paddocks. We are not long in reaching Valetta, a wayside station with small passenger platform and shelter shed, where we take aboard the always cheerful and pleasant member for Ashburton, who, accompanied by a friend, has driven op to this rendezvous from his tree-embowered homestead, which we see a mile or two away to the right, and rushing along again we speedily open out the view of the Hon. Mr Peter's homestead, apparently about as far away on the other side of the line, and soon begin to perceive away to the left front, as our military friends phrase it, the roofs and trees and hedges, and all the other signs of settlement which indicate Mount Somers. Pulling up at the station—about halt a mile on this side of the village—we find Mr Peaohe and Mr E. F. Wright in waiting with a couple of vehicles, the one horsed by a nicelymatched pair of greys, and the other by a useful team of bays or browns (it doesn’t matter which) and climbing into these we are quickly bowling merrily towards the village. On the right hand, es we turn past the railway shed, we notice a capital paddock of grass in which are grazing some well-fed and well-bred looking cattle, among them a few polled Angus, belonging, we believe, to Mr McClymont, and next we come upon a blacksmith’s shop, an hotel, a store, and several neat-looking cottages with, of course, children at the garden gates all looking olean, healthy, and happy, and leaving all these behind us, are soon speedily away towards Mount Possession. The road is a fairly good one, but in places scored pretty deep with the ruts made by heavy laden waggons of stone and coals of which we pass two or three, and runs for the most part parallel to one of the branches of the Ashburton river, known hereaway, we believe, as the Hakatere. And on the principle of “ when found make a note of it ” always insisted upon bv the lamented Captain Cuttle, and on the authority of Mr Lewis, junior, (son of the Undersecretary for Native Affairs) who was with the party as Mr Ballanoe’s private secretary, and is a good Maori linguist, let it be mentioned here that “Hakatere” means "a swift dance,” and is a very appropriate description of the stream that goes swift'y dancing below us over its bouldered bed. Ou away westwards, or perhaps a little south of west (wo left our pocket compass at home) through a fine vadey of apparently fairly good land, with high hills on either side, those on the right being fronted by rolling downs, covered here and there with black biroh, very useful to the settlers for fencing and firewood. Somewhere about here the road crosses the division lines of private properties, as is indicated by here a brace of boundary-keeping dogs, and there an unhappy collie doing duty all alone. Poor fellows ! we sympathised with them all, and were positively rejoiced to find, on the return journey, that one of the three bad got bis chain unfastened since we passed, and was paying a visit to his nearest neighbor, to the evident delight of both. Talk about “leading a dog’s life.” Here is the full realisation of the original intent of the saying, for surely the most lonesome and miserable existence in creation must be that of the poor companionless co'lie with only a radius of some six feet for a promenade, and questionable mutton, often decidedly *vil smelling carrion, for his sole regalement. “ Pair beasties,” as a Scottish friend terms them, we pity them from the very bottom of our hearts. Leaving the dogs behind, we soon come upon unmistakeable signs of limestone formation, and are assured that on both aides of the valley there are whole bills of limestone of the very finest quality, as a sample taken aboard speedily convinced us. This, we are assured, proves to contain over 96 per cent.—to be precise, 96 75 per cent.—of pure lime, and it is not surprising that with lime at 4s 6d per bag, the result of an Otago monopoly which has recently jumped it up to that figure from 2s 7Jd, it is in contemplation to start limekilns here on an extensive scale. There is, indeed, a grand opportunity to initiate a very thriving industry. The raw material of the very finest quality is to hand in inexhaustible store, and there is a large and always increasing demand and a payable price. The result is certain, and ere long lime-burning will, it is confidently believed, give employment to a good many hands in this locality. But while we are talking of all this, we are leaving the proposed site of the kilns far away in the rear, and now opening out to view to the right, and within a few chains of the road, a splendid outcrop of white building atone, which, like the limestone before mentioned, is, we believe, to be found on both sides of the river. There is also on the left-hand side, on Mr Peter’s property, a very valuable quarry of building stone, a sort of sandstone or freestone, of a yellowish color, with reddish streaks, which has been used with such excellent architectural eSeot for one of the banks in Hereford street west, Christchurch, we forget which, though we know the building well, but we think the Bank of Australasia. The white atone before referred to, which is on the right-hand side, has been opened out at a large quarry, from whence the stone for the new bridge over the Avon, just being built, was taken. It is verly nearly as white as the Oaraaru stone, but is much more durable, being impervious to wet, and stands heavier pressure, as might be expected from its greater specific gravity, the Mount Somerf. stone going only 16 cubic feet to the ton, as against 20 cubic feet in the case of Oamaru stone. We understand that it is likely to be exported largely to Victoria so soon as it can be placed on board ship at a sufficiently low price, which must bo the case when the projected tramway from the coalpits to the railway is un fait accompli , the route of the tramway being close past the quarry. Two or three miles further on, and we have arrived at the head of the valley, and, looking away to the left, see Mr Walker’s old homestead, on the slope of Mount Possession, and in the foreground a stretch of some fifty acres of level land, to the left of which come purling down the waters of ths Hakatere. To the right is an old hut and a gravel pit, close by which is a tent, and bard by a team of horses getting a meal preparatory to a start with a load for Mount Somers: and a little further on, the road takes a sharp ascent towards that which we have “ come out for to see”—the Mount Somers coalpit. A climb of about two minutes, and we have it in full view, as fine a face of coal as cou d possibly be wished for. It (the face) is fully 25ft high, by perhaps 100 ft wide, a solid face of coal, which promises a supply that it will take many years to exhaust, even though it were carted away by hundreds of tons. For it evidently extends a long way on either hand, the outcrop being traceable for some five chains or more westward, and being found some hundreds of yards away on Mr MoGlymont’s property, on the eastward, while nobody knows how deep the coal goes down, or how far back it extends into the hills. Probably it extends over a very wide region, as the coal has been worked also on tbe opposite (Mr Peter’s) side of the

river. The Ipit, or rather face (tor, strictly | speaking, there is nothing like a “ pit” about' it), is under lease to Mr E. F. Wright, who at present has two men engaged mining coal, and who expects speedily to be able to employ at least ten or a dozen, and the coal can be quarried out with the greatest ease and facility. It is an excellent brown coal, and gives a better test than the Malvern, and has been used with the most satisfactory results for the stationary engines at' the Woollen Factory and elsewhere. It has also been used locally for domestic purposes for a long time past, having been burnt at the homestead at Mount Possession for as nfany as twenty years, and has also been carted down to Mount Hutt and to settlors upon the plains. In the old days the price at the pit's mouth was 20a par ton, and freight down was much dearer then than it is now. The price today at the pit is Bs, and at Mount Somers r .ilway station 16a per ton, and when the tramway is made the latter figure will be very considerably reduced, with-doubtless a corresponding extension in tne demand. The Minister was very favorably impressed the prospects of the mine, and arrangements ware made for the laying off of sections on the 50 acres or so of fiat land, before mentioned, which will be available for homesteads for coalminers and their families. By this time an exceedingly cold wind, with rain and sleet, had set in, and yonrs truly would have been well nigh perished (having had the . misfortune to leave his greatcoat at the railway station) bat for the Good Samaritanlike conduct of Mr Carleton, who kindly lent a wrap for the downward journey. This (the journey not the wrap) the party speedily took, the route of the proposed tramway being pointed out as we drove along. Part of the way it will run on the side of the road itself, and at places takes a straighter line. It wilt be mostly level, or at a very easy grade, and there will be only two bridge* worth speaking of—neither very long. It is to be a horse tramway, with metal rails of 2ft or 2ft Sin guage, and is estimated to cost about £3500. A vote on the subject is shortly to be taken, and there is no doabt whatever that the work will be sanctioned and proceed'd with. In about an hour after leaving the coalpit the return journey, so far as the hotel, was safely accomplished, and here a capital repast of beef, and mutton, and ham, and cake, and tea, and ale and whisky for those who preferred them, awaited us and was done tall justice to. When we had discussed these good things, we had time to talk of what we had seen and to hear of what we bad not seed, bat must go up to see some other day, of splendid trout in Lake Heron, some twelve miles or more farther on than we had reached, trout that would charm the heart of Mr Shury if ha loves a big fish—one, it was told ns, was captured in the Hakatere, only the other day, weighing 331bs 1 —of a monster eel of over 23lbs, of limestone oaves on Mr Peaohe’s property adorned with stalactites and stalagmites and well worth exploring, and of the fossil remains of something like an ichthyosaurus, 40ft long, away somewhere m the ranges, which has certainly been seen if not reported upon by Mr McKay, Government Assistant-Geologist. Then another start, and as we shook hands at parting with oar generous host, braw John Hood, wn discovered in him a shipmate in the good ship Mersey that bore the writer also to the shores of New Zealand twentyfour years ago, and in a few urinates more we took train at Mount Homers, and were landed safely at Ashburton in little under the hour. A quarter of an hour later Mr Ballanca and party took the down train en, route to Timaru, and yours truly retired to his den to compile for your columns these few notes of a trip to Mount Somers.