BAY OF PLENTY TIMES.

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume I, Issue 41, 22 January 1873, Page 2

BAY OF PLENTY TIMES.

» The spirit of the times shall teach me speed „ WEDNESDAY, JANTJAEY^IsST^

In order to keep faith with the n U KK„ by publishing the first chapter of «£ ranga in Futuro " to-day, we are com pelled to leaTe over the conclusion oft? synopsis on the new Provincial Education Act until our next. u The purchase by Mr Mackay, on behalf of M. Government, of the Whangamata block of land is likely to baTe very important and *W tageoua consequences. The country around il known to abound in quartz reefs, which «,., almost with certainty, be pronounced aurife™,' and which, when developed, will open a RoWfiS on the East Coast. Ohinemuri will then b* enclosed, by two centre* of population, Bn d the inevitable traffic which must ensus between »he two places cannot fnil to be s» distasteful toTe Hira and his exclusive circle, that the relinquish. ment of his much coveted district to the obnoxious pakeha must necessarily follow. Thus then Ohinemuri will be opened at last, and, whether its reputed mineral wealth realises public expectation or not, the public will have an opportunity of practically ascertaining. To Tauran»a the opening of the Whangamata block is of vital importance. Io the event of a large population being located there, a great increase of trade with this place may be expected. Large snips will discharge here, and the people on the field will find it very much more convenient to obtain supplies from Tauranga than by the overland track from ShortUnd. Whangamata is only fifteen miles from Katikati, and can be reached by boat from here in five or six hours, or overland from Katikati in about three, the road as far 88 Waihi being six miles on a level beach, and after that along a track cut for the telegraph line. For transmission of goods, water conveyance will of course be selected, and our mosquito fleet will have abundance of employment. Whangamata is only a boat harbour, and not a very safe one, and Tauranga is consequently the nearest, aud, at everyone knows, incomparably the best—capable of meeting any emergency. This information may not be new to some readers, but it will be so to many, and it is only right, in the prospect of so momentous an pccu-rence as the opening of a goldfieid so near, of which this must of necessity bo the shipping port, that the consequent p<mibilitiea and probabilities should be well diVusid. There will, in such case as referred to, be no longer hesitation on the part of Government in proclaiming Tauranga a port of entry, and many beneficial results may be expected which no one at present can "foresee. Bowentown, being the nearest surveyed township to the new field, may be expected to rise into sudden importance, although it can never suppla»t Te tapa s» the port town, for the Katikati passage is both intricate and difficult, with a bar at the entrance which cannot be crossed in all weathers, or at all times of the tide. But the distance of Te Papa will only be considered a very trifling obstacle, for fifteen 'or twenty miles of water carriage ia a harbour* is a comparative bagatelle. Taking all circumstances into account, we consider our prospects are in a very hopeful condition. It is true that the Thames people have not yet commenced to rush the new field, but tbey have been watching it attentively for some time, and we learn by the Auckland papers that from 300 to 400 people are now on the ranges waiting for the openirg of the ground for the purpose of marking out their claims. By-the last accounts, payment of all the pu-chase money had not been completed, but would be very shortly ; and when that is done, long time will not be suffered to elapse before the issue of licenses, and we may f*iny expect from day to day to hear of this taking place.