TEN YEARS AFTER

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 3, Issue 273, 19 February 1941, Page 5

TEN YEARS AFTER

CHANGES AT MATATA

(By O. Hope)

As we travelled into Matata I was able to note the remarkable transfo rmation that had taken place since 1941. "I alwaj-s vised to consider that Matata was a village with an interesting past and no present and future," I remarked to my guide. "It was; I remember, a collection of a few houses overlooking a lot of sand and lagoon, with the steep hills and swamps of the Tarawera River in the [ background." 1 And now after 10 years that is altered. The swamps have been pumped dry, the river stop-banked, the lagoon has been reclaimed, and the sandhills planted in trees. "Flat land is too valuable in New Zealand in tliesa days to be allowed to stay in swanips and lagoons," remarked my guide. "The population has increased by half a million as you know since the war, and of course a big proportion of the immigrants had to be absorbed in land development and settlement. And no where was there guch scope for bringing idle land, into intensive production as on the outskirts of the Rangitaiki Plains. It was a big undertaking to confine the Tarawera River between big stopbanks like the levels along the Mississippi River. However that was done with the aid of machinery imported from America, and now the flats> over which the floodwaters used to spill can be kept dry by pumping.

I called to mind that in the years before the war some settlers on the Rangitaiki had shewn enterprise by installing electrically operated pumps to keep their land free of water in the wet season. "There has been a great development of that idea in recent years," said my friend, "especially since electricity became so much cheaper. The new hydro-electric undertakings have enabled a much greater use to be made of electric power for land drainage purposes." The town of Matata was a cleanlooking place with hundreds of new buildings. I was told that it had become 'popular as a holiday resoit and a place of residence for retired people, much as O'hope used to be in earlier times. People who- thought other seaside townships were becoming too noisy had built homes, at Matata, where they were able to enjoy a mild climate beside the sea and protected by the hills from the cold south wind. They were certainly able to achieve their object of getting away "from the madding crowd" and all the noise and commotion associated with seaside suburbs of large towns. Wonderful Water Supply. One reason for the intensive cultivation all over the Rangitaiki Plains, I was told, was the wonderful water supply system. Water from the Rangitaiki River above Te Teko was led off in big pipes and distributed by gravitation along every road throughout the 100,000 or so scree. This even land which I had known 10 years ago \to resemble the wilderness was now — jn this year of grace 1951 —blossoming as the rose. "They are pretty liberal with the water here," said my guide. "It is not like in the towns where they won't let you hose your garden. Settlers here are encouraged to use as much water as possible for crops and live stock.'' I recalled that in 1941 there had been a beginning of this idea of getting water for farms from the Rangitaiki, but only those farmers close to the river could do so, and they used to complain that the cost of pumping by electricity and of laying pipes was "a bit hot." To this my Iriend replied that pumping water was always costly, and so the Rangitaiki Water Board had been set up to install a gravity supply. The people who had already invested money in pumps and pipes had to be pacified and compensated, but now everyone had more water than they wanted at a low annual cost. "It seems strange," I said, "that all this fuss has been made over watering the Plains. Why I remember the time when the Plains was a swamp—and all under water in winter. The local paper used to boost up the drainage work with the, caption 'Rolling Back the Waters.' And now you say the waters are rolling hack the other way in 'water mains!" Paying For It All " One thinrf T wanted to kno^^a' (Continued f nrevinus:

as to who was paying for all these wonderful improvements of the last ten years. "I know the borough and county - had big loan indebtedness in the old lays t " I said, "and people used to grumble when they got their demands for rates and taxes. So what is the position now?" To this my friend replied; that it was quite: evident that in my stay overseas 1 had not kept abreast with events in New Zealand. He put it this .way: "A people who could" overthrow Hitler and Mussolini ought to be able to solve the problem of bovsr to make this land one fit for heroes live in." I was relieved to his mc-e that all this wo had not carried out with b-vewed mo-'sy, herwise there ' have a "debt or n Plains h'3lfc* - MC Edgeon >e. -