RAILWAY ROUTE

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 11, Issue 20, 23 April 1947, Page 5

RAILWAY ROUTE

MOTUHORA-OPOTIKI INSPECTION FROM AIR The conviction held by many district residents that a route can be found for railway construction between Matawai and Opotiki without involving exceptionally long tunnels or steep grades has been reinforced by the results of an aerial inspection of the country lying between Gisborne and Opotiki on the general line of construction, states the Gisborne Herald.

The inspection was carried out by Mr E. Granville, a well known district surveyor, who placed his voluntary services at the disposal of Federated Farmers, Inc., and other groups which have interested themselves keenly in the prospect of railway connection with the north. The Gisborne Aero Club executive generously enabled the survey to be made by means of its Tiger Moth plane, which with its low airspeed and stability proved highly suitable for the work. Mr L. R. Renolds, the club's pilot-instructor, conducted the surveyor over the ranges and made it possible for him to observe closely the relation of various valley systems, the inspection consuming only a small proportion of time which a groundlevel inspection would have involved.

The bush-clad country covered by the preliminary survey is most inaccessible, and some of the valleys would have taken weeks to locate and survey by ordinary means. The observer was much impressed by the ease with which' the general topography of the country could be summed up from the air and he concluded from what he saw of the country that despite its formidable appearance it would provide a practicable route for railway construction which would well repay further investigation on the ground. A system* of river valleys exists on the general direction of the railway between Matawai and Opotiki which could be followed with a practical assurance of good grades and no long tunnels. This line would have the advantage that it would not interfere existing Gis-borne-Opotiki highway.

The detailed report of the observer will be made to Mr C. H. Cooper, who on behalf of Federated Farmers, Inc. has been collecting all available data on the northern rail project in the hope that it may assist the Public Works Department to clear the ground for an official and detailed ground survey of the much needed connection between Gisborne and the Bay of Plenty.

The co-operation of the Aero Club was highly appreciated, and the excursion exemplified the value of having a suitable machine available in the district for general activities in addition to club work. During the flight the observer was keenly interested in the facility with which the boundaries and characteristics of large properties could be discerned, various classes of native forest growth identified, and the sources, and. courses of streams and rivers traced. In connection with soil«conservation projects and the investigation of flooding, both as to extent and cause, the potentialities of air inspection ; should achieve their highest appreciation.