HAURAKI PLAINS.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 633, 9 October 1909, Page 5

HAURAKI PLAINS.

PROGRESS OF. A GREAT SCHEME. . Ah interesting paragriph in the Lands Report presented tt; Parliament yesterday deals the Hauraki or Piako Plains; .stating that excellent progress has beeii made -with tho drainago works carried;on under ,tho direction of Mr. William C. Breulcell, C'.fi. Briefly to summarise the, operations up to March. 31; 127 miles of drains have been constructed, and the work'of forming roads and .tracks -of- access is being'proceeded with. From the I'iftko lliver rdouth to its junction with ; the, \V,aitoa, all snags have been removed; for the nextthree miles the, stream has been'cleared;of logs to a width of 25 feet, and all >\villows. removed along thewhole distance.,, From the >Vaitoa River all logs have been!.removed for three miles. : The main canal, fifteen jniles.long, has been opened along its entire length'.by a drain 9ft. wide at surface, Oft. wide At blse, and Bft. deep.' Of'tho two Priestmlm dredges; pf speciSl make, imported direct from tho ,mate's, '.tine is, now at . work at the north,'or" Waitakarum ehd, ahd tho other will shortly! be; at work at the south end. Eight flobd-gites hive beeii erected,' and twenty more' are .'to' follow Two wharves have, been constructed, arid two more are under construction. Oho office, one cottage, and nine workers' dwellings haVojbeeri erbbted at .Waitakaruru, .and.. a .cookhoVise'. is'now in hand. : About -145 - nieh are now employed ,on the. works; the ..average for. March was about a hundred. The. amount, expended 1 during the. past, year was. ,£25,683, and■ the'. anlount- expended since .1006 to date is X 30,792; ,In order to prepare the land for openirijlf foi' settlement, two survey parties have commenced work, 1 and these will be further increased. It, is hoped to have 20,000 .acres offered' f6r Selection in nine months, and another 10,000 acres within si* months after.;; If the demand: for ' flax again becomos general, tho Crown, if ill be' ible to furnish a supply from a large And extending area it the lowest royalty rates; and, the waterwayfe, fbr the carriage of the preen flax being so extensive, the cost will oe ; much minimised. . . i ..' -.