THE BACK COUNTRY AND ITS NEEDS.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1898, 5 November 1913, Page 11

THE BACK COUNTRY AND ITS NEEDS.

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AWAY out in the back country the New Zealand of to-morrow is being built. Far from railway or metalled road thousands / ' of pioneers are fighting, almost the same battlo with Nature that faced .the first-immigrants of seventy years and more ago. Out of sight, these men who are breaking tho way for the nation that is to bo are often out of mind. They are scattered and closely tied to their bush sections, and they cannot run about the country urging their claims to consideration. Yet these claims are very great, for upon the development of its unoccupied country, mainly depends the future of New Zealand and the part it 13 to play in the great drama of nations that will one day be enacted around the shores of the Pacific.

One of the stretches of back country i in which we in the southern part of' tho North Island are most immediately interested is that wedged in between, the Main Trunk and Taranaki railway lines. The country. immediately along these two railways is familiar, to most Now Zealanders. From Marton to New Plymouth rolling downs, with farm-houses dotted about them and dairy herds grazing over the rich pastures stretch away ; westward of the line to hills blue in the distance, and fringed with bush. Pioneering is obviously a thing of many years back in tho districts. one sees hero. Along tho Main Trunk line, now the great highway through this island, the scene is different, and the prospect 19 ono of dense forests reaching away to tho ranges, alternated with the raw and unbeautiful clearings that ©very , year become a more pronounced feature of the landscape. Belts of open tussock i country are also passed through and the townsman's general impression is \ that here, at anyrato,; is the end of | everything. Save for tho narrow ;' g]impso of sky and rugged hillside'to be 'obtained on the trip down the Wangafj nul River, the average Now Zealander (knows little more than this of tho vast Stretches between the two railways. Tho block of back country fed b.y the ; two lines between Marton and New Plymouth and Marton and Ongaruhe .is urider the jurisdiction of some twelve .counties, and may bo said roughly to ■ represent one-sixth of the total area of tho 'North Island. Ages ago it was at ; the..bottom of the sea, and one of the ■ trials o| those who are settled on it is , that this ancient sea-bed consists almost entirely of solidified mud. ' Stripped of, tho bush it would look, with its innumerable ridges and ralleyp, like a sea of liquid mud frozen solid at the' height of a gale.

■ The country makes excellent pasture land, but much'of it is too steep for dairying, and it is mainly to the sheep farmer ■that we must look for its development. Judging by tho estimates made by practical men of long experience in their different, districts, an average of two Sheep to the acre could be carried over the greater part of the vast area of 4$ million acres. 'At present the counties included in this stretch of countryside muster flocks of just on 900,000 sheep. At a conservative estimate tho district as a wholo should easily averago a sheep and a half to the acre. That is a heavy enough discount, and yet even to reach this .figure would moan increasing the flocks of the Dominion no less than one-half. It' needs no elaboration to realise that fifty per cent, on to our fitaplo exports of wool and mutton would bring immense possibilities with Vast New Trado. The greater part of the vast volume, of now trado that is being slowly but' surely developed in this back country must flow out through the seaports of Wellington, Wanganui, New Plymouth, Waitara, and Patea. It is only necessary to grasp this fact to understand how closely tho interests of town and jity. dwellers alike are bound up with the development of ,the hinterland between those two national highways. Aud furthermore it is necessary also to bear in mind that this is only ono of several b'ig stretches of undeveloped land in tho North Island.

Tho greatest forests in New Zealand ore being steadily converted into sawn timber along tie Main Trunk railway, and for the next twenty years sawmillwill bo the big industry in this region. Elsewhero between tho Rangitikei. and .the Mokau, 'the extent of heavily timbered country _ is not large, and what thcro is of it is so far back as to be almost inaccessible and unprofitable to work. _ Good timber is annually destroyed in the clearing of tho bush by the settlers, and though much of this waste is unavoidable, some of it might bo prevented by a more systematic opening up of the country. Tho belt of dairying country west of Ruapelm may bo said to begin on the Taranaki coast about twenty miles north of AVaitara, and runs with a gradually increasing width down towards the New Plymouth railway. West ot tho railway from Now Plymouth to Marton tie dairying land strctchcs back for from fivo to fifteen miles, and has, an avorago width, on the east of tho lino, of about seven or eight miles. On the Main Trunk lino good dairying land is found along tho valley from Marton on either hand up as far as Mataroa, a few milds beyond 'iaitiapo. I'lio greater portion _of tho « dairylug land bordering the two 'railways is, of course, old settled country. liaetilii stands in tno centre of a very promising block of dairying land, which has a radius of about ten miles east and west of tho town, and six miles north and south. This is an elevated plateau, and its height and closeness to the snows of Ruapohu mako it fairly cold in tho winter, South of Tanmarunui fchoro is also another big piece of country, about twelve miles across, luitablo for'dairying, near tho township of Piriaka, on the Main Trunk line._ A district, the progress of which is likely to bo remarkable during the next few years', is that included in the Ohura and Waitomo Counties, in the extreme north ofstho portion of tho country wo aro dealing with. Some 200,000 acres of Rood dairying land aro stated to lie in those two districts, hardly an eighth part of which is in actual productive occupation.

it is not to bo inferred from this brief bird's-oyo viow of the big West Coast liipjorland that tho land outsido tho areas specifically mentioned is worthless for dairying. This is far from being tho case, for patches of suitable land aro soattqred through almost-tho

whole of the sheep country, and even to-day small factories ore here and there in operation beyond the limits given as being suitable for dairying. Untouched Goal Deposits. The mineral wealth of this portion of the North Island is confined to coal on the Mokau and Tangarakau Rivers, iron-sand on the northern beaches of Taranaki, and the Taranaki oil, of which so much has been heard during the last few years. The Mokau coal industry is old and well-established, but the inland deposits of coal in the Ohura Valley and along the gorge of the Tangarakau River are untouched. In the Ohura one farmer on whose property there is an outcrop of coal, has kept his household supplied, and has sold a little to his neighbours. A local firm in the township is now about to draw on another outcrop for coal for glazing drainpipes, and will also probably fetch in enough to supply a coal yard. The coal in the wild and picturesque Tangarakau Gorge serves as yet only to roast, a joint and boil the billy in the roadsido camps. The coal appears generally to be a good hard lignite. Both the Ohura'and tho Tangarakau deposits are about thirty miles from the railways, over impassable roads, and until tho roading problem i 9 solved, there will be little market fori whatever coal further exploration may disclose in the vicinity.

Besides its industrial resources, this part of New Zealand possesses many attractions as a holiday ground. These are first of all the central, mountains: Ruapehu, with its coat of snow and the strange warm lake among the ice-cliffs in its crater, and its sister, Ngaruhoe,, with tho subterranean fires still smouldering below. These mountains are now easily reached from Wellington or Auckland, and are annually being visited by larger numbers of holi-day-makers. The Wanganui River trip is at present the most popular, of all the routes through the country, and is likely to remain so. Elsowhero in this issue is described the first passago of a coach over the now road from the Ohura through to Taranaki. On this highway the beautiful Tangarakau Gorge, somo fourteen miles in length, through, and tho journey can bo'recommended to all who wish to gain somo idea of an interesting stretch of country. A new tourist road is now in course of construction from Waimarino railway station to Tokaanu, and, skirting as it does the shores of beautiful Roto Aira, will 'shortly form an attractive route into tho thermal region from the south. The road will also bo a convenient approach for climbers desiring to scale Ngaruhoe. :From Waitara an interesting coach journey may be mado up the coast to TJrenui, over the .picturesque slopes of Mount Messanger, and down through Tongapotutu to tho Mokau River. From this point the road continues on to Te Ivuiti on tho Main Trunk lino. Tho trip up tho Mokau River to tho coal mines is regularly made by coastal steamers, and on it the traveller passes for twenty miles through as beautiful river scenery as can be found anywhere. Isolated Settlers. Such, in brief outline, is the country ono sees from tho slopes of (Ruapohu stretching away seventy miles west to Egmont,. and running one hundred' miles north and south from the Rangitikei to the Mohau. Ridgo after ridge and valley after valley it reaches away to the horizon. It is not mountainous country, for tho highest peaks in tho ridges are seldom much above 2000 ft., but the valleys aro often narrow and steep. Meandering through them go the innumerable streams of the papa country, a mazo of beauty where the bush still covers their gorges. If this great hinterland is one with possibilities it has also,its problems. The chief of these arises from the fact that over much of the country it is impossible to find enough stono to metal the roads. The settlers in the interior havo long stretches to traverse between their holdings and tho railways, and in winter time the journey is often _ mado over tracks, axlo deep in tho stickiest of mud. Road maintenance and Toad metalling is a matter of immense expense, and thousands and tens of thousands of pounds havo in somo cases been spent on patching roads that even now are no better than bogs. In Ohura, for instance, tho settlers have to pay £6 to £12 a ton to havo goods carted in thirty milos from the railway. The loss in horsofiesh and gear on such roads as those is extraordinarily heavy, for progress is made bv sheer main strength, with tho wheels of tho vehicles plunging first on- one side and then on the other into deep holes. Tho horses are knee-deep in tho same moss, and flounder on as best tlio.y may, laboriously drawing the wheels out of one bogholo to find them sink immediately in tho next. Tho public is calling for land for settlements, tho Lands Department is cutting up what blocks it has availablo into as many sections as they can reasonably bo made to go, and the Public Works Department is making roads to these sections. As soon as tho road is

made it ia passed over to tho local county council, which ia left with tlia burden of maintaining and metalling it —whenover it does get metalled. Thus the county councils are year by year saddled with heavier liabilities, and all have miles of road on hand which simply cannot be maintained on tho rates received from them, even when the third of tho Crown tenants', rents, TTanded over by tho Government for road; maintenance, is added. This is particularly the case when blocks in tho back districts are cut up into small farm sections of 200 acres and under. The smaller the sections arc the greater the amount of reading needed to give access to them, and, in tho opinion of many of those best qualified to judge, big mistakes have been made in the past in cutting far back-blocks into too small holdings. In numbers of cases

the Land Boarda havo found it necessary to enlarge tho size of the holdings, and when i this is done in a block miles of expensive road work is wasted, iind tho roadways turned into sheep walks.

Small Holdings Out Back. The problem is a difficult one, for tho demand all tlio timo is naturally for small holdings, and tho only available blocks of Crown lands are nowadays mostly remote from the railways. Tho lot of tho small holder awny back with his only acccss to his market over six-foot tracks and unmetalled roads is not one to bo envied. An experienced engineer with a wide acquaintance with tho cost of road formation and metalling in the papa country, gave it as his opinion recently that much of the countrv between Taranaki and tho Main Trunk never would and never could havo metalled roads. Other engineers, though not so pessimistic as this, aro firmly of opinion that tho coun-

BETWEEN the Main Trunk Railway and the New Plymouth Line lies a great triangular block of land comprising nearly one-sixth of the total area of the North Island. It is a conservative estimate to say that the development of this portion of New Zealand alone will mean an increase of fully fifty per cent, in the national export of the staple products of wool and mutton. This country is to-day an almost unknown land so far as the general public is concerned. There is but little interest in its problems and little knowledge of its possibilities. Yet in few parts of the Dominion would a .wise expenditure of public money yield so rich a return to the whole community, town and country alike. The object of this issue of " The Dominion " is to direct public attention to the great wealth that is lying dormant in the country between the two lines of railway, and to some of the more pressing of the problems confronting it. 1 mmense sums of public money have been frittered away in these districts in past years without adequate return, and immense sums will yet be wasted unless radical changes in administrative methods are made. The country cries aloud for a statesmanship that will give an underlying unity and purpose where chaos now reigns. Settlers have been lured out in by-gone days on to far-back sections by delusive promises of roads and railways not yet built. Once young and confident of the future they are now in many cases ageing and disappointed men. And the bitterness of it has often been that they have been compelled to stand by and see money enough to give all that was needed buried fathoms deep in mud. To these men the State has a distinct duty. Things can be done better, and must be done better in justice, both to the possibilities of the country and the men who have been induced to go out on the frontiers of settlement to do the solid pioneering work of to-day.

try will never bear the cost of road construction, . metalling, .and maintenance when cut up, as mucli of it has been, in 200-acre improved farm settlements. _ Twelve county councils, each working indepcndtonly of the others, are now endeavouring to solve the roading problem in this West Coast hinterland. The problem that confronts them is mainly the same, but their attitudes towards it are various and diverse. Evidenco of wasted money and waited effort is to bo found on all sides, and in going through the country 0110 hears from all quarters of the need for reform. Tho different bodies and officials are- generally doing good work so far as, the means at hand permit, but often they cramped for funds, and can do -W" moro than continue a patching and tinkering by which money goes annually with nothing to show for it after a few months.

Tho development of this stretch of

country badly needs to be treated as a wholo. The outstanding point .to bo borne in mind, in view of the extreme scarcity of road metal, skould bo to mako a minimum of roadirig serve a maximum of country. Moreover, every effort should be mado by adopting modern means of road-making to lay down roads that will last. Metalling that is laid to last naturally costs more than metal that is thrown down and left in the old style to disappear altogether in a year or two. Modern roads obviously cannot bo built up and maintained by struggling county councils. Impoverished councijs in tho first place cannot pay tho salaries demanded by.expert engineers, nor can they afford tho necessary plant for road-making. Nature's Highway. It is a singular thing that right throusrh this stretch of papa country runs the Wanganui River, the finest inland waterway in New Zealand. With such a dearth of roads one would expect to find every effort concentrated on making tho utmost uso of tho river. Yet what is tho case? Because tho river traffic has been, and is still, in the hands of a private concern, full advantage is not taken of this natural highway. Tho Wanganui Chamber of Commerce lias for somo years been concentrating its efforts on an agitation, not for the development of the river, but for a railway parallel with it to Raotihi. In Kaiticko County, where the country runs downward from tho Main Trunk lino at 2000 ft. above sea-level to the Wanganui River at 600 ft. above tho sea, all tho roatls aro being mado so that access will bo everywhere uphill to tho railway, and only in one place to the river. Everywhere tho prevailing idea_ is to bo independent of tlio river service, aJid thus what should bo a great natural artery remains comparatively neglected. From what appears elsewhere it will be obvious that the possibilities of tho Wanganui are worthy of very carefu' consideration, and it may yet be a. question whether tho State should operate the river service itself as an adjunct- to the railways Great sums of public money have been unprofitably sunk in the West Coast hinterland through a lack of unity among the different bodies, and officials working for its development. As this lack of unity still continues it is not likely that markedly better results wU bo obtained, ia tiio

than in the past. A first step to reform would bo to obtain a generial view of the district and its requirements as ;i whole. It is on© of the most important of the undeveloped portions of tho Dominion, and it is besot by exceptionally difficult problems. Settlors have been put far out all over it ou small holdings, and, after many years, are still wasting for reasonable means of access.

Commissions of inquiry haro gone into innumerable matters in Now Zealand _ with varying results, but there certainty seems to be room for a commission to-investigate the question of roading the West Coast hinterland. As a work of national importance there are comparatively few undertakings that should take precedence of the construction of serviceable arterial, roads through a block of country with such potentialities as .this.

aro said to be still standing; some havo been used for the road subsequently built, and some remain out on tracks in tho bush. A considerable body of men was employed on these. Mr. Wilson states that great difficulty was mot with in obtaining meat fbr the gangs.. The nearest sauco of supply was Tokaanu, and when the meat was brought in the flics were such a nuisance in the bush that tho only way to keep it for oven a few hours was to put it under water.

Speaking of tho settlement in the country as it was in 1884, Mr. Wilson stated that tho Raetihi Road had been formed from'the Wanganui River to where tho town now stands. Thero was one settler, Mr, Phillip Smith, living between Raetihi and Ohakune, and bo was at that time absolutely alone in the forefront of everything along the line from tho south. The two prin-