THE WEST COAST OF TO-DAY

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2159, 27 May 1914, Page 11

THE WEST COAST OF TO-DAY

©REAT changes are taking place to-day on the West Coast. For years the old alluvial' diggings have been gradually petering out, iintif'jiow tho concerns of any consequence can almost bo counted on the fingers of one's hands. Tho aged pioneers of the roaring sixties still remain scattered hero and there over the land, but around them is growing lip a new generation that thinks not overmuch of gold.

years, as witness the following from the "Grey River Argus" of March 3, 1894: "Yesterday a deputation, consisting of. His Worship.. the Major, Messrs. Guinness, Boyd, W. C. Smith, 11. U. Forsyth, and the Hon. Mr. Kurr, waited on the Post-master-General in reference to obtaining a daily service from Springfield, to Greymouth. Mr. Guinness . and the Mayor explained how easily their request might be arranged and carried out. The PostmasterUoneral, after hearing all that had been urged in support of the request, said he saw no difficulty in . arranging for a daily service. However, he would not definitely promise, but.would look into tlie matter during the- next week or ten days; and he had no doubt that he would bo abte to make such arrangements as would provo satisfactory i to the town and the convenience of the general public." ■' \The difficulties in tho way of a daily service are now very much less than they were in 1894. No extra coaches are needed, as" on three days each week the whole- coaching plant stands idle. On-tho Coast side trains run" from Greymouth to Otira every day, and.only a rearrangement of the time-table, it is'c'bntended by the advocates of'the daily, service,' is needed to make.the connection. A train runs every day from Christchurch to Springfield, and the only , extra Railway mileage would bo that caused by running over the section . from , Springfield to Bealey Flat, the" new' terminus. The Minister for Railways was approached on the matter on his recent visit to the Grey, and if the Government finds it possible "to give, the daily service it will certainly.earn the lasting gratitude of business men all over the coast.

North of tho Grey Eiver the coal mines will remain for very many years the principal mainstay of the country, and as access is provided it is more than probable that largo' now areas of coalbearing land will be opened up. K In Westland- propor, however,' one hears nowadays always of dairying, and on the Hokitika flats tho milk pail has replaced the prospecting pan of bygone days. Hokitika, for instance, which blossomed into being almost-in a night, flourished exceedingly,, and then sank gradually into a state of decay, has latterly mado a marked revival, and is now the commercial centre of a farming community that is each year becoming more solid and progressive.'. •

Too littlo is known by most New Zealanders of this long, wonderful stretch of country hidden away between .the Southern Alps and tho Tasman Sea. No other part of tho Dominion offers such a diversity of interest. Teeming with mineral wealth, thero is.to-day ■ etill much .of tho country of which very little is kiiown, ■ and where only the < most cuisory prospecting has been .done. The most profitable gold mine in New Zealand is to be found hero, and the visitor may descend to the.deepest mine work-, ings in tho Dominion at Reef ton. At Denniston and Millerton ho can inspect tho largest colliery in..New Zealand, and one of the largest in tho Southern Hemisphere. If his interests lie that waj; ho i will find much good dairying country in course of development, and 'will 'find that farming land on tho ccast is probably cheaper than to be obtained anywhere ijth'o qjjtjfttry. Near Hokitika" can be feen-'tho largest modern sawmilling plant in New Zealand. Some brief account 'of the varied industries, and resources of the Coast, tho making of its harbours, and the,rise and progress of its towns, will bo found scattered through these pages.

Each of the coastal centres has its own set of problems. That of Westport centres'around the development of tlie waste pakihi flats, near the town. If some method could bo found of fetching thoso into profitable use tho district would benefit immensely. .The town also noeds overland communication with the prosperous farming .district' of Karamea; to tho north. Westport depends too niuch on one source.for its prosperity,'. and badly needs , an agricultural'hinterland. Tho Harbour Board derives huge suras annually from the present railway line, and to the outsider it would seem an excellent ides to devote somo of this money to extending the line to the rural districts of Littlo Wanganui and Karamea. Elsewhere will bo found reference to.the benefits which Westport strongly contends will follow on the completion of the railway up the Buller River to luangahua:

Nowhere elso in the Dominion is to be found the samo range of magnificent scenery, and tho holiday-maker, who visits tho West Coast at the right season of the year leaves it'with regret. Tho grandeur of the- Buller will always remain in tho memory of thoso who have followed tho course , of that noble stream;, and.the shcer-wallod ravine,of tlio Ofcira is not a thing to bo forgotten. Far in the south is the Franz Josef Glacier, reached after a seventy-milo coach drive by river, lake, and mountain. Tlio glacier is'tho lowest and one of tho largest in New/Zealand, and the accommodation-house near it can bo mado the starting-point for many interesting excursions, tffho journey from Eoss to tho glacier can be mado in a day in th-o summer time} aud, if epeoial arrangements are made, the distance from Cliristehurch to Franz Josef can be covered in two days. Those who like a holiday with some flavour of adventure in it, should find a journey through South Westland and over the Haast Saddle to'Lako Wanaka to their taste. On this route one says good-bye to telegraphs,, and dray roads, and jogs on by beach and bridle track for about a, hundred and fifty miles through the heart of the baclesfc of New Zealand's back country. , From tho point of view of tho tourist who is content to gaze at mountain tops from a distance, the Southern Alps present b far grander spectacle on tbe West Coast side than when approached from Canterbury. The ranges are clad in bush, almost tip to the snow line, and on tho coach roads and bridlo tracks are eeen through vistas of greenery. [f the Alps are tho charm of Westland, they are also its handicap, for the long mountain wall ■has shut the promiso off from the general stream of life through the Dominion. In four*or .five years' time it is expected io havo the big tunnel pierced through the ranges to Canterbury, ana groat things aro then hoped for. In tbe meantime the business people .'of the Coast hold that they aro entitled at least to daily communication with the rest of the Dominion, and ask that the connoction with Christchurch should bo made on six days a week instead of on three, as at presont. If fair words had been followed by deeds the servico would have been established twenty

Hokitika' is not seeking railways —not just at ■ present. "What sho wants to-day is" before all. a bridge across the Mikonui River, which bars tho main south road jjist below Ross,, and another across tho Little Waitaha. ■ With these rivers bridged, it woidd be possible to run a. through motor service and develop the tourist resorts of South,Westland, and, what is more to the point, to push ahead the settlement of the big dairying districhof the south, and maybe , run a motoi lorry service down. The casual' traveller on the Coast frequently takes away a totally wrong impression of the'prospects of the country. He remembers that fifty yean ago this was one of tho El Dorados of the Southern Hemisphere; that townships sprang into being almost over liigbt filled , with hardy and adventurous men gathered from tho four corners • of the eeas; and that in after years the. old fields have been one by one deserted. As in every .other country where thero havo been rich alluvial diggings, tho remains of old mining townships lie scattered over the land. To the casual visitor musing amid tho ruins of these, the impression is often one of decay. He sees bearded veterans of the early days still maintaining a precarious existence by fossicking on tho old fields, but in his hurried tour from point to point he probably gains littlo idea of the work that a new generation is doing in building up tho country's more permanent sources of, wealth. ■■. | Finally, it should be stated, in justice to the West Coast, that its climate has been grossly maligned. It does rain thero certainly, but when it is fine its weather is as near perfection as one could wish for. The rainfall, which averages 112 inches per annum in Westland, falls largely at night. Tlie fall though heavy and thorough, does not last, and thero is littlo of the longcontinued drizzle from the south experienced on the other side of the island.

Its Prospects and Resources.