"A RED LETTER DAY"

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2207, 21 July 1914, Page 6

"A RED LETTER DAY"

MARTINBOROUGH RAILWAY

TURNING FIRST SOD

PROMISE WHICH WAS KEPT

RESOURCES OF THE DISTRICT

The first sod of the Featherston-Mar-fcinborough railway-was turned at tinborough yesterday by the Hon. W. ! Eraser, Minister of Public Works. Agitation for this short length of branch railway has been vigorous and continuous for about nine years, and tho first manifestation of the fulfilment of the promise' made by the Government- last year was made the occasion of some rejoicing in the neighbourhood. Probably, it was the greatest day the little town has ever known. A brave display of bunting was made in the streets, and such a crowd of residents of the surrounding district and .visitors had come into town—lho largest Marttnborough has ever known—that it -was evident the event was regarded as a most important one, holding promise of future progress and prosperity for the district. Although the total population of the town is only some 600, the assemblage at the ceremony in the afternoon must have numbered at least 1000. The railway which is to be buitt; traverses easy country for about the whole distance of 10 miles 50 chains between- the two terminal points. The only engineering difficulties, if indeed they may be called such, will be a sidling cutting from the top of a steep ridge down to the Ruamabunga Plat ou tie Fe-atherston side, and a couple of bridges. All the rest of the construction -work will be very light. The fertility of the district 'is self-evident to the most casual observer, and statistics which have been frequently quoted prove it beyond all manner of doubt. Martinborough, as tho centre of the very best of _ the district, as a thriving progressive little town, showing evidences in its generally prosperous appearance and in its substantial buildings of both-public and. private enterprise. Although it is comparatively a small place it nas a water supply and an electric light service. -" • . '

The Festivities. ! ' Tho Hon. W. Fraser left Wellingto.. by the niorhing train for-IFeatherston, accompanied by a party of ten members of Parliament, and Sir' , Walter Buchanan, the member for the district, with a number of other settlers,, met the visitors with motor-cars. ...llie party were, driven out to Martinborougli by . tho old road, which is ■• near to the nagged, route of the railway, and the line was pointed out to the-Minister on the way. Arrived at Martinborougli the Minister and'the other' Parliamentarians were entertained at luncheon by the Railway League. After lunch they were driven out. some miles to viewseme of the country beyond,:and at 1.30 p.m. they, all repaired to the spot;.on tho outskirts of the town where in tlio'.middle.'of a little roped enclosure stood a neatly-made and properly-in-ficribed > wheelbarrow, . and a busines'sliku spade, the tools for the cutting and turning of the first sod. This' barrow and spade the Minister, at the request of the Martinborough school children, presented to the school. '

On tlje way out to Martinborougli the Minister was driven out to the Tauherinikau racecourse, by way of the beautiful members' drive through the native bush. Tho Racing Club are asking to have a short branch line from the new railway made to lead into.the course enclosure.

Mr! A.\D. M'Leod,- chairman of the County' Council, and presicjejjt of the 'Railway. League, presided at fche ceremony. He read a number of.telegrams congratulating the district on its. good fcrtuno from Mr.' J. P. Luke (Mayor of Wellington), Mr. W. E. Bidwcll, and the Masterton Chamber of Commerce.

A Proud Record, Mr. John Martin, acting-chairman of the Maryborough Town Board, ex-tended-a hearty welcome to the Minister and the visiting members of Parliament. By way of personal reminiscence, he -said that the Martinborough Estate, which had contained about fifty square miles had been cut up about thirty years ago by his father. , The population of the area then was about, ono to tho square mile, and the valuation £90,000. " Now the valuation was £350,000, .and the population about twenty to the square mile, or about double the average density of population for the whole Dominion. Surely r.o other district for so many years cut off from railway communication, could show-auoh a record of progress, and. of course, tho' railway now to be laid would servo a very largo district outside of that comprised originally in the Martinborough Estate, and all of it was capable of being much more closely settled than it was. now. He hoped that t.he construction of the railway would he pushed on to an early-completion, and he felt sure that it was a work that would redound to the credit of Parliament, and that would be of a lasting benefit'to the district. ■.. .'

Mr. J. • AV. Card, chairman, .of the Fcatherston Town. Board, extending congratulations to the Railway League and the people of Maryborough, said that Featherston also hoped to derive benefit from the lino.

Mr. M. D. Hornsby, Mayor of Carterton; extended congratulations on behalf of .the people of his town; "Quothing the building of this .Jine'is 'going to, do," he said. "It will throw so niuch more traffic on to-the.main lino that the line will be congested, and the Government will have to go on with the deviation, and that will be- a very good thing for ns. all."

Slow to Promise. Mr. A. D. M'Leod, president of'the Railway League, said the occasion marked a red letter day in the history of the township. It was about nine years since'the first move was made to ■liavfta railway conneotion made bewteen Martinborough and Featherston. Various Government had made promises, but the present Government had kept its promise. Had the promises made in the past been kept they would now be celebrating tho opening of the railway, instead of the turning of the first sod. Of air the Ministers he had approached, Mr. Fraser had been tlie slowest to make' a promise, and had made no promise until he had investigated the possibilities of the district. But the promise, once made, was followed up by the placing of a voto of £5000 on the Estimates, and now by l the turning of the first sod of-the railwny. He hoped; that next year a much larger sum would appear on. the Estimates, as an earnest, that the Minister believed, as they all believed what the lino would be a paying proposition, and that it ought to be proceeded with.

Wairarapa Sheep Figures. Sir Walter Buc'lyman, referring to the good work done by the Raijwny League in their endeavour to secure justice-to tho district, said that the railway was not "a political railway." He was not going to refer to railways which were in his opjiiion political railways, except to say that the present Government had not authorised any that might be so called. The first sod had been, put lately of a little railway in Auckland district which was alleged to be a political railway, but it would pay "from tho jump." The Minister for Public Works had ako turned the.

first sod of the Opunnke railway, a lino which should have been years ago numbor ono for the whole Dominion. The Postmaster-General had turned the first; sod of tho Waiau railway, another line which should have been built long ago. And.he ventured to say of tho Martinborough railway that tho Government were fully justified in putting a handsome sum on the Estimates for the work, in order that the money spent might bo made remunerative in as short a time as possible. (Applause.) Bβgardmg the resources of the district he would make reference only to one or two prefcnant facts. In the whole of the Wairarapa' district there were two million sheep., and from Peatherston, the present outlet for JtarUnborough, had been trucked for many years a larger number of sheep than from any other raihyay station in the whole of the Dominion. The sheep summary for Now Zealand showed that the total flocks numbered about 24,000,000, and the number of sheep and lambs exported Jast year was 5,800,000, or about 25 per cent, of the total flocks. Wairarapa beat that easily. From Wairarapa they exported 33 per cent, of their flocks every year. They had also the dairying industry, an industry. that would progress in the district by leaps and bounds. After Fourteen Years. One other fact he would bring under the notice of tho Minister—that in tjio province of Wellington was one-fifth of the total , population of the whole Dominion. They wero entitled to their fair share of expenditure in Wellington district, and not one shilling of public money had been voted by Parliament for the past 14 years (until last.year) for expenditure'on railways in Wellington. He was sure he need say no more- to show that Wellington people had not had their turn., They had had an innings, a good many years ago, but they'had stood aside for all those 14 years. Hβ was sure that the Minister would recognise that justice was due to them, and that if Parliament gave him the money there would be no delay in the construction of the railway. Hβ hoped that Mr. Fraser would still be the Minister .of Public Works to come to Maryborough to open the railway when it was finished. (Applause.) ' ■

A Line that will Pay. Mr. Fraser said ho felt-, a proud man to have the opportunity of turning the first sod of the railway. His only regret was- that the Prime Minister had not been.able, to leave Wellington to perform the ceremony. No words of his were necessary to advertise the capabilities of the district. .It was one of the most fertile districts he had seen in the whole of the Dominion. Regarding the railway that was to be'built,"he wished to say only this: that if he had not felt sure that the line would be a paying one he would not be. turning the first sod of it. Sir Walter Buchanan hud spoken of tho resources of Now Zealand. They all knew that New Zealand was as a drop in-the ocean by comparison in area with other countries' exporting sheep,-but yet New Zealand sent to London two : fifths of all the fat lambs reaching that market. These wero wonderful figures, and it must not be imagined that New Zealand had reached its limit. In the Wairarapa there were possibilities of even greater production, and in many parts of the North Island he had , been struck* with the fact that tho surface of the country had only'been ssratchcd. Our present population of a million was as nothing to that which this country was sure to carry in the next 25 years, and a great deal of the development would be in the North Island. This progress could some about only if a vigorous policy were followed in constructing roads and bridges and railways, for it New Zealand producers were to compete in tho markets of the world they must get their produce down to the ports at a reasonable rate. These facilities could be provided, but not all at once. He intended to push on the Martihborough line ( as fast as he could with the resources it his command, and the sooner it was finished the better pleased he would be. The line could bb built very cheaply, and he hoped to push on the construction, along with that of other good lines that had been mentioned in Auckland,. Taranaki, and Canterbury. The chief credit for the commencement of the lino was, he said, due to Sir Walter Buchanan, who had been untiring in his persistence in ing the importance of it.

Then, having cut, a substantial symmetrical sod and placed l it in the wheelbarrow, ho declared amidst applause that , it had been "well and truly cut and turned."

.All the members of Parliament present, Messrs. A. S. Malcolm, H. J. H. Okoy, 11. M'Callutn, G. It. Sykes, G. A M. Thomson, J. H. Bradney, G. J. Anderson, A. Harris, F. H. Smith, and T. W. Rhodes, said a-word or two fitting to the occasion, and Mr. M'Leod presented to Sir. Fraspr, as a memento of the event, a miniaturo silver spade. Cheers wero given for the Minister, for the members of Parliament; for Sir Walter Buchanan, and for Mr. M'Leod.