ECONOMIC VALUE

Evening Post, Volume CXXVIII, Issue 1, 1 July 1939, Page 10

ECONOMIC VALUE

RAIL SERVICES

SPEECH BY MINISTER i . ■•..-..■•■.■

(By Telegraph—Presp lseoeiation.)

WAIROA; This Day. #

"I regard this as an occasion of outstanding importance, not only"'', to Hawke's Bay, but to the whole Dominion, because the direct benefits which the new line confers^ on the . areas it serves cannot/ fail to have.^a stimulating effect upon - the trade and industry tile^Dominion/' said the Minister of Railways; in; d6l daring the service open for. .traffic.' "I am particularly happy be a member of the Government whose; decisive action has resulted in the line, being opened for traffic today, -and^ not at some nebulous date; in the,- dim and distant future, which seemed to be the destiny of the partly-completed and partly-destroyed railway prior to the present Government's accession- to Office." ••■'.■;-■:■ After briefly^ outlining the history of the line, the Minister said the. railway had been built under .difficulties unprecedented in New Zealand. After the 1931 earthquake, he said, the Government of the day abandoned the line, but the Labour Government, in accordance with its belief in the necessity,, in the public interest, of completing the principal railway ■ lines of the Dominion, determined to rebuild this damaged and abandoned railway and to proceed with the work of further construction. The Minister referred to the setback resulting from the 1938. floods, and then continued: .;•/■• "As you know, the Public Works Department builds New Zealand's railways and the Railway Department maintains and operates . them. It is not too much to say that to the Public Works Department Mr. Semple brought a new inspiration and a driving force and boldness: of conception and execution unexnmpled in the history, of Public Works administration in New Zealand. I say, all honour to him, and to his Department and staff for the good job they have done in pushing through the construction of this line in the face of the severest handicaps. In this connection I need make special reference only to the completion of the Mohaka Viaduct as an outstanding example of what New Zealand engineers and builders can do under the right leadership and when actuated 7 by motives which place public. welfare in the forefront." „ MODERN METHODS. Recalling his presence at^ the inauguration ceremony marking the official change-over from steam to electric traction on the Johnsonville line, Mr. Sullivan said that emulating that great forward step in ■ Dominion transport, from Monday next the Department would commence operating on the Napier-Wairoa line the very latest type of rail-cars, designed and built by their own engineers and craftsmen, to ensure rapid, clean, frequent, and comfortable transport for travellers on this route. , "Here you are to have these highlyefficient and popular rail-cars running twice daily in each direction between Wairoa and Napier, and then, for good measure, at the weekends, a complete rail-car run to Wellington and back," said the Minister. There will also be an adequate goods service to help the further development of your primary and secondary industries. INCREASING PRODUCTION. "One of the principal benefits the railway confers on Wairoa and the intervening districts to Napier is the opportunity it affords for increasing both primary and secondary production throughout the area it serves; More productive land, greater settlement, the creation of new markets, a more extensive interchange of commodities, and a general increase in the wealth of the whole community are among the blessings the railways bring in their wake. "That is the experience of other .districts and that will be, to an outstanding degree, the experience of northern Hawke's .Bay. And I believe that, as the line proceeds to link up with Poverty Bay, there will be a further increase in the importance of Wairoa as a productive and industrial centre." After dealing with the present Government's railway policy, Mr. Sullivan paid a tribute to the General Manager. Mr. G. H. Mackley, and 'his staff.