A TRIP ON THE TUAPEKA RAILWAY.

Evening Star, Issue 4291, 27 November 1876, Page 4

A TRIP ON THE TUAPEKA RAILWAY.

On Saturday* Messrs .Morrison, Nicholl, aad Co.,' the contractors for the Round Hill ' section of-the Tuapeka railway, invited some of the officials of the Public Works Department, the representative men of the Tuapeka district, and a few friends to witness the completion of their contract. The visitors from • sing Mr Blair, District Engineer ; Mr ÜBher, C.E. ; Mr J. 0. Brown, M.H.R. ; Mr Docherty, of Lawrence; and the Press representatives left town by the seven a.m. train. At Clarksville, one of the long Carriages was detached, and coupled to the contractors' engine, which had been neatly featooned. The party had now been joined. by Mr Dartnell, the resident engineer and his lady, Mr M'Millan, inspector of works, and Mr P. S. Nicholls, of the. 'Bruce Herald.' A pleasant run of an hour (including a long stoppage at Manuka Creek for water and to shunt some ballast trucks) and the Lawrence end of the Round Hill tunnel, f tiie end of pur journey, was reached. After Mutual congratulatiens and waiting fer the arrival of some of the notables from Lawrence, the practical business of the day was commenced. A truck waa run to the end of the tunnel, and a stage'of sleepers erected on it. Thereon, shortly after noon, Mr Blair took his stand , and-invited Wr J. C. Brown to undertake a small duty, and with coat off and sleeves turned up that gentleman accepted the position, " fixing" the brick in such a manner as to extort from his colleague the observation that although he knew he was a good " pitcher," He had no idea he was capable of such excellence as a bricklayer. The little .ceremony was preceded by a couple of speeches. Mr W. N. Blair said : It is usual that in Carrying out undertakings of this kind the first and last acts should be performed by aome important man. I think,this is the most important work ever undertaken in the district, and the fittest man to place the keystone in this arch and so complete the tunnel is the worthy representative of the district in Parliament, Mr J. U. Brown. I therefore take it upon myself to request Mr Brown to put in the last, brick in the tunnel, and to declare the work truly completed. Mr BnewK, having put in its place in the reof of the tunnel the last brick required to finish the work, said : Gentlemen, wo have •Inaugurated to-day a work that I am sure will be a lasting one, and which I believe to be as substantial a work as has yet been undertaken in New Zealand. This pleasing result is due mainly to the engineers and. contractors, and great credit is also due to the workmen. - I may say that on two occasions .during the progress of the work I examined the tunnel, and the difficulties of the undertaking'appeared to be so great that I had great doubt as to whether it would ever be completed. However, thanks to the skill of the engineers, the firmness of the contractors, and the pluck of the men, we now see it brought to completion. I will now conclude by declaring the tunnel well and tnly built. Three hearty cheers proclaimed the successful completion of what has been the most difficult piece of work in connection with the line, and which hitherto has proved a severe obstacle to its energetic prosecution. More than one account of the tunnel having appeared in these columns since the commencement of the work, it is not necessary for us now to give any detailed description of it; and we content ourselves by recording the unanimous opinion of those who carefully and minutely inspected it, and whose judgment may be relied on—viz., that it is one of the best executed pieces of railway work in the Colony. The inspection over, the company, which had been largely increased by arrivals from Lawrence, Waitahuna, &c, was asked to partake of the hospitality of Mr Morrison, who had provided in the tunnel—the cool atmosphere of which was a great relief from the almost

overpowering heat outside—a really subv stantial luncheon, to which it need hardly be said full justice was done. A trolly served as the banquetting table, which was truly loaded • with good things. A sleeper placed across the rails did duty as the chair, into which. Mr Bastings was installed, and there acquitted himself in a way. that quite justified the choice. Among those by whom he was surrounded we noticed Mr Warden Oarew, Mr Fraer, Mayor of Lawrence, Mr WilliamsoD, of the Bank of New Zealand, Mr Higgins, of Waitanuna, and.Mr John Stables. After giving the usual loyal toasts, the following speeches were made:— The Chairman then Eaid he had a toast to propose, -which he was sure would bo welcomed. The toast was-*-" Prosperity to the Lawrence Railway." Hewasßurethereßtilts of the railway wou'd fully realise the prognostications of those who advocated its construction. He was sure that it would prove a financial -success,, and that it would open up the interior • of- the country. He thought it would have displayed greater wisdom on the part of the Government if they had directed their efforts to making line* that would open up the interior of the country instead of constructing railways along the seaboard. " So 'far as the specifications and work on this line were concerned, he was nepared to'say that It was the* best constructed railway in New Zealand. Mr J. C. BaowH: said he had a toast to propose, which he thought was very apropos on the occasion Of the completion of a work which they all admitted to be a great engineering feat. Tho loast was—- - The. Engineers and Contractors." He thought in proposing the toast, he might also say that great credit was dne to the workmen for" their pluck and perseverance in carrying out a work so dangerous in characteras this tunnel. It wasalsohighly creditable to the contractorfj-rwho previously had no experience in carrying out such works, except in mining —• to have undertaken and successfully earned out the construction of the tunnel. It appeared to him that the engineers and contractors must have worked together very amicably, as he was sure they would not otherwise" hove been assembled oh the present occasion to "celebrate the completion of the work. As showing the progress made in a short time in this country he might tell them that he remembered leaving Dunedin on cne occasion in C.ibb's coach, driven by an experienced whip, the late Mr George Langley, and it took them exactly twenty-four hours to reach Gabriel's Gully. Now; in about three months, they would be able to fet through from Dunedin to Lawrence in four curt. Mr Blair, in responding, said there were only two occasiens on which he made a speech—at the commencement of a line of railway and at the completion of the line. On.the present occasion they were only half-way, and so ho was called upon to make a speech not usually on his programme. He Would, therefore, cut it very short indeed, merely thanking! them for the cordial manner in which they; had received the, toas*;:: In acknowledging the-.compliment paid to the engineers i-y Mr Brown, he must transfer his. share of it to Mr Darnell, who had immediate charge of the tunnel. There was also his assistant, Mr Vickermnn, and the inspectors, MessrsM'Millan and Fraser. These i gentlemen: never left the tunnel while it was in progress, and to them its successful completion is very largely due. He would also return his best thanks to Mr Morrison for the faithful manner In which he had carried out the work. There were often differences of opinion between them, but on the whole they had agreed wonderfully: we 11, and were the best of friends to the end. No matter how much they differed during the progress of the work, their efforts always tended "towards its compietion. Mr Mobbibos, in replying on behalf of the contractors,; said he vns very glad to sea Bo many present on. this occasion., f n fact he jwarabout to say that it was the happiest moment in his life. Having completed a work that caused him a great deal of onilety "and" trouMe during its progress, ho thought it was the proper thing to do to call to sether5 ether some nee in whom the public has conflence in order that theytmijbt inspect the tunnel and be able to say whether or pot it was a good substantial work, and whether or not it would be saff for people, to travel through. He thought that if he public "opinion to visit and inspect the tunnel, aud give their opinion upon it, it would be assort of jfunmntee that it was safe for the public" id travel through it. He did not think there was a great deal of credit due to him personally for carrying out the work. The credit' was to the,.workmen. and to tli* Jgr*at zeal and ability of his manager, Mr He. was very favorably circumstanced when he commenced the work | jo being able to secure the services of men who had

been employed at the Chain Hills tunnel, and who had expsrience of thg same kind of-work. There was a great deal of anxiety and danger attached to the work of forming the tunnel, but the experience of the men prevented any serious casualty or mishap. 'With regard to their connection with the Public Works office, he must say that he had experienced a great deal of courtesy nud assistance from Mr Blair.jMr Dartnell, Mr M'Millau, and Mr Fraser. Tiieso were the in n who bad been constantly at the work. Mr Fraser bad been in the tunnel for 24 hours at a stretch, hardly leaving it except for food. That had happened not once, but on many occasions. He had himself ev<-ry confidence in the work, and he hoped tuo representatives of the people would take homo to tho people of Lawrenre an opinion as to whether or not tiiey considered the woik w;is substantial.

Mr Morrisok propos-ed. tho healths of the members for the district in the General Assembly. He said tho " members," because under the new order of things Mr Basting's distriot, Waikaia, was brought within the County of Tuapeka. It was a very pleasant thing for him to propose the hia'ths of two such men as Mr Brow; and Mr Bastings, who had been identified with the interests of the district for so long a time, Mr Brown had been their member for many years, and they might look upon him as the originator of this railway to Lawrenee. If he was not the originator of it, at any rate ho was the man who moved in the mntter, and brought the matter publicly before the New Zealand Parliament. He had always done his utmost for the completion of the work. Mr Bastings they all knew, and he need not any one word more on the subject. Mr Browk, in responding, thanked them for the reception given to the toast, and could only say that to his mind he had not done sufficient for the district. However, with regard to this lino he might, perhaps, take a little credit to himself for having first brought it forward axd pressed it upon the attention of Parliament. Still, he had not urged it more than it w.ib his duty to do. He believed it would be found to bo one of the best formed railways in New Zealand. He quite agreed with what Mr-Bastings had said with regard to the desirability of making lailways to open np the interior of the country. In order to promote the successful settlement of the country, what they should endeavor to effect was to bring the interior of the country as near as possible to the sea-i'oris. Unless they bad a prosperous interior, they could not hnve prosperous towns. He was very well pleased, to see that tho line had progressed so far towards completion. Although of course they were all anxious to see it completed at nn eariier period, it could not be forgotten thav. difficulties ninst always arise iu the carrying out of a work of this nature. He felt certain that this railway would fulfil till the promises that had been made in its favor. With regard to his position as a member, he could say that he had always enjoyed tho heartiest co-operation of his constihton'a in'his efforts to forward their interests. Mr Bastings had been a colleague of his in the Council, auu t u;y hud on uiaay occasions fought together oud fonglit on different sides. But'ne had no doubt they always advrcited what they thought was right and was for the best interests of the district.

Mr Bastings said it was scarcely necessary for hitu to make any remarks oil the subject, as what conld be said had been well and ably said by his late colleague, Mr Brown. In fact he was at a loss to know why Sir Morrison had coupled his name with the district. Although Tuapeka was a good district, he had the honor to represent a district of far more importance—the neighboring district of Waikaia.—(Laughter.) But he thought that no matter what district a public man represented, it was not right that lie should confine his abilities or assistance to the locality which he immediately represents. When Mr Brown was talking about the progress made wt'un a very short time in-this district, he was thinkiug about the' very same thing. When he first came to the district it was also under the guidance of that famous whip, the late Mr George Langley. He left Dunedin at flvo o'clock in tho morning, nud with great difficulty the coach reached Lawrence at twelve o'clock at night. That showed the great progress they had made, and whicli he hoped they would continue to make. Some people seemed to think that the late or even present prosperity of the country wrs about to pass away because the large amount of money borrowed for ihs construction of public works was expended. His own opinion was very different indeed. He held the opinion that they had only seen the beginning of tho prosperity of New Zealand. He believed that the Colony had much more vitality than it was generally given credit for. They had a far larger area of srood land that would support popn'ation thau tha peop'e who were administering the affairs of tho couutry were aware of. In the district he represented—in fact between Tuapeka and Long Ford—they had .lufficieut country on which to settle a million of people on small pastoral runs, if proper facilities were off srerl to the people. He hoped that whatever agitation took place in the country, it would he in the direction of enabling 'the people to acquire the lands of the country, so that th-y might see many people fettled on the lands, and nanny homesteads springing up in every direction. He believed that if that were kept in view, insfead of being at the height of their prosperity at the present time, they would prove to be only at the commencemeut of it. He very much regretted that the Upper Houso in Wellington thought fit in its wisdom—and the Legislative Count il was wise in the action taken, because the proposal alfccted their breeches pockets—tecut out of tho Wasto Landa Bill, introduced last session that portion of it which had for its object the' cutting up of tho large runs, in order to settle the people upon email pastoial run 3. He maintained that it would be the duty of all men livinm the country, and having an interest in bringing up 'heir childreu in the country to see that during nest session of Parliament those clauses wore re-introduced into the Land Act, and to foice upon the Upper House tho absolute necessity, if the country is to be settled <.f re-insertingtbi.se clause <. If this wore done their prosperity wan not at an end, lint had only commenced j and whore now one man occupied GO <X>O or 70,000 acres they would have thirty or forty growing families.—(Applause.) He did not intend to enter any further into political matters, because Eerharsthis was not the place or the nccis'ion •' but e never lost au opportunity of publicly or' pvi vately bringing this matter before tho people of the country. •He did not intend to enter into the ques ion of Proviucialism or Centralism but ho wished to sny that the people now had a Conuty system under which they would have t-> live, and whatever defects there might be in tho Act it was no use going against it, and it was their duty to makeitwoik as well as they possdfoly could He believed that if they took care to elect food men to represent them in the County Councils they would have their local affairs well managed and would have roads made in the interior of the Tuapeka and Waiki ia districts, which would not be made for many years under the old system. He had always been, and still was a strong advocate of the County system. But he was prepared to admit that he saw many abuses in the Government at Wellington, which he thought it would be his iluty if he contiuued to take part in the public affairs of the country to endeavor to have reformed Rut while thero was a large amount of reform ntcesaary at Wellington, at the same time he thought that as far as the interior of the Province was concerned if they utilised the measure they now had and worked it properly, it would prove to beagivt benefit. He would conclude by thanking them f-,r the manner in which they had received the toast. The Chaii-.man said there was another taist which through an oversight he had neglected to propose earlier. It gave him a great ainoim! of pleasure to witness the magnanimous manner iu which Mr Blair, as head of the Public Works Department in this part of NewZealaul, gave credit to tho.ve under him for carrying out those works He could only reiterate everything that Mr Blair had said with respect to Mr Dartnell and his assistants, and he did not think it would be right to (att without drinking the healths of those gentlemen. a

Mr Blam, in proposing " Success to Ln.wrence," said he had always looked upon that town-os the centre of the goldfields, which should be reached as early as possible by railway communication. If the Mayor only pi omised to come down liberally he would promise visitors from Dunedin should go' to Lawrence by rail by the end of January.— (Applause). Mr FitiEit, in reply, said if Mr Blair fulfilled his promise, he would undertake, on behalf of the people of Lawrenee.to give him and all visitors from Dunedin a most heat ty reception. He was more satisfied, after what had taken place that day, that it would not be long before they had the railway to Lawrence. He had not been so long resident in, or so intimately connected with the politics of Lawrence as Messrs Bastings and Brown had been, but since he had lived there he had lent the weight of what influence he possessed to push on the works, and when it was being discussed whether communication with the goldfields should be by way of Palmerston and the North or by Tuapeka, he as Mayor of Cromwell, which position he then occupied, lent his official support to the movement for making Lawrence the terminus. Mr Dartnejuc, in responding, thanked them for the kindly manner in which they had received the toast. He did not expect to be called upon to say anything ou the present occasion, and he was quite satisfied with what he had heard said on behalf of himself and his assistants by Mr Blair. He was gratified that the tunn«l was carried through successfully, and he was sure they would find that it was a strong, safe, and satisfactory riece of work. It was now nearly three o'clock, and after parting with the visitors from Lawrence, .the engine was driven at a slow pace as far as the platelaying has yet gone, which is about a mile beyond the .tunnel. The run back to Tokomairiro was done under the hour, Mr M'Millan giving us a taste of the power of .the. engine by driving us, from below tho Woolshed into Tokomairiro, at thc rato of fully thirty miles an hour. A stoppage was made just after getting through the Glenore tunnel to examine a mineral spring said to have been discovered by the workmen.. We were told some wonderful stories of the curative qualities of the spring, aud after, like many others, making a veiy wry

face, were prevailed upon to accept a draught from it. It is, we believe, Mr Blair's intention, to submit the- water to Professor Black for analysis ; and for that purpose he filled a bottle from the spring. This bottle was the subject of a rather good joke on our return home. Just about dusk (and there was no light in the carriage) a fellow passenger of very good parts was induced to accept of the preferred hospitality of one of our party ; and being persuaded that we had obtained whiskey of Otago brow, was about to drink all our healths in a bumper—he had actually wished us good luck—when he discovered the sell. Beta have been made that he became acquainted with the unpalatableness of the water. This is a digression. The track, as far as it is laid, is m capital order, and is remarkable for its comparative freedom from oscillation. A four-wheeled engine is not the best of tests, but that circumstance was generally noted. This is due to the close packing of the excellent ballast used on tho line. It is obtained from below Coombes' claim, whence it comes, and there is deposited there now a sufficiency of it to ballast the main line as far as Dunedin. The engineers declare it is the finest ballast procurable in Otago. The platelaying is highly creditable to the contractors, Messrs Smyth, Wain, and Co., who are pushing on their work with such despatch that there is every reason to believe Mr Blair will be able to keep his promise of making a trip by rail to Lawrence at the end of January. At the conclusion of the lunch the chairman, at the suggestion of Mr Blair, adjourned all further proceedings to Lawrence on January 31; and we hope then to enjoy as pleasant a day's outing as was afforded those who went to the Round Hill on Saturday.