OUR TIMBER RESOURCES.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXV, Issue 2129, 11 July 1907, Page 2

OUR TIMBER RESOURCES.

(Special to Times.) AVELLINGTON, last night. The following remarks are made in a 1 arliamentary report regarding the Hawke s Bay district: “In the southern part of the Hawke s Bay district the suppiy-of milling timber. is. rapidly becoming scarce. It is estimated that in four years time there will he few if any mills working, -and already millowners are securing forest areas out.side the district. Tn tlie Poverty Bay portion, however, sawmilling is increasing, and particularly in the iilotu district. There is every prospect of the industry assuming much arger dimensions when the railway from Gisborne commences to tap the large forests existing in that locality. It has been estimated by private persons that there still remains about 900,000,000 xupbrfiicial feet of milling timber on 20,000 acres in this locality, and though this is probably* considerably i n excess of the actual amount, there is no doubt.that an extensive area is still-available for sawmilling- operations. The construction of bash railways from AVaikarenioana, AYailnrere,- and Motu, to enable timber and stone to be-pro-cured from these localities is now beni- considered bv the local bodies O' the Cook Countv.' However, in til" whole of the district th» number of mills had droutied from 61 in 1905 t- 38 :n 1906, and tho anmiaLoutput from ■ 49,151,354 ft to 40,868,118 ft for the same period. This latter includes 1,200,000 ft exported from the province. The chief - timbers.,used are rimu and, ijiatai, while the proportion of totara is steadily diminishing, being'onlv one-seventh of the total. ■