MOUNT DUNDAS

Horowhenua Chronicle, 25 September 1916, Page 2

MOUNT DUNDAS

, A NEW TRACK .SUGGESTED. Mr. 11. B. France supplies the following information and suggestions:—The uig station oil Mt. Dtindas has disappeared—probably blown away in oneof the recent gales. There have been one or two exceptionally heavy blows this winter; the instruments at the Wellington wireless station recently leco:c!jjd a wind velocity of 125 -miles an hour, which is an extraordinary wind pressure. Tin trig station on Mount Dundas was erected four <jr five years ago by the Surveys Department to replace the smaller one which was erected many years ago. and was carried up through the bush in pieces from the coast. Mr. Ben Stickles was one of the party that helped in the erection of the trig station. It was one of the usual pyramid style, built of totara scantling and planks. Tll recent years it showed the wear and tear natural "to its exposed position, the central pole being shattered by lightning, and the boards wore white and woolly and worn thin bv the storms of hail and sleet. From Levin, the tng 011 Mount iDntidas "'as a good test of eye^-ght: anyone with good eyesight could) occasionally see it in the afternoon. When the last trig station was built a track was cut through the bush to get the material through, and thus access to the mountain was made easier. When the trig is being replaced, it would be a good opportunity for the people here to go into the question of making a permanent track to the hack mountain. 1 lie track generally taken starts at the borough council's watershed bush reserve. and runs up the Ohau River for two or three miles, where there is some magnificent bush scenery but seldom visited, as it is inaccesible except by a very rough trip. The Otaki track to the Wairarapa has been used a good deal, and doubtless one from Levin would be popular also. There is an alternative route to the present rough bush track: it runs up a long spur and over Mt. Waihopehu. which would be available for a good distance by pack horses. Two small huts at intervals for shelter would make the track a peasant and safe one.