STATEMENT

Hokitika Guardian, 13 November 1919, Page 1

STATEMENT

REPORTS OF , GOVERNMENT WATER RACES.

WAIMEA-KUMAIU WATER RACES, WESTLAND. r (Mr James Rochford, Manager.) AvaimEa WATER RACE. The cash received from sales of water from this race for ; the year, ended 31st March, 1919, was £4BO 10s 9,d., and the expenditure on management, maintenance, and repairs amounted to £BO9 18s 9d., showing a debit balance of £329 8s on the year’s transactions. The average number of miners supplied water during the'year was 11.83

a decrease of. 7.17 on the previous year. The sales of water, . which only amounted to £450 4s 10d., were the smallest, for , over twenty,. years and showed a decrease ,of £250 2s 3d on the previous year, and £577 8s 4d, as.compared with the year ended 31st March, 1915, The chief cause of the falling off in tlie sales from this race was the scarcity and consequently high price of

labour, and the increased cost of mining equipment caused by the. war. The high price of labour and the increased cost of living, pressed more heavily,, on the mining industry than any other, because the miner could not passed on the increased cost of production to the purchaser of the produce of his labour, with the result that claims that were paying £4 to £5 per week prior to the war were closed down or abandoned, as they would not give the miner and his wife and family a living wa&e. The Waimea Race is the only race that commands the large areas, of, auriferous ground from Fox to Ivclly’s Terrace and Scandinavian Hill and, now the miners - .ire returning from th e front, the probabilities are that some of those areas will be developed in the near future, more ■ particularly if an active and progressive policy, of prospecting 'is to be adopted by the State.

The cash received was £232 10s 7d less than in the, previous, year, and owing to breaks the expenditure showed on increase of £72 l2s 3d. * The year was unusually wet even for the West Coast and the Waimca Siphon was running full all the time. BRANCH RACE TO CALLAGHAN’S AND MIDDLE BRANCH FLAT. The cash received for sales of water from this race for the year ended list March, 1019, was £lO3 12s lOd., ilid the expenditure on management, gauging, maintenance, and repairs amounted to £298 18s Bd., showing a debit balance of £195 os lOd on the year’s transaction. The average number of miners supplied with water from this race was 1.5, i decrease of 1,83 on the previous year. Tiie sales of Water amounted to £B2 10s 10d., a decrease of £l4 ids 2d as •oiiipared with the previous year, and die smallest ever recorded since the onipletion of the race in 1897. These decreased sales can in a great measure ie attributed to the same causes as set forth in my remarks on the Waimca Rac e—viz., scarcity of suitable labour , md the increased' cost of living and mining equipment. The Callaghan’s Race, which is, of course, totally depenlent on the Waimca Race for its supply of water, commands some of the

richest nmvorked ground in the district it Middle Branch and Callaghan’s Flat. V considerable area of known payable ground at Middle Branch has been locked up since 1915, alien tlie Inspector of Mines stopped the sluicing through the Waimea Main Tail-race owing to it being unsafe 'for men to work in. Since that time the condition of the main tail-race has be-

come much worse and at the present time it would probably take £6OO to put it in safe working-order. There is a very extensive area of ground at Callaghan's Flat that would return payable results if it were properly developed and worked on up-to-date principles. The cash received was £lO 12s 2d less than last year, and the expenditure decreased by £54 Is 10d. In addition to the cash received, £lO was written off W. Hanrahan’s account by authority of the Under Secretary.

kumara water-race. The cash received from this race for the year ended 31st March, 1919, was £l2, and the expenditure on management, gauging maintenance, and repairs, amounted to £2Ol 14s 10d., showing a debit balance of £lB9 14s lOd. on the year’s transactions.

No minors were supplied with water from this race during the year, and at the present time there does not appear any likelihood of a revival in mining taking place on the south side of the Taramakau River, the only reasonable possibility being that the lead that originally distributed the gold on Kumara field, may yet be found in McGraths area, at Upper Larrikin’s; but unfortunately, owing to the .shorage of competent mining no work has been done on this property during the past three years. The sales of water amounted to £l4

16s Bd, a decrease of £2-1 8s 4d. ns compared with the previous year. This water was supplied to the Kumnra Flaxmill ing Company for Scutching purposes;” and, although the revenue derivable from this' source at any time will not be large, it must be admitted that the company’s operations were unduly hampered by the break in the trans-Taramakau pipe-line, which stopped' stdoping operations and incidenally the whole plant for seven months

•of tile year. ' ' The cash received was £2/ os less than last year, and the expenditure decreased hy £146 4s 7d; but this expenditure ' does not include the sum of £66.- 13s Id., the gauger’s salary for four months while engaged working on the restoration of the trans-Tammakan pipe-line across Third Gully. Nearly the whole of the expenditure to tho Tvumara Race was spent on the maintenance of the section between its in-

take at the No 1 Kapitea Reservoir and the intake of the trans-Tanamakau pipe]jine. This section includes the Kiimara Head-race tunnel which i s the key of ; the whole of the Kumara trans-Tara-Siaicau water-system. The section or the Kumara race from the intake of the trans-Taramakau pipe-line to its terminus at the Kumara Borough only supplies water for scutching and fire-bri-gade purposes, hut its cost of maintenance is praeticqlly nil. (

KUMARA-TB,i&fS'-TAKAMAKAD' ;i WATER-RACE, , i Thje ii cask received for sales of water for the year ended 3|st.. March, 1919, was, £59 18s 10d., and the expenditure on gauging, maintenance, and repairs,, amounted to £327 16s 7s, showing a debit balance of £267 17s 9d on the year's,transactions. The average number of .miners supplied with water during the year was 4.16 a, decrease of 6.92 on the previous year.

The sales of water amounted to £65 16s 4d, a decrease of £73.18s 3d on the previous year. - 1 The cash received £BO 4$ id less than I last year, and the expenditure showed an increase of £2 2s Id. Tlie falling-off in the sales was caused by a break which occurred ?n the section of old 36in cast iron pipes in the trans-Taramakau pipe r line across Third Gully, which cut off the supply of water to th 0 Kumara Flax-milling Com-

party for power-development purposes, and also stopped Lawrence and party from sluicing at Quinn’s Terrace for about seven months of the year.. During the year an Otago syndicate under the management of Mr James Jackson acquired the mining rights to a large area of ground at Payne’s Qully, on the nqrth bank of the Taramakau

River. This company- lias already expended a considerable sum of money in constructing 50 chains of a water-race ivifli a carrying, capacity of 40 heads) from the Taram.akau Water-race,; tp their claims, and carrying out other preparatory work and- they should be in a position to purchase Government g water in about two months.

E RIN-G O-BIIAGH W ATE 11-lt AGE. .The cash received from ,this race,for the year ended the 31st March, 1919, was £219 13s 3d., and the expenditure on management, gauging, maintenance, and repairs amounted to' £3OB 4s lid., showing a debit balance of £BB 11s 8d on the year’s transactions.

The average number of miners supplied with water was 0.58 a decrease of 4.17 on tlie previous year. : The sales of water amounted to £2OB Us. a decrease of £l2 9s 8d as compared with the previous year.

The cash received was £3 15s 3d less than in the previous year, and the expenditure showed an increase of £J7 16s, The slight falling off in the sales can be more than accounted for by the stoppage of one of the claims at Argus Terrace, for the last five months of the year owing to the death of the owner.

WAINIHINIHI WATER-HACK. A small break occured in one of the tunnels near the intake of this race on the 9th February, hut repairs were immediately started and the water was turned on again by the 12th. The open ditching in this race is in excellent condition, but some of the timber sets in different parts of the tunnels are badly decayed and a few of them will have to be replaced with'new timber during | the, ensuing year.

WA]ME'A-KIJMARA WATER-RACES. The following is a summary of the revenue and expenditure of the above races for file year ended 31st March, 1919 : Sales of water, £B2l 19s 8d; cash received, ££B7s 15s 8d; expenditure £1,946 13s 9d.; average of miners 23.07. The sales of'water showed a decrease of £375 12s Bd, and the cash a decrease

of £354 7s Id. In addition to tlio at)Ove sales free water to the value ot £23 Os lid was supplied to parties to open up new ground. Tlie total expenditure on the combined races was £1,94(1 13s 9d, as against £2,054 9s lOd for th e previous year, a

decrease of £lO7 16s Id. Comparing the sales of water with the expenditure, the combined races show a loss of £1,124 Ms Id. ...... Tlie cash received was £53 16s greater than the sales, and this, together with the £lO written off by department authority, reduced the oustandings by £63 16s!