THE GREAT SOUTH ROAD

Hokitika Guardian, 3 October 1928, Page 3

THE GREAT SOUTH ROAD

TRULY A NOTABLE UNDERTALKING. i WESTLAND’S OPPORTUNITY. Tlie publicity given to the proposal Of the Government to link up tlie man south road of Westland with the roads 6f Of ago by way of tlie Haast Pass, is a truly notable undertaking arid carried to completion, will in truth provide a Great South Road. Now that the policy hag been disclosed, the occasion seems to be Westland’S special opportunity to achieve a great public work which will he a peculiar benefit to th 6 country served and to the district as a whole. Some outline of the work involved will be of interest to the general reader, who perhaps is not aware of the magnitude of the (undertaking, nor does lie realise what it all means to Westland and Otago to be linked by a serviceable road over a low pass which will be available for inter-com-munication at all times of the year. The position grasped, and greater credit will be due to the Government for bringing forward so important a proposal. THE FIRST SECTION. The first section of this road may be considered the 20 miles between Waiho and Cook’s river. This road is now used for vehicle traffic, and is being inlproved considerably for that purpose. A few months ago the bridge over Waikukupa creek was nartly washed away by flood and is now to be restored. Another stream on the route, Dbclierty creek, is to be bridged, a vote of £BOO (on account) is on this year’s Estimates. Yet another stream which requires to be bridged is Oemoeroa creek, and the site for the structure has been surveyed. A vote of £SOO is on the Estimates, also, for the general improvement of the section of road, in additon to which some flood damage, expenditure has also been carried out. This section is therefore very well cared for and will be the first to be placed in first class order. It is now in very general use by motorists.

COOK’ S-KARANGARTJA SECTION. This is a very important section, serving several settlers who are regular contributors to the stock market. Cook’s river, where the road crosses the stream, is approximately over a : mile wide, and it will be necessary tp“Construct a deviation some nine miles in length in order to obtain A suitable bridge-site. In addition, Fox’s river Would also have to be bridged.: Tlie Cook’s river is only fordable for motor cars' for about one month of tli'e year. Tlie next section from Cook’s river to the Karangarua river, a distance of 13 miles, is formed to a width of 10ft, and can be used by motor traffic, blit there are four Streams, tli'e Oinetamatea, Saltwater, Black creek and Havelock creek to be crossed. A deviation of four miles would also have to be made to obtain a bridge site fdi* the Karangarua river, this- river being like tlie Cook’s, only fordable for cars for « period of about' four weeks in tlie year. ' , As regards the Cfiok’s river deviation, Mr,\V. T. Morpeth, Commissioner ofCffowri Lands,; has suggested a useful deviation route which . would open rip additional land for settlement and no doubt this will be looked into when the/ surveyors of the Public \Vorks Department are going into the matter finally of the road route, Which ,of course is a' very important aspect of the whole proposition, additional settlement and extra population being needed for the far south country which is capable of a greatly increased output. iBRUCE i. B A Y-Y fAHIT A ITT;. .

From .the Karangarua to Bruce Bay beach, a distance of 11 miles, the road has been formed, hut two fairly, large streams, the Manakaiaua and Jacob's rivers have to be negotiated. This is the furthest point which can be reached by motor cars, as there is one mile of unformed road before reaching the mouth of the Mahitahi river at the ocean beach. The road is then formed to a' width of 10ft for the distance of 5 miles' up the river to Condon’s, at Mahitahi.

THE HEAVY SECTION. ~ ; From Mahitahi to the Haast, a distance of 50 miles, there is little settlement, and a sft bridle track only exists. There are several large streams to -be crossed qp this section , these being tlie ? Mahitahi, Paringa, Blue river, Copper creek, Waita, and Eianst river, and of these the Mahitahi, Par Inga, Blue River, . and Haast would have to he bridged as they would not be fordable by motors, When the traffic road is being constructed, •It will bo possible to follow the present track as far as the Blue river, which is a distance of 20 miles, but it will he necessary, however, to construct a small deviation in order to obtain a bridge site at tlie Purillga. From the Blue river to the Haast, a distance of 30 miles, a complete new line will bo requited, qs the present track goes right up into the -high* hills of the Thomas range. k,kl, -

Mr Seddon, M.P., who knows the route well, having traversed it several times, has s'ugested a deviation into the flat below the high country, which would serve also to open up a fine stretch of new territory, much of which is known to be mineralised. I'll is section may be regarded as the heavy one of the whole scheme, being probably as costly as the Ha«st Pass road itself, but it is an essential link in the chain, and as it will traverse some wonderful forest country, will provide a scenic route of outstanding charm, no doubt eclipsing even the splendid forest avenues fur-

ther north wliiclifate such a notable feature of the main south road. From the tourist point of view in giving the route a Special distinction, this section will be found to-be one of the most notable features of the road and will be a powerful attraction for general traffic once its unique features are opened up for traffic. ANOTHER lIE AV Y SECTION. Between the mouth of the Haast river and the Haast Saddle, a distance of 47 miles, the track- can only be’ classed as an ungraded pack track. At some of the bluffs the formation has been cut into the rock and these portions would work in with a properly graded road. In other places the track crosses open flats; but nipst of the way the river bed is used. There are numerous streams to he crossed on this section and some of these, the Haast, Clarke, Burke and Wills, are a fair size, and the country is all bush clad. This sectioii rivals the previous one in probable cost. They are the two heaviest sections on the route and their construction for road purposes j will involve about ’half of the total j cost for opening the highway. Timpresent section though mainly in Westland, is nearer to Otago, and if that portion of the district co-operates as it should, the agitation from that quarter will be very helpful. This year there is money voted for roading and bridging between Hawea Flat and Makarora winch are on the route within the province of Otago. Unity of action by Westland and Otago is certainly necessary to hasten- the fruition of the work. , GENERAL REMARKS,

The total distance of this .road from Waiho to Makarora is approximately 160 miles. The heavy sections from Maintain to Makarora total about 110 miles. These, figures give an- idea of the importance of the route for long distance touring. On the East Coast, of course, back-country roads of much greater length axe in regular use for motoring] The West Coast should be in the picture, also, and the same convenience afforded, more particularly as the western route provides scenes of such unique grandeur for the tourist and such remarkable natural resorts for the holiday maker. The road when finished will prove the greatest tourist route in the Dominion. outrivailing all others. The principal bridges to be built along the Westland route are:— Docherty, Oemoeroa, Fox, Cook. Oinetamatea, Saltwater, Black, Havelock, Karangarua, Maua Kaiaua, Jacobs. Mahitahi, Paringa. Blue, Copper, Waita, Haast, ‘with several minor streams also to cross. In addition there are the bridges required for the Haast Pass section. The above outline of the roading scheme will, > afford a general idea of the proposal -arid Its importance in opening up such a great length of the country could hardly be overrated. It will rnean a great deal to Westland to be assured that tlie Great South Road is, in point of fact, to forge its way south and link with the highways of jOtago. Tlie possibiltieS of such a connection are great, and there is sure to be ready co-op-eration from “the other side” when it is-realised-jhpw thorough the Government proposal is. As a matter of fact the Otago Expansion League has the subject of a road into Westland as part of its programme of progress for Otago, and on that account ready assistance from that quarter will be available. Tlie onus of urging on the prosecution of the work proposed by the Government of the day, is now upon the people chiefly interested, and by union, of action on tlie part of Otago and Westland, this great work in the fullness of time will be brought to pass—of that there should be no possible doubt at all if persistent agitation is maintained.

WEST COAST-OTAGO ROAD. Speaking in the House of Representatives on Monday. night when the Public Works Estimates were under discussion, Mr T. E. Y. Seddon, M.P., expressed gratification at the Government’s decision to construct a road that would link iip the West Coast with Otago. _ Last year, he said, the Premier and Minister of Public Works had stated that the Department had an estimate for the work of about £500,000. Probably that was too liberal ah estimate of the cost, which might be considerably reduced. The Department, lie understood, was now intent upon proceeding with the work, and the first thing it was going to do was to have a new line purveyed to shorten the route. The "survey work would commence as soon as the session was over. He was sure that it was a matter of great satisfaction to Otago people, the Progress League, and to every person who had moved in the matter that the work was now going to be carried out. He was sure that the new route would lessen the cost ol construction by about a quarter o', what was suggested at the present time.

Mr Seddon also expressed pleasure that £19,000 was to be spent on tli construction of the Greymouth-West-port road. That work, ho believed, would be completed in the next few months.