PAEROA AND THE PLAINS

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXII, Issue 4321, 23 September 1921, Page 2

PAEROA AND THE PLAINS

BETTER CONNECTION WANTED. MOTOR SERVICE TALK. WORDS ABOUT ROADS. Until a district is fairly thickiy populated the settlers in that district find that they must contend with a great deal in ,the lack of communication with the outside world. Railways there may be none and the roads bad and bumpy. The Hauraki Plains is at present labouring under these difficulties, though it cannot be said that it it very sparsely populated—quite .the reverse. The Plains has outgrown its childhood days, and wants clothes to fit it—it, wants better roads and quicker connection with the various centres. They want a railway and bridges certainly, but at the Ngatea conference recently a settler was heard to have said “Give us roads.” A “Gazette” representative, during recent conversations with settlers on the Plains, has invariably heard the same questions regarding the PaeroaPokeno railway and better roads, bn which subjects opinion is practically unanimous. On bridges, opinions differ. A question which is seldom forgotten is “When is the mofor-bus going to run between Paeroa and Ngatea ?” Settlers, particularly. those at Kerepeehi and Ngatea, are keen on this project and reepgnise- what a great benefit it would be to them, and also to Paeroa, and, in fact, they are anxious for the service to commence. But very little is known on the Plains regarding the service, in which •the people of the Plains may lose interest if the matter is nqt taken in hand immediately—they may be content to plod along in the same old way until they can all afford cars of their own. and be independent of the motor service.

Regarding roads, the Hauraki Plains settlers wish to see better surfaces and direct connections with the centres. A good road connecting the Plains with Paeroa would not only benefit the Plains, but Paeroa as well. Wi,th this opinion in view, it is hard to see why the loan pplfc should have failed, but possibly it may waken a fewmore farmers to the full realisation of the facts.