THE Hauraki Plains Gazette. With which is incorporated THE OHINEMURI GAZETTE. Motto: Public Service. MONDAY, WEDNESDAY, & FRIDAY. FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 1921. SEEING THE PLAINS.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXII, Issue 4347, 25 November 1921, Page 2

THE Hauraki Plains Gazette. With which is incorporated THE OHINEMURI GAZETTE. Motto: Public Service. MONDAY, WEDNESDAY, & FRIDAY. FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 1921. SEEING THE PLAINS.

Like all other strangers who visit the Hauraki Plains for the first time, Mr G. McNamara, As-sistant-Secretary to the Post and Telegraph Department, was greatly surprised yesterday to see such a beautiful picture of verdant fertility spread out in a smiling panorama before his eyes. One could travel the wide world and not see finer looking pasture lands at the present time. If the outside world, and particularly the politicians and departmental officers of the Dominion could only see the Hauraki Plains for themselves, there would be less trouble about securing improvements in. the archaic mails services now obtaining. and in other public facilities. They would understand, for instance, that a railway from Paeroa to Pokeno, traversing the heart of the Plains, would be the most payable railway proposition ever introduced into the Dominion’s scheme of railways; also, they would realise the absurdity of paying any attention to a little gange of commercials who would have the railway route contorted in an absurd direction in order to serve their precious vested interests First-hand knowledge of the actual conditions on the Plains would soon shatter any Gilbertian notions of running the railway from near Kopu instead of straight through the railway junction-at Paeroa and across to Auckland. It is safe to prediet that more good will come of the visit of the Assistant-Secretary of the Post and Telegraph Department to the Hauraki Plains than has yet resulted from sheaves of correspondence and rival commercial and political attempted wire-pulling. The little experience gained yesterday should make it plain that this district has all to gain

and nothing to lose by making the proposed Parliamentary delegation’s visit to the Plains as informing as possible. Most of the shortcomings of the district are due to want of knowledge on the part of those whom we entrust with the destinies of this Dominibn, but who probably know more about London, or Cooks’ continental tours, than they do about New Zealand. The people of this district must educate the powers that be in respect to the geography and topography of the Hauraki Plains, and the best way to do this is to get them personally on the Plains and show them round the entire district.