THE Hauraki Plains Gazette With which is incorporated THE OHINEMURI GAZETTE. Motto: Public Service. MONDAY, WEDNESDAY, & FRIDAY. FRIDAY, AUGUST 11, 1922. PLAINS WATERWAYS.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXIII, Issue 4452, 11 August 1922, Page 2

THE Hauraki Plains Gazette With which is incorporated THE OHINEMURI GAZETTE. Motto: Public Service. MONDAY, WEDNESDAY, & FRIDAY. FRIDAY, AUGUST 11, 1922. PLAINS WATERWAYS.

The admirable work of the Lands Drainage Department of transforming the useless swamps into fertile plains is worthy of appreciation, and the results of their valuable efforts cannot;, perhaps, be seen to better advantage than on the Hauraki Plains. Nothing is lost by there system of operation, and “millions from mud,” as an Auckland writer has put it, is no doubt the ablest abreviated description. The digging of drains and canals drains the land and the spoil from the excavations makes roads and stop banks, but that is not all. When the system of drains and canals is completed those waterways will be of untold value to the settlers. It is not unreasonable to venture an opinion that the canals and rivers will benefit the settlers more than the muchdesircd Paeroa-Pokeno railway. ~The majority of the settlers’ requirements must come by boat, which travels almost past their backdoors and right into the very heart of the Plains. There are at present two rivers, and when the Waitakaruru-Maukoro canal is completed there will be three main waterways. There will be only one railway, and that will serve only the comparatively few settlers and settlements along its route. We do not suggest that the railway is not required by the plainsmen, but we do maintain that it is not of such importance to the settler as what the waterways will be. Not only can the larger canals be utilised for navigation, but some of th,? large drains can also be taken advantage of by the settler. Some of the drains the Department’s modern appliances are now digging are quite large enough to permit of the use of dinghies; in fact, the Department’s workmen frequently use small boats in some of the larger drains. When the WaitakaruruMaukoro canal is completed it will be an important asset to the settlers on the western portion of the Plains from Waitakaruru to Maukoro, and in time may be as important as a waterway as the Piako River. It will certainly be a more direct route to Patetonga, and bring Kaihere closer to the shipping. The Department’s policy in this direction is one to be encouraged, and the Department should make every endeavour to expedite the work on this particular canal.