PLAINS DRAINAGE.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXV, Issue 4763, 13 October 1924, Page 1

PLAINS DRAINAGE.

REPORT BEFORE PARLIAMENT. SURVEY BY MR. T. W. RHODES. When the annual report on drainage operation on the Hauraki Plains Mr T W. Rhodes, member for Thames, said he had no doubt the report would prove most interesting reading. Unfortunately, members had not had the opportunity of perusing it. and they could therefore only speak of what had been going on there in a general, way. Speaking broadly the scheme of on the Hauraki Plains had been a veiy marked success. These were, so far as he was aware, the largest drainage operations within the Dominion. The Hauraki Plains comprised something over a quarter of a million acres of land. Part of that land had been drained by private enterprise. The Crown’s portion was 90,000 acres, and of that it had let, in round figures, 43.000 acres. The prgress that had been made by the settlers generally had been (something phenomenal, although some had had ai undue amount of hardship and worry to contend with. During the early part of the year there was a succession of floods, and a number of the settlers-■ a small portion, comparatively speaking—suffered very severely. Cabinet, some three months ago, was good enough to vote a sum of £25,000 for the relief of those settlers, but unfortunately they had not yet received any benefit from the money that was supposed to be set aside tor the>r relief, which was a matter to be regretted, although he did not think the Minister of Lands was blameable. He had been told that the Lands Department was to deal with the distribution of the money. The Department pbtained reports and showed a good deal of energy after the money had been voted, and applications for relief were required to be sent to the Commissioner of Crown Landis, and they were put in accordingly. The milking season was about to commence, and the settlers were then much in need oi relief; many of them had lost a considerable proportion of their herd. Their grass land was also much damaged both in his electorate and that of the honourable member for,. Ohinemuri. At the outset, much expedition was used in the matter of obtaining the necessary information by the Department in getting down to bedrock, and in ascertaining the extent of the damage done, yet the settles tailed to obtain any help from the grant made. As a matter of fact they were subsequently told they would have to go to the Advances to Settlers Department for assistance, and sc nothing practical had been done. A number of the settlers were carrying on with depleted herds, and consequently both incomes and production had decreased. It was a matter of more than a local importance. He would urge upon the Minister of Lands to ask Cabinet to give some immediate relief to a number of those settlers. Something more substantial should be done than granting loans. In facl, the settlers should have a straight-out grant, which would be justified by subsequent results. While the fact remained that the Government had done a good deal in the way of roading, they had by no means done as much as the settlers expected. The-Government had failed to give full effect to the promises made in posters that had been displayed throughout the district. There was a quibble as to what a ‘ completed road ” meant. Intimation at the first ballot was held—in 1910—was to the effect that stop-banks, roads, and drains considered necessary would be completed by the Department. In the second ballot of February 1911, that notification Was modified somewhat, reading, “ All roads, drains, and istop-banks shqwn on the posters are either constructed or under construction, and will. be completely finished by the Department.” Prior to the third ballot, when the Prime Minister was av Thames in February, 1913, a deputation had waited upon him. when the right honourable gentleman had stated that “ he could assure the settlers that the roads would be metalled, and that the Government would go on with this important work.” Already tenders had been called, and the Government would keep on assisting until the roads were metalled and made in good condition. He would see that in the allocation of public moneys the Hauraki Plains would' get its fair share. He (Mr Rhodes) was not contending that the Government had not done its duty with the public money available outside of the Hauraki Plains vote ; the settlers were not so much concerned as to where the money came from, but they were concerned at not being provided with the completion of roads which were necessary to enable them to carry on. Since that time a county council had been brought into being with special control over the Hauraki Plains area, and some fifty miles of roads had been metalled and the position so far advanced that the Council had agreed with the Department to take them over, but that still left the roads indicated in the posters at the time of the first ballot, to be made and completed. What did “ completed ” mean ? To the ordinary layman it indicated that a road must be rendered fit for ordinary use according to every-day needs in the particular locality. He (Mr Rhodes) could not say what the legal definition was; but, the question had been submitted to the solicitor to the Counties Asso-

elation, whose opinion was as follows :— “That metalling was necessary in order to make a good road on this swamp reclaimed land, but that in any case the terms of the Department’s undertaking clearly were such as to inform the selectors that all the roads would be metalled.” That was quite clear, a/nd he put forward the claim that the Government even at this late date, should carry out the undertaking contained in the original ballot posters, and see that the settlers were provided with decent roads to their farms. Some of them had been settled m the district for twelve years, and they should not be required to wait much longer for satisfactory roads.

Another matter affecting the settlers already established on the Hauraki Plains, and also the settlers yet to come, was that of drainage. The Department had done a great deal in that direction, and the report would show in detail the hundreds of miles of drains that had been ctmistructed. The work generally speaking had been well done, and he gave full credit to the department for it, but insufficient drains had been put in to cope with the water to be carried off. More flood-gates were required at the ends of the drains, and they should be of larger dimensions. He was not posing as an engineer, nut anyone with common sense, having a local knowledge of the heavy rainfall to which the district was subjected, would know that more drainage facilities were required. It was the duty of the Government to do everything possible to prevent a recurrence of the experience!.? of the settlers during the present year. As regards the future drains and dredging were required, and the work wanted to be pushed on expeditiously. That would be an economic step, because it would bring in new land, and it was advisable to reclaim it even at the present high cost of labour and materials. One very important matter in connection with the drainage of the plains was the expeditious prosecution of. the Maukoro-Waitakaruru canal, which, when completed, would run. from the Hauraki Gulf to the top end of the Hauraki Plains. Unfortunately, it now only went a short distance beyond Ngatea. He knew there had been difficulties in the way of haistening the work, owing to the natural conditions. But the canal was going to have a very important influence in preventing the undue flooding of the land, because it would carry the water from the hill-country to the gulf without its reaching the Piako River, which was the main waterway of the district. If the canal was vigorously prosecuted, it would give the river less work to do, and that was very important. In late years the tendency had been to bring more and more water into the river, carrying with it debris all the time. While dredging had been carried on in the upper reaches, which had been kept fairly clear, nothing had been done in the lower reaches. The departmental officers considered that it was not necessary to dredge these lower reaches, because the water could not get away. He did not know why they should say so, becaused it seemed contrary to common- sense. If dredging was not necessary there, he could not understand the fact .that the Public Porks Department considered that it was necessary’ at the lo.Wer. reaches of the Thames River, which was of very much greater width, and where the natural getaway of the water was greater. The Public Works Department acknowledged that that work was necessary, and it had promised to undertake it; but the Land Drainage Department would give no such promise with regard.to the dredging of the lower reaches of the Piako, which he considered necessary for the improvement of navigation, and especially the providing of a quicker getaway for the water. Another matter of vital importance to the Hauraki Plains was the pro-

vision of an abundant supply of freph water for domestic purposes and for the needs of stock. Plans for a comprehensive- schenie had been prepared, and the departmnt had paid for the report, but unless the department could see its way to finance the scheme, not merely on the £ for £ basis, but very substantially, nothing would be accomplished. It was proposed to bring the water from Waitawheta; near Waihi, but unless the department could evolve a plan foi bearing a good part of the cost the scheme would not be practicable. The Hauraki Plains County Council had prepared a scheme which would supply the lower portion of the plains, and another which would supply the land in the neighbourhood of Patetonga and Mangawhero, and they asked the Government for assistance in those undertakings. They were practically all Crown tenants there, and the Ciown still had a large area of land to come in, so that it was not an unreasonable thing. The Ministei had not turned the proposal down, but so far as he knew neither had he given any definite promise of assistance. That was regrettable, because there was no possibility of the settlers getting a water supply this summer. He would ask the Ministei to have the matter looked into immediately, and a decision arrived at, so that there might be some prospect of the work being completed within twelve months from .this date. A request for assistance towards the undertaking had been forwarded by the local bodies, and the Minister had asxed for details. These had been supplied. There were other requirements to be filled on the Plain. One disability wap that some of the land was very deep in peat, and the land would take a very long time to be brought l im A few of the settlers have land on which, as results proved, it would be impossible for them to carry on. The Government had undertaken, so far as soldier settlers, were concerned, to go into the matter. and they were now considering what could be done to place these men in a better position, either b.' providing them with other land, or by some other means. He was hopeful that in the near future something would result for the soldiers ; lie was also concerned about the position of those who had been unable to go to the war—who held on al ( l through, ano spent all their money on the land, but who had not yet got the land into a state of payable productivity. That was a matter which shouli engage the attention of .the Minister, along with the other matters to which he had referred. He was not sure whether all the land would be suitable for • flax-growing. He knew there was a. lot of land in .the vicinity of Patetonga, Mangawhero, and Torehape suitable for such a purpose, and it would be worth while to have an analysis made of the soils in the various localities to see where the most suitable areas were. Some of the finest flax in New Zealand was grown on the Plains, and more than one area had been let for that purpose. He was of opinion that much of the land which was unsuitable for dairying would prove to be admirably adapted for the cultivation of flax. He believed the present Minister was of the same opinion, and if it would be possible for him (Hon. the Minister lor Lands) to spend a few days on the Hauraki Plains he would be doing good work for the country. He did not wish honourable members to conclude from his remarks that the Hauraki Plains was not a good place—on the contrary, it only required to be seen to enable honourable members to agree that it had great possibilities. He had been speaking of the exceptions. As a rule, it was the finest dairying land in the whole of New Zealand. It had a fine climate, and (splendid natural conditions. Portions of it would carry a cow to the acre. The settlers were to a Jaige extent doing well. These were not the people who were asking for assistance. There were others who were not so well placed, and he hoped the Government would do its utmost to give some assistance to

these people. To give an idea of the productivity of the district, he might say it was possessed of one of the largest butter ' factories - in L the Auckland provincial district. Auckland was, lie believed, the largest butteiproducing province in New Zealand. Taranaki had the honour at one time, but the position had now altered. There were also three cheese factories in the district. He did not know the return for the period just closed, but for the preceding twelve months the production of butter totalled 4.329,9201 b, while the cheese totalled something like 2,000,0001 b. In addition, a great quantity of stock was fattened on the laud. The sales? of stock at the different yards amounted to about £40,000. Further, a quantity of produce was sent to Hiki taia, on the Thames side, and more found its way to the. sales in the Waikato, and to Westfield, and in the aggregate the amount of stock stilt away annually would be something enormous. The total production of the district ran into hundreds of thousands of pounds per annum, and that from land that a dozen years ago was the haunt of the duck. At present only one-half of the Crown po> tio, of. the land was settled, and that only partially, and it was capable of close occupation and intensive cultivation. There was everything, therefore, to encourage the Government to prosecute its efforts with the utmost vigour, because the district would undoubtedly prove productive and remunerative to the Dominion, and to the settlers in the locality.