PATETONGA COMMISSION

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXVII, Issue 5028, 17 September 1926, Page 3

PATETONGA COMMISSION

ROADIAG AND DRAINAGE INQUIRY CONTINUATION iOF EVIDENCE. Following on the evidence published in dur last issue in connection with the Commission sitting a,t Patetonga, further information was supplied by Mr E. Taylor, Lands Drainage Engineer, the next witness called. Members of the Commission are: Messrs G. T. Murray, late of the Public Works Department (chairman); F. W. Walters, farmer, of Waitoa; and A. Sutherland, farmer, of Whakatane.

DRAINAGE ENGINEER’S EVIDENCE.

In reply to the chairman Mr Taylor stated that the highest valuation of land in the riding was £l4. He produced a statement showing the valuation of all sections in the] Tiding. In regard to the statement that the department had tricked the council into taking over the control of the Patetonga area, witness stated that as 'far as he remembered Cr. Mayn was the only obJecWr. In regard to the ponding area, Mr Taylor said that the river was originally so small that it was barely passable for small boats. With a 600-square-mile catchment it wajs natural that the river would overflow. The department had not dotae anything to aggravate the position but had left the district in its natural state. With reference td reading, the department had gravelled 151 chains (including Ngarua Road), clayed 209 chains, ballasted with clay and metalled 358 chains, and formed but did not metal 709 chains, totalling 1437 chains. Included in this were 87 chains formed for the County Council but net metalled and, also for the council, 65 chains clayed, formed, and metalled. The County Council had been promised a £2 for £1 subsidy on the main road metalling scheme. In reply to Mr Walters; witness stated that it would be better for the settlers to be. given subsidies than for some of the to be metalled by the Government. The Government collected a drainage maintenance rate, but this did not meet the cost of the work done, the| balance being voted out of the Hauraki Plains Fund. It should be loaded on to the land, but there would probably be half a million or so loss to be made up out of the Consolidated Fund. The work would cost vdry much more tha.n would be realised by the sale of the land. Referring to the proposed Maukpro canal, 4 witness stated that this would be of little use at the. present time. It Would be like digging a ditch in a lake bed, for .the whole area was liable to be flooded in winter.

Questioned by Mr WaVace Mr Taylor sa.id that the Patetonga Tramline road was. not yet handed over to the county, but the question of whether the council shduld collect rates was one between the council and the settlers.

In reply to Mr Walters Mr Taylor said that the land near the mouth of the river was Originally sold at a low price to induce settlers to take it up. The unimproved valuation was now very much higher than that of the land round Patetonga, and maintenance rates were paid on this valuation. Tn addition the lands were classided for rating purposes. Mr Taylor sajd that nothing had hee|n done tcf improve the river-bed south of the Waikaka canal because nothing ' would affect the position. The improvement lower down the river would not reduce- the flood level, but would reduce the duration of floods. It was proposed to enlarge the river-bed from a point a.bout six miles from the mouth for about nine '-miles—to the boundary df the ponding area. The channel, would be 170 ft wide at high tide level and 16ft deep, and about a million and a, half cubic . yards of spoil would eventually bei removed. The channel would take all the wa.ter that would escape from the ponding area without flooding the land loweir down the river. If the channel through the ponding area was enlarged the whole, of the rest of the river would have to be increased to about half as: much again. The cost df this would bej enormous, tf the ponding area was, filled the river would have to take the full flood, but there was a big safety factor. The • ponding area could take the entire flow of the river for five days. Jf the inflow of water tb the ponding area exceeded the outflow by 1000 cubic feet a second it would be 19 days before the ponding area filled and the liver begun to take the whole flood. Generally the, level of the clay in the. 1 ponding a,rea was two feet beloKv spring tide level at the Gulf, but out-, side the ponding area the land level rose rapidly. Previously the Waihou ißiver overflowed into the Piako basin, but since 1924 it had been cut off. As the ponding area was. 26 miles from the Gulf and the land was; below spring tide level, the river would have tb be widened to the size of the Gulf to prevent flooding. The outlet of the ponding area was gauged to only allow that amount of water to escape; which could be dealt with in the lower reaches. Improvements in the river channel would reduce the duration of the flood in the ponding area. The object of the river improvement works was to lower the low tide level to permit gravity drainage. The flood channel could, be increased ' by shifting the stop-banks, back, but this would interfere with the gravity drainage system. ; COST-OF ROAD ING. Mr Taylor was questioned at length concerning the cost, of reading. He mentioned that £50,731 3s 7d had been spent on roading round Patetonga and on the 'Ngarua road. Under the Haura,ki Plains Act, he said, land became rateable when settled for five - years, and it was the policy of the department to hand over control of the roads when the land became rateable. Legally, thei roads were always county refects, a,nd there was no obligation on the Lands Department to maintain them. Maintenance had been done, and at the end of last summer the roads we,re in first-class order and in a fit state to be metalled. Mr Walters sought to ascertain the cost to the settlers of metalling the toads in the area, and on Mr Wallace

enumerating the roads Mr Taylor promised to prepare an estimate during the evening and hand it in at the sitting next day. In regard to the subsidy, Mr Wallace pointed out tha,t a £3 to £1 grant had been made for the WaitakaruruMaukoro canalside road. COUNTY EVIDENCE. Mr F. Basham, colunty engineer, stated that the council’s main, road scheme covered the whole of the main road from Kaihere to the county boundary, provided the £2 to £1 sub-; sidy promised wa,s forthcoming. The proposal, covered straightening, easing df grades, forming, and metalling of about 6% miles, estimated to cost £lB,OOO. The other roads were not in a suffiicent state foi- all-the-year-round traffic, as they were not metalled. Since the county took charge of the riding the county roads had been regularly maintained by grading. Nothing had been done to the roads still under the control of the Lands Department. There was, one machinery loan rate on the Patejbnga riding. .Cr. Mayn said that the reclaying necessary had cost much more than the whole of the rates collected from the riding. Mr Basham said he considered that the riding had been fairly treated by the County Council. Roading in the riding was a costly matter on account of the depth of peat, and so far no loan for the purpose had beeji placed before the ratepayers. In comparison with the lower portions of the; county the Lands Department should, to be consistent, metal practically the whole of the roads. In reply to' the chairman Mr .Taylor stated that the. Lands Department had no power whatever to collect any rate except for maintenance. The capital expenditure w®£ supposed to be recouped by the sale of land, but it was anticipated that there would be a deficiency of about half a million pounds on the whole job. If the department packed up and got out the settlers would have a free gift of that amount of rolling and drainage done which had not be,en paid for by the sale- of land. That was the position in regard to the land in the Horahia drainage district. Relatively, the Patetonga lands had been sold at a higher upset price than the lower land. He did not consider the tramline road warranted metalling. The settlers used the tramline at nojninal rates, and an annual loss on working was suffered by the department. Loca.l road metal could be used. He had prepared an estimate for the main road, and could later' produce it for the information of the Commission. Twenty-two yards of metal and six .yards of blinding would be necessary for each chain of by-road* A SETTLER’S EVIDENCE.

Cr. J. F. Mayn stated that he had arrved in 1910 and taken up land on the guarantee df the state of the land given in the Government sale plans. Since then the land had sunk 6ft, and still there was ho sign of clay. There was a strata of silt about a foot wide no'w exposed at the front of his section, but at the back the silt layer was 4% feet below spring tide level. His land did not return him a. living, and his grievance was that the description, although probably reasonable at the time, had not proved correct. It had been stated that the land was above flood level and averaged from 10ft to 80ft above sea-level. The land was now frequently flooded, and his theory was that it was caused by the water from the country south of Patetohga. There was no knowing what flooding .was to be expected, a,s there was no restriction on the operations df the drainage boards in the upper reaches of the catchment area. In reply to Mr Taylor witness said he did not agree that the flooding was due to the subsidence of the land, though it was -undoubtedly a contributing factor. Drainage operations in the upper reaches of the.watershed had raised the flood level three feet during the past two years. Witness was questioned at length concerning this statement, and he asserted that it could be proved by evidence which he could product The Commission stated that it was an important point, and it would be desirable to hear further evidence oil' the subject. Continuing, witness said that prior to the flood there werej no rushes growing on his farm, and now there we,re millions. At dne time he had carried 11,000 sheep for nine months on the farm which he; had since had to leave because there was not sufficient feed for his few dairy cows. Questioned regarding the roads, witness reiterated what Mr Wallace had said concerning the treatment of the upper and lower parts of the Plains. The Lands Department had contended that the time was ripe; for the Patetonga area to assume local body responsibility at the time when the County Council had desired to ra.te the lower areas, but thie council had opposed this, considering that the, department had obligations to fulfil. The council opposed taking over roads until they were metalled. The Chiejf Drainage Engineer had said that it was the intention of the department to hand Over the roads whether the council liked it or not. This was done, and the council, compelled by law, had collected rates, w«SI knowing that it could not do maintenance. The department had contended that it was ndt to do maintenance on the roads handed, over, yet it had done such work. The council was not able to do work with the money available from the general rate. The roads were now fit to receive metal, and it should be done, as the maintenance was costly and annually recurring. DEEP PEAT. Witness said that the matter of the condition of the settlers on the deep peat areas was one that should receive very earnest consideration by the Commission. Certain settlers had been struggling for years to make their lands productive, and how they Were able to hang on was a mystery.

The Commissioin was engaged all day on Wednesday making a tour of inspection.