A TRIP TO WHANGAMATA

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXIX, Issue 5227, 16 January 1928, Page 2

A TRIP TO WHANGAMATA

SCENES OF GRANDEUR & BEAUTY-

INTERESTING ROADING SCHEME.

Probably few people; are aware of the scenic beauty and interest to be obtained by making a trip to Wliangamata via Waihi. With the completion ptf the road and provision of bridges Whangamata is destined to become one of; the most popular resorts on the east coast, of the North Island, while the journey by motorcar from Waihi will provide one of the most picturesque and interesting drives, in the Dominion,

Whangamata, which means “flying bullet,” is situated in the Thames County, and is about 22 miles from Waihi and 1.16 miles by steamer from Auckland.

During last winter the Publ’c Works Department, following its policy of providing relief works for the unemployed,' had about 170 men engaged on constructing two large deviations and about four miles of a hew road round the foreshore of the Whangamata Harbour,, through the O.liinemuri and Thames counties to Whangamata. In about five months the deviations were completed, and motor-cars can now travel on this read to a point near thq Wentworth stream, a d stancc of a little over four miles from Whangamata, The, deviation, which varies in grade from 1 in 15 to 1 in 20, passes through splendid country and beautiful native bush, and is a perfectly safe road for motorists provided reasonable care; is exercised. NEED FOR BRIDGES. It will not be possible to open the road right through to Whangamata until ,such time as the Government provides a sufficient sum of money to qrect several bridges. Representations have been made by the settlers concerned and others interested to have the road completed as early as possible, and hopes are, expressed that after the present financial ye.a.r sufficient money will be included in the estimates to provide for the cost of erection of. the bridges. The boundary between the two counties is the Parakawai stream, which is subject to tidal influence. At the present time, a steel and hardwood bridge. 115 ft in length, is under, construction. When completed the need to study the state o/ the tide to enable a crossing to be made will, be obviated. A standard bridge over Paul’s Creek has, been completed, and material is being arranged for a substantial bridge, over the Wentworth River, some four miles farther on. So that progress may be maintained and the route completed, bridges are necessary over the. Waikiekie stream and Te Weiti and Whiritoa creeks.. On the second deviation, on the Whangamata side of the Wentworth River, small bridges, are required over the Te Ramarama and Waiharakeke streams. These bridges will have to be constructed in time, and it is earnestly hoped that the money will be fpirthcqming' and the bridges erected at an early date. So far as the road is concerned, there are several of the lighter portions, which require attention, and representations arq being made to tlie county >councils to have the road brought up to a standard and in keeping with the new< deyiatiphs. The Waihi-Whaiigamata road is at present one of the largest roading schemes in the district, and thq whole of the work is controlled by Mr o‘. GThornton, resident engineer of the Paeroa office of the Public Works Department. To him and his officers great credit is due;, and already the thanks of grateful settlers who have) greatly benefited have been freely expressed. DESCRIPTION iOF TRIP. On Thursday last a representative of this paper was privilejged to make the trip to Whangamata in company with some Public Works officials. Leaving Paeroa at an early hour in ideal weather a quick run was made through, tp Waihi, which Was; reached before many of. the shops were, open. After fossicking round and making some necessary purchases the journey was continued, there being a good metalled road as far as the Ohinemuri River, which is the. boundary between the Waihi Borough and the Ohinemuri County. Shortly after crossing the river the fertile Mataura Valley spreads out bn the; left, while a I’ttle further on the entrance to the Ratarua Valley can be seen gently rising till it connects with the Coromandel Ranges. . On the well-grassed plaeeau between the road and the valley the remains of. a. large barn, which was blown over in a gale last autumn, can be seen. Near the foothills there, is a bluff of rock in which a large hole is. discernible.. On inquiring the cause, it was learned that the cavity had been hewn out of,the rock by an enterprising settler who bad constructed a cow-byre in the solid rock.

THE DANISH SETTLEMENT.

On the right is. a large; tract of undulating country running down to the east coast. In this locality much land has been taken up by Danes, and the, difference in the lanscape in the vicinity of the Danish settlement makes/a great contrast. Born farmers, and obviously hard workers, the Danes, have taken up what appeared to be worthless land which they have brought into a state of high productivity. Artificial, manures have been used unsparingly, and the result is apparent. What was poor-conditioned land covered with ti-trec and bracken fern now carries a wonderful sole of grass, and a. cow to the acre all the year round. 800 FT ABOVE SEA-LEVEL. By a steady grade, in lesis than 20 minutes we found ourselves 800 ft above se-a,-level. Away in the disc tance could be seen a team of working : bullocks sledging out fencing posts from the bush to> the roadside. On the left what was once a canvas town was passed. Picturesquely situated on a, level piece of, land, with a background of bush, are the remains of a camp comprising 100 tents which

were 'Occupied fey some of the unemployed relief workers. "The framework of the cookhouse,, which had seating accommodation for 75 at a sitting, remains, and also numerous storehouses. <O?i the opposite side of the road, in a clearing, a full-sized football ’field had been made, and many an interesting game was played there last winter.

From this po'nt onward the going was all downhill, and in 3% miles we descended about 800 feet. As the car wound ro.und the hill the view obtained was a memorable one. The bushclad hills were glorious, and Straight below the road, and running almost parallel, is a gully in wh.ich, pungas, nikaus, and bush growth of all descriptions abound in all their virginal grandeur. About halfway down a waterfall splashes down the cliff and disappears into a culvert across the road and put into the deop gorge. On leaving the deviation the.run is made through farming land for soirib distance. The sleek and contentedlooking stock that were passed clearly indicated thet the land is admirably suitable for grazing and dairying, the rich fiats carrying a great s .I?! of grass, which looked £re s h and green in spite of the prolonged spell of dry weather.

After crossing tlie. Whiritoa Creek, the. ford being near a huge puriri tree, the scenery is magnificent, wpnzfterful peeps of the open sea being obtainable from different bends in the read as it winds round the Whiritoa Lagoon. An interesting time was spent crossing the) Te Ramarama Stream, which has an awkward approach, and the drop into the water is rather sudden. After travelling along for about ten minutes a glorious panorama is obtained."’ On the extreme right a huge bluff, called Otonga Point, runs into the spa, while to the left of the picture, in the direction of Ta’rua, the view is wonderful and wpirth travelling many miles to see t

Pushing forward, the road emerges from a belt of high manuka into a clearing which was, at one timej an old Maori settlement, while a little farther on a group of gnarled old poplar trees and a lichen-covered apple tree indicate the site) of one of the early settler’s homestead. TROUBLE AT THE FORD. When Ford meets ford trouble is likely. After safely crossing two other streams our car positively jibbed at the Parakawai Stream. The tide was on the make, and after travelling a few yards only from the bank, with a heave and a cough the engine of the car stopped. Considering that the water reached the floor of the car, it was little wonder. No time cduld be lost in getting the car across on account of the tide;, so. there was nothing else to do but .strip off and get into the stream. With the assistance of the men who were working on the bridge, including “Alf.” Taylor, of. Paeroa, a long rope, and our own endeavours,'the car was extricated and stood < once) again on terra firms to dry in the sun. In less than half an .hour we were off again, and the trip round the Parakawai Estuary was full of. interest. After proceeding about two miles the remains of a huge timber boom co.uld be seen. In the years gone by hundreds of stately kauri trees passed over the boom and were loaded on to s.Pows or towed down the estuary and round to Auckland.

About a ten minutes’ rim brings one to the homeptead of Mr Williamson, which is situated on a hill, overlooking the sea. In addition to being a successful farmer Mr Williamson is very keen on afforestation, and has numerous plantations of fine, healthy trees. Just beyond Mr Williamson’s house the Public Wdlrks Department has established a large depot, in wthich anything from a needle tq an anchor is kept, and, not least of. all, a complete first-aid outfit. Here, also, is a, large; cookhouse and a group of tents.

The time being 11.30. a.m., and on the cook advised that the billy was boiling if we felt like a “ drink-o’-tea,” a halt was made for lunch. What a meal it was, too I the principal iteim on the menu being campoven bread. 'A circular loaf measuring 15 inches across will give some idea of the slices that were cut from it. Despite the size, one slicq proved insufficient to satisfy the appetites that we had by that time acquired. From the depot to the Whangamata Hotel is about a twenty minutes’ run across the harbour, which can be crossed at lo.w water. The hard sand makes an ideal speedway for motorcars. However, as the tide at th’s time was nearly full, the; car was left at the cookhouse and we set out to tramp the four and a half miles over the new road, which is in course of construction, round the foreshore of the harbour. This walk, despite the heat, was full of interest, and the scenery was wonderful. We set out on the tramp, and the first incident worthy of mention was the crossng of the Wentworth River by means of a single-pole bridge, aptly named Nightmare Bridge. However, the crossing was made safely, and a short flat was traversed before the new road was reached. At the, edge of beautiful native bush and around a rocky bluff the site for the Wentworth bridge was pointed out. Hundreds ofi pohutukawas, past their prime but still .carrying clusters of. flowers, fringe the road, while the view looking out to sea with Mayor Island and Hauterc Island in the foreground, is a memorable one. The new road passes mainly through pum’ce country, and any attqjnpt at cultivation on the flats clearly shows that the land, will grow practically anything. Groups of navvies were passed at intervals at work on the new road while several Maori settlements and labourers’ camps were also seen.

Words fail to ade;quately describe the beauty of the scenery along this last portion of the road. Numerous small creeks, coming down- from the bush-clad hills through fem gulfies and emptying into the harbour are crossed. Of particular interest are the culverts which are being constructed over two swampy places.

Two rows of 4ft cement pipes are placed over the marsh, and then approaches are made-to the road". These pipes, each weighing about 16cwt, were brought from Auckland on scoWs and floated on barges at high tide up to within a'few yards of the site of the culverts. THE WHANGAMATA HOTEL. The Whangamata Hotel, which is situated right on an arm of the harbour and a few yards fronj-the beach', was reached shortly after 2 p.m. Needless to say, a rest and some liquid refreshment greatly ’ revived the party aftqr the tramp in the heat. Hotel, store, and post office are all grouped together apd under the managership of Mr Dillon Shaw, from whom a. hearty welcome was receivedWhile sitting on the verandah admiring the view, Mrs Shaw brought out some delicious Irish peach apples and huge plums and we; were invited to help ourselves. Among the many nterasting thugs to be seen in the vicinity of the hotel, in addition to the scenqry, is a square building which was erected about 48 years ago for the purpose of smoking fish, and is believed to be the first reinforced concrete bulding erected in New Zealand. Close to th© hotel are splendid fishing grounds, and schnapper, kahawai, and mullet can bs caught at almost any stage of the tde, while the number of small bays provide good flounder-spejaring grounds at low tide. Pipis and cockles are also obtainable in any quantity’. ■

All too> spo.n the time came tpi make our departure, wh.ich we did reluctantly. The peacefulness and beauty of the place will never .be forgotten, and oncei a good motor road is provided there can be little doubt that Whangamata is destined to, become a very-popular and well-knpiwn seaside resort.

Our return to the depot was made across the harbour, the journey being made in a buggy drawn by two giants of horses owned and driven by Mr Shaw. The - tide, which was by that time receding, did not quite reach to the axles of the buggy, and the novelty of splashing through the water and over the hard sand sfeemed to be enjoyed by the hdrses as much as it was by the travellers. The route went past the Whangamatu wharf, which runs put into deep water, goods being conveyed from the wharf to the shed by a truck running on tram-rails. A glorious view was obtained of the open Pacific, and as far as the eye could discern huge breakers rolled in over a finq beach of white, glistening sand.

The depot was reached in about half an hour, and after taking leave of our genial “mine host” we climbe.d aboard the car and started on the return journey for Paeroa, which was reached shortly before 9 p.m.