TOUR OF PLAINS.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXX, Issue 5405, 27 March 1929, Page 1

TOUR OF PLAINS.

COUNCILLORS INSPECT ROADS.

PATETONGA MATTER SETTLED.

With the purpose of. becoming acquainted with the needs of the county prior to the preparation of .the annual estimates the members of the; Hauraki Plains County Counc.il visited most of. the roads on Monday 1 ;st. Leaving Ngatea at 10 a.m-, the party motored up the Ngatea-Kaihere road and noted the slow progress of the metalling; work on both sections due to irregular supplies. Slaw progress was also. evident on the PatetongaAlorrinsville road, where the Lands Department’s contractor should be about finishing the .season’s programme but. has only just started- Between 15 and 20 chains of metal have been laid. Owing to the wet weather having made cartage frpkn the Mauk koro quarry impossible, the contractor has had to sec.ure supplies from .the Piako County Council’s quarry.

The councillors • motored up the Maukora Landing road and along the Top road to Patetonga, beipg shown a* bridge that needed attention and several sections of road that should be gravelled. The tramline road W£iiS inspected: and a number, of settlers met. It was agreed! to increase the £35 voted for gravel far this road to £5O, and the engineer was, instructed to get' the work done as quickly as possible. This road will be metalled as part of the Patetonga riding Scheme, but it will be a year or two before it .will receive attention and the gravel will provide a surface in the meantime.

Cr. JHhyn then conducted the party to Mangawhero Road, which is another. road that cannot be metalled under the riding .scheme until the main roafis are completed. This stipulation wa.s inserted by the Local Government Loans Board. The position was simplified somewhat by the fact that alongside thes road is. a hill stream which brings <h?wn large quantities of gravel. In previous years, when the Mangawhero Road settlers experienced a difficulty in paying their rates, the council accepted offer to work out the rates by shovelling metal from the roadside drain on to the road at. the rate of 2s 6d per cubic yard. A little work was dohe last' season, and when thej road became fit to receive metal this’ summer the settlers agreed among themselves that the work would proceed. How-, ever, only one man did anything, as others noted that. the council was having,, to pay 5s 6d to 6ss for the gravelling of other roads in the riding and declined to, work at 2s 6d per yard.’

la the roadside drain therq is • big quantity 'of gravel, for, the cut was made Bft wide and' almost the same depth, as it was fcnown that it would fill up. Thq settlers were qtf: opinion that the Lands Department-would not. remove; the gravel in order to provide better dirainage, realising that sooner or later the gravel would be required for the road and the supply in the drain could then be spld. They considered that.’ pressure should be. brought to bear on the. department, because if .the work was,delayed for three years, until the road.lo.an money became available, t'he drain would fill up so' much that it. would be unable to carry floodiwater and the road and farm land wciuld be flooded. It was agreed?that an .offer be made to tbe Lands Department to shift the metal on to the roadland whit for payment until the loan money became availalbe. ' .

’ After a long discussion between the councillors and settlers it was agreed that the council should call tenders fotr the gravelling, of a section of the road, and that if no satisfactory tenders Were received, the .settlers, would do the work at-a price agreed uponThis matter being settled, the councillors proceeded along the Morrins-ville-Waitakaruru road, and noted the line surface cin the five-mile section gravelled) last •ummer under the Tow--bape loan. At Mr A. B. (McDonald’s stream a ha.lt was made to inspect the locality where it'hgd been suggested a dam should be built to l form a catchment for gravel. Coxhead’s filling was the location* of the next stop, but as this, work had been completed after having given trouble for a great’number'of years the halt was a brief one, and. the party passed bn to Pipiroa, where the question of a more powerful engjne on’ the ferry was investigated. The approach to the Hauraki? bridge and the metalling of N'gataipna East Road were then viewed). ■ /

As the tour had .taken longer that had been anticipated, it was not possible to visit the Netherton a,nd Kei’epeehi ridings, as had been hoped-