OHURA VALLEY.

King Country Chronicle, Volume II, Issue 102, 15 October 1908, Page 5

OHURA VALLEY.

(Own Correspondent.) The Ohura settlers met Messrs Hickman and Elliott in the Mangaroa hall on the 3rd inst., to consider the objects of the Waitewhenua Railway League in advocating the proposed deviation of the Stratford - Ongarue line. Mr Love-day was in the chair and introduced the delegates to the meeting and asked for a statement of the business of the League. Mr Elliott explained the position taken up by -the .settlers at Alia, Kaeaea and surrounding districts as not antagonistic to the authorised route, but in the interest of the whole district to work out a bigger scheme. The sfheme was to have the line from Te to Pio Pio, then branch to MarSsrca and to Kawhia, thus giving the Mcvr.garoa settlers a seaport at Kawhia 70 miles distant, as opposed to'the longer distances to Auckland rnd Wellington. M-r C. J. Ryan, in replying to the cerate?, explained that the settlers in the Ohura had taken up their sections +riv='ting in the good faith of the Govern, n'tint to carry out the authorised ii-e"art 1 had laid out their whole plan ' c f chelations in that belief, having established their sawmills, dairy facand other businesses so as to be ' convenient to that route, and -that for settlers in the Aria district to agi~2X a ~ t o have the line diverted was. to rob^the Ohura settlers of what they tj'ch-fiv considered their birthright. ttp '-•'■::/- rot enpesed to the idea of a v through the Mokau district as Z' n "j,'r district wes rich enough to wara li'-e as seen as it was sufficient-C'cievelr-i.ed. The immediate necessity of the OnVarr.e line was the absenec of in the Ohura district, while the A-Tc-kau district vas fortunate in 1 avi'ug n^ : 'vl -urdance of qced limestone for Dunn. >iiho tsiho, considered that

the rate of prop-ess of ar.y lire was with the i : ea of altering the route of the present authorised line." Mr Lovedr.y thanked the delegates and expressed himself strongly opposed to any propcesd deviation, but hoped that this meeting would be the forerunner of many meetings in which he hoped to beable to assist them in other matters which "were to the interests cf the different districts. Messrs Elliott and Hickman thanked the meeting for the very friendly way in which they had been received, and hoped that although in this matter they agreed to" differ there would be many ways in which they would prove their mutual pyi^p^ihy. The district a very excitable condition, as thjjresult of reading the public worksVstatement re the proposed change of route, as after looking forward for years to the present route it comes as a cold shock that there would be any alteration. The settlers are havng a very favourable spring; feed is beginining to be plentiful and the benefit of last season's fires 'is now being seen, the grass coming up very even and thick. Settlers that have been stocking sheep - are' able to carry more stock than ever before, and are loud in their praise of the manner in which the grass is thickening, and providing a good pasture. A considerable amount of ploughing is being done to provide winter feed, mainly by those interested in dairying, as winter feed will be required for successful cow spanking.