PROPOSED KAWHIA RAILWAY.

King Country Chronicle, Volume III, Issue 126, 28 January 1909, Page 5

PROPOSED KAWHIA RAILWAY.

Main Trunk Connection.

Cons id*'rub!-' attention had been deVoted of late to the proposed railway between Kawhia and the Main Trunk line. The following letter written by Mr A. W. Babbage of Kawhia. which appeared in a recent issue of the Auckland Weekly News, indicates the attitude of Kawhia people on the subject: "In the Auckland Weekly News ©f Decentesr 31 you have a short article (with quotations from the Wellington Post) on the route of the proposed Kawhia railway, and I was sorry to see the question was raised as to which route would suit Auckland or Welling- ; ton best. Kawhia Harbour is the i natural port of all the centre of the North Island lying to the westward of Lake Taopo. and the point that should be kept in view is to get the shortest and quickest route into that district, and so land goods there as cheaply as posisble; and it will be time enough to see whether Auckland or Wellington will get the trade when the line is made. It should be to the interests of both cities to get the line made a? soon as possible, and it would be far cheap- ' er to land goods from either Wellington or Auckland through Kawhia Harbour than to send them by the Main Trunk line. Also, if we take it that good» are to be sent from Auckland and Wellington by water, via Kawhia. into the district named, it does not materially matter to either which way the line goes it simply means tapping the district to the north or south, as the case may be. We. in Kawhia. are quite prepared to leave the question of route to the surveyers and engineers as long as the main point is kept in view. vis., that Kawhia is the natural port for the centre of the island, and the line be made accordingly. The idea of taking the line round by Raglan is out of the question; it would mean sacrificing the natural advantages of Kawhia Harbour Co satisfy a district.