ROADING THE DISTRICT.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VI, Issue 476, 22 June 1912, Page 5

ROADING THE DISTRICT.

A GREAT METALLING SCHEME. TE KUITI-MOKAU ROADS. NO. I. The roading of any country is admittedly one of the greatest and moat important tasks which has confronted legislators from time immemorial. Rome achieved her conquests aa much by the manner in which her generals roaded the conquered states aa by feats .cf arms. The conquest of England was only made possible by the complete roading system adopted by the Roman leaders. To-day the conquest of the back blocks is only made possible by the adoption of a comprehensive and thorough roading system. In olden days, before the modern system of transit by steam was inaugurated roads were called upon to carry enormous burdens. To-day the railroads bear the brunt of the continuous national traffic, and the great expenditure to construct a country's railways makes it more difficult to obtain that measure of recognition for oridnary roading which is so necessary to the progress and prosperity of any country. Conditions change with advancing years, and a system which was sutiable for rural districts prior to the advent of dairying and other branches of farming which make for close settlement is now entirley out of date. The outstanding and vital ' necessity of close settlement is good ' roads, without which industry must languish and the settler become dis- ' contented. The close settlement of a district, until that district is peopled to the extent which makes for the | highest possible production is the l ideal to which aspiration naturally leads. In order to attain the ideal the foundation must be laid with an efficient roading system, which will provide the best and easiest means of transit to and from both local markets ' and the ports which lead to the great world market*. In a general sense an ' excellent beginning was made in the North Island by the completion of the Main Trunk line. In order to give anything like reasonable value to the railway the roading system of the country must be raised to the highest possible plan of efficiency. In the older settled districts much has been done. In districts like the King Country everything is in the embryo stage. The settlers and local authorities are seeking to accomplish, with the means at their disposal, their portion of the great national work which is represented by roading. To narrow the subject down to definite local application the Te KuitiAwakino road, which is portion of the main arterial thoroughfare between Taranaki and Auckland provinces, drains through its by-roads an normous extent of country aggregating approximately half a million acres. The first sixteen miles of the road from Te Kuiti carries an enormous amount of traffic, the districts of Te Mapara, Pukearuhe, Mairoa, Pio Pio, Aria and Mangaotaki each contributing its quota to the general burden, while further on Paemako, Mangaotaki Valley, Mahoenui and out to the shadow of the Taumatamaire the trade of the district is carried on the road. From the dawn of settlement in the district it was recognised that the Awakino road was destined to be the most important highway in the district and special attention was paid to it by the Government. tial annual grants were voted for its formation and subsequently special grants were made for metalling it. That such a course was necessary is made manifest when it is remembered that the first twenty miles of road traversed native-owned country. Only within the past few years have the Pukearuhe and Mapara blocks been acquired by the Government and opened up for settlement. Until last year the native-owned land was unratable, and it was obviously impossible for settlers at Paemako or Mairoa to contribute towards the metalling of a main road for a distance of twenty miles. Consequent on the settlement of blocks of country at Paemako and Mairoa metalling was commenced on the main road eleven years ago. Each year since that time grants have been made for the road, and efforts have been made to lay the metal as far as possible. Unfortunately progress was slow and the settlers have had the experience of seeing much of the grant, which it was fondly hoped would be devoted entirely to metalling, utilised for maintaining the road, and'keening it open for traffic during the winter months. At a reasonable estimate it is safe to assume that at least £30,000 has been expended on the road by the Government. That for this enormous expenditure we have to show onlv about nine or ten miles of metalling is a sufficiently strong indication that something is radically wrong with the system which achieved such a result. Each succeedin"- year has merely accentuated the evil The Settlement has been pushed to every corner of the district and the traffic on the road has increased to such an extent that a great annual expenditure is recmired to maintain even the metalled portion of the road. The unmetalled portion is indescribable, and before the present winter ends the r amount of money expended in keening tthe road open for the mail coach will reach formidable figures. In the interests of the. whole of tne settlers who are dependent upon the state of the main road for access to their fa'-ms it is felt that the time has arrived for concerted action to placa matters en a better footing than 1.-. the case at present. In view of the importance of the work and the large number of settlers who will be affected thereby, it is obvious that any scheme placed'before the people must be thoroughly considered by the settlers with a view to unanimity on the question. In future articles it is proposed to deal with the various point 1 involved, in order to place before the ' ratepayers who are most deeply con- ' cerned. „™, r i nll ■i J .L*g.n.,t[..'^-Wi,-Ti l r.*.~Hjis—^wJ