THE KAWHIA RAILWAY.

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

THE KAWHIA RAILWAY.

AN IMPORTANT CONFERENCE. THE ROUTE DISCUSSED. ! Own Correspondent. j The Kawhia Chamber of Commerce | issued invitations to all the surround- : ing Chambers of Commerce, and to , the two Parliamentary members as j well as to the Minister lor Public Works tu attend a conference at i Kawhia to discuss railway affairs, < and.other maters of mutual interest. Mr J. A. Young, M.P. for Wai- i kato, was the only Parliamentary [ representative that attended. Mr j Mostyn Jones represented Te Kuiti Chamber of Commerce, and Messrs J. Willis (president), F. W. .Whyta (vice-president) and J. A, Ormsby j attended as delegates from Otoro- | hanga Chamber of Commerce. Te Kuiti and Otorohanga representatives drove in company in a buggy and pair from Otorohanga and thus traversed an important route, in fact the shortest route from the Main Trunk to the coast. Being the middle of winter the roads were at their worst only the Otorohanga end and a portion of the road near Te Rau-a-Moa haying metal. On a particularly bad portion of the road between Te Rau-a-Moa and Oparau the visit of tha Minister for Public Works had possibly been anticipated, as there was a notice stuck on the side of the road which warned drivers not to exceed the speed limit. Although the limit was put down at one mile per hour there was no possibility of being able to attain even that rate. The road paßse,s through an immense amount of beautiful bush scenery, and past rippling brooks with large boulders showing through the water, and in more than one place are to be seen large outcrops of apparently good quality coal. This coal has been used by some of the settlers who speak well of it. At Oparau the making oE ferro-con-crete piles is in progress, the contract for erecting a ferro-concrete bridge across the tidal Oparau river having been let. The delegates were met at Oparau and taken round in an oil launch to Kawhia township. THE PUBLIC MEETING. A public meeting was held in the large hall, and there were about a hundred people present from all parts of the harbour, including a fair sprinklin of ladies. Mr Shaw, chairman of the Kawhia County Council, was in the chair, and welcomed the delegates. He explained that the road they had just traversed was, for a great part, the dividing line between the Kawhia and Waitomo counties, and was supposed to be a Government road, and under the Government control. After the delegates had returned thanks Mr J. A. Young M.P., addressed the meeting, stating that the matter of railway communication be-

tween Kawhia harbour and the Main Trunk railway would have his entire support, and also he would see what he could do in reference to the road. THE SMOKE SOCIAL. Immediately following on the public meeting a smoke social was held, and the patriotic toast was duly honoured, and several splendid musical items were given. Mr Buckeridge, secretary of the Kawhia Chamber of Commerce, then moved: "That application be made to have an immediate trial survey made with the idea of constructing a railway to connect Kawhia harbour with the Main Trunk railway" Mr Buckeridge stated that they, the residents of Kawhia, had a magnificent harbour with deep water channels from the heads to various portiuns of the harbour, and right up to their wharf, where they had about twenty feet at low water, and with very little dredging they could accommodate home-going boats. They considered Kawhia harbour was the natural outlet for the upper Waikato, and the King Country. Mr J. A. Ormsby, Otorohanga, in supporting the motion had great faith in the proposed railway. Having livd in Kawhia and To Hau-ii-Moa, as well as Otorohanga, he knew every inch of the country, and was pleased to say the delegates were j unanimous in desiring the milway, j and were not going to specify any j particular route, but they wanted a | survey made. | Mr Jas. Noonan, Kawhia, had advo- j cated the railway twelve years aire, j and was now more convinced than ever that they should have a railway. They had every facility for establishing a freezing works for butter and mutton and beef, and they could accommodate up to (1000 tons, and Kawhia would be the cheapest port to shin from. Mr Jonathan was very pleased with the support that was being given, and particularly thanked the Otorohanga people for having brought the matter forward so prominently by inviting, a short tinn. hack, (lie Kawhia Chamber of Commerce to Otorohanga, and discussing the matte'.-. He 'was a member of the first Kawhia Railway League and felt that the position was now resolving itself into practical lines. Mr Willis, Otorohanga, as coming from Kawhia's nearest Maun Trunk station, was pleased to support the project, and wanted nor. only the trial survey, but also the railway. The dairying industry was rapidy increas ing in the Otorohanga and other King Colin try districts, and we wanted the cheapest outlet we could get to export our butter, as well as our mutton and beef. Also on the way over they had their attention drawn to sevcra' outcrops of coal, which were stated to bo very extensive. K A WIIIA - N API E Li LINE. Mr Mostyn Jones, Te Kuiti, was entirely in sympathy with the railway matter', and would like to see. the Kawhia harbour linked up to the Main Trunk line. He would go further, and advocate a line right from one coast to the other, from Kawhia to, say, j Napier, which would be a trunk line, j and open up a very great area of land.

Vir.T. A. Young, M.P., stated that he was a representative for the Hamilto:i (.■huniin-r of Commerce, and he had a free band as regarded the routs. He wan strongly i;i favour of a trial survov lu'ii::; made, lit- congratulated {he delegates fur their open minds in not. advueai im: any special points for the proposed railway to touch, and

thought. T.hi- delegates' idea of leaving thai (o ihr engineer was a good one. :\!r Jackson, representing the Mokau-Waitewhena Railway League, iva? pleased to see that the various local holies were in earnest, and energel.ie.ally moving in the matter of linking Kawhia harbour with the Main Trunk railway.

I\lr Why to, Otorohanga, endorsed what his co-delegates had said in the matter. It; wag his first visit to Kawhia, and he was greatly impressed with the quality of the land and the immense area which was not yet taken up, but was satisfied that when this railway went through it would be a payable proposition right from the start. The King Country was developing fast and they were going to very shortly export no end of butter, mutton and beef. If they could start a freezing works at Kawhia where ocean-going boats could load, it would be the King Country's cheapest and most convenient outlet. Mr Shaw, was pleased at the unanimity of opinion. They had a sufficient depth of water right up tn the wharf at all stages of the tide to accommodate the coastal vessels, and with very little dredging they could make the harbour perfectly safe for ocean-going steamers.

The proposition was then put to thi meeting and carried with acclamation.

DEPUTATION TO WELLINGTON. Mr Morris then moved:—That the resolution carried at the Otorohanga conference with respect to sending delegates from the various interested bodies to Wellington be confirmed.— Carried.

The toast of "Army and Navy" was proposed by Mr Randall, and responded to by Lieuts. Barton and Morris. "Our Parliament," was proposed by Mr Lanly and responded to Mr by Young, M.P., who stated that Parliament was a reflex of the people, and if the peope were no: satisfied with the Government they had their remedy at the ballot box, and it wbb everyone's rluty to exercise their vote. Mr Young proposed "Our Local Bodies." Having been connected with local bodies for a great many years he knew what they had to put up with. Mr Jonathan, in responding on behalf of the Kawhia Town Board, was a great advocate of good roads, and wanted the outside roads put in good order so that Kawhia would not be so isolated.

Mr Whyte proposed "Ou* Farmers," ani, in congratulating the Kawhia people upon their land, would like to see them get bejtter roads. They had come from Otorohanga in the middle of winter, and, although they got through, portions of the main road were very bad. He would like to see metalled roads which would induce more people to come to Kawhia as a holiday resort, and would assisji the district greatly. He stated that the Otorohanga farmers were recognising the value of metalled roads, as being beneficial all round, and were forming special rating areas and raising loans on favourable terms to metal a number of miles. There was quite a stretch of the Otorohanga end of the Otorohanga-Kawhia road metalled at present, and next summer there would be more. Mr Humphries, in responding, said he was pleased that Kawhia had improved a great deal, and he was quite satisfied it would go on improving in spite of their drawbacks. It was decided that delegates should be sent to Wellington on July 16th to urge the construction of the proposed railway, and to request an immediate trial survey!