King Country Chronicle

King Country Chronicle, Volume VII, Issue 589, 30 July 1913, Page 4

King Country Chronicle

Wednesday, ,luly :>oth, 1«•1 ;$

A BAR TO PROGRESS

A phase of the roading question to which sufhiccnt attention has not yet been paid is the necessity f;>r completing the roads leading out from Te Kuiti. At the present time tha only roads leading to settlement that have been formed throughout are the Te Kuiti-Awakino main ro3ri and the Arapao road which taps th<■ ■'.iairoa district. Te Kuiti is naturally the centre of a great s'lope of country, and i.s destined to become the distributing base of a district which is not yet defined, hut which must extend to for many mih-3 on each aide of the railway. A road running North an;! South along the railway as is neceesary to the town and to thn settlers as roads opening up the country to the East, and West. At ptesenfc the Southern mad comes :o an cm l , at the Waiteti Valley, ahcut three miles from the town, and settlers beyond that point are continually inconvenienced in consequence. To the Korth the road extend? for little more than two milee.and though a through survey was made down the vaiif-y io Haugatiki several years ago no eiiort has been made to push the work ahead. To the East of Te Kuiti an enormous stretch of country has been taken up by settlers, and the road of access to the Rangitoto block ends a mile or two from the town, the settlers being forced to make use of a bridle tiaek m reach their holdings. In the interests of the settlers it is high time the authorities took in hand the roading question and deait with it on a comprehensive basis, while in the interests cf the town it is the plain duty of the residentb to make every effort to have proper connection between town and country established. The hand of the Government is stayed ostensibly by the fact that much native-owned land has been taken up without provision having been made for roading. nut it is obvious that the greater the area affected the more passing , the need for comprehensive action in orcic-i io effect a remedy. If ilie machinery at present provided for the roading of these lands is inadequate or inefficient no time should be lost in providing the necessary power, it is to be hoped the town residents will use their utmost endeavours to remove such a serious bar to the progress of both town and district. If the present position is perpetuated trade must languish, and progress be retarded indefinitely. Instead of being heralded as the progressive centre of a great district Te Kuiti must he content to take rank its n town which failed to achieve the promise of its youth. With towns and districts, as with individuals, in order to keep step with the march of progress, there must be no halting by the way. The obstacles which block Vnr: onward march must be grappled wiirj. and overome by the united ob'orts of the people most affected. The roading question is the most formidable obstacle which has to be faced

in this locality, and we. trust tint co-operative action on the part ci town and country residents will lis made manifest in no uncertain manner in'the near future.