A HOLIDAY TOUR IN THE SOUTH ISLAND.

Manawatu Herald, Volume I, Issue 56, 11 March 1879, Page 2

A HOLIDAY TOUR IN THE SOUTH ISLAND.

(By an Excursionist.). The Waitaki River, whioh divides Otago from Canterbury, is orosaed by a substantial iron bridge, whioh cost no less than £80,000. It is a stream of considerable magnitude, though not quite so spreading as the fiakaia. Journeying towards Ouinaru the only feature which attracts one's notice is the gradually improving character of the soil which lies around Oamaru, and particularly on the South side of it, appeared to be very rich, and the crops consequently very fine. The town of Oamaru is built almost entirely of the celebrated Ounaru stone, which, of oourae, imparts a very substantial and nice appearance to the place. I found that shipping was far better accommodated here than at Timaru, as the Oamaru breakwater does rot lie entirely in the future, a portion of it being now in use. The Railway Station arrangements are rather peculiar, however, as the train here "turns tail" and comes out the same way that it goes in, and then branches off from the North line, gradually coming round to its proper direction. Between Oamaru and Dunedin there is no town of any importance, Palmerston and Waikouaili are the only places worthy of notice, and these are quite small places. The country, except for a few miles round Oamaru, is very little cultivated, very mucb

of it being far too broken for easy ploughing atid gra^itig appears* to be the fivodrite pursuit. When I was trafelHng Hi Canterbury the line froqueutly runs for miles' without a curve, but here, although you codld 1 hardly call Vie codntry hilly, still, the iidttire of the grdiind rendered curves frequently hecessdryj iliicl dfc Oteptfpo a tunnel actually becomes requisite, being the Ur'afc for nearly 200 miles. On getting nearer Dunedin, ranges of hills are encountered, and the lino after having fuil inland for a few miles comes dUftnV rieiire'r td the sseta t until at Waikouaiti and BhteSltin fod Are rtlnnirlg dose to the edge of high cliffy This iff rather a romantic spot — more romantic tllatt pleasant when going down hill if the pace is fast — as for a considerable distance the line is never more than a few feet from the edge of the cliff, and at one or two points it actually overhangs, and has to be supported b» bridging) and as you pass over these chasms' ytfii ban sfe'e" the sb'a breaking below you. In many places Wo, tile" DM ha* been cut out of the face o r the cliff, and in tilt! distance looks like a narrow shelf nitclied out of a huge wall. The construction, of this portion of the line gave considerable trouble to those concerned, as it was frequently necessary to secure the workmen by irieaiis df lift) lines fastened round their waists to arrest their fall In c'Mde df slipping) and so avoid their being dashed to pieces oil the rocks below. The gradient on this part of the line is principally 1 in 50, quite steep enough to cause trains coming down to travel unpleasantly fast sometimes. When the line leaves the face of the cliffs it winds in atld out of the various spurs of a densely ttdtfded rßnge of hills which it; is gradually ascending until the JJebdrah Say Tunttel is reached. This Deborah Bay Tunnel is dne of some little celeb' ity, in the firit place it i 9 7-8 of a mile in length, which entitles it to rank second, iv point of length, in our colonial railway tunnels ; then, secondly, on account of its altitude and comparative Inaccessibility (being in a rugged wooded country), it was eicfiedlflgly difficult to lay out accurately ; but so well was the Work performed in the end, that when the working parties from either end met in the middle, the lino and level of their workings did not disagree more than about an inch. It is the range of hills pierced by this tunnel that divides the harbour of Port Chalmers from the ocean, and shortly after emerging from the Southern end of the tunnel the flew of the lower harbour and Port Chalmers, with its cStedsito shipping, opecs before you ; and viewed from the elevated stand point which the railway line occupies the scene i 9 a truly charming one on a fine summers day. The liDe descends the range as rapidly as it ascended it on the other side, the view becoming more limited the lower you get, yet still preserving much of its bflfiutj . When about a couple of miles on the Dunedin side of Port Chalmers the line has dropped right down to the level of the Port line, and thereafter runs along t'aat line to Dunedin, skirting the beautiful Otago harbour all the way. Port Chalmers, like Lyttelton, is peopled by persons connected with the shipping interest, and, although not very largo, seems to be a bustling busy place. The accomodation for shipping here is fair, not very good, as the wharfage space is decidedly inadequate to present requirements, many vessels being compelled to discharge in the stream. There is a good graving dock capable of taking in vessels of considerable tonnage. The whole harbour is under the control of one Board, yet a stranger would scarcely think so, as work involving an expenditnre of hundreds of thousands of pounds, I should imagine, is in progress, entirely with the object of improving the upper harbour and taking the shipping up to Dunedin, while nothing is done to relieve the overstrained wharfage accommodation at Port Chalmers. The success of this endeavor to get ocean going vessels to Dunedin appears to be an exceedingly problematical matter after all. The city of Dunedin U now a very fine looking pUee. The railway station is not by any means equal to the Christcliurch one, but is shortly to give place t> a structure of more imposing appearance, and to be accomodated with a largely increased length of sidings. Tne public buildings in Dunedin are, in some instances, handsome odifices, and are quite a feature in the town. The Colonial Bank offices are especially worthy of mention, occupying as they do such a conspicuous position opposite the foot of High-street. The building is a massive stone one, two stories high, elaborately decorated, and of a stylo not to be called heavy, a very nice tower rises from the centre of the Princes-street front, in which is fixed a splendid illuminated clock. The Government offices are very solid looking buildings and somewhat spacious, but iv point of appearance do not contrast favourably with the Colonial Bank. The Pose Officj is an immense building (if used for a post office only), and is built of brick relieved with Oamaru stone. The style of architecture is rather plain. The Cargill fountain is a very fine and highly ornamental monument to the memory of the founder of the province and its first Superintendent. The Otago University building and many others are well worthy of description had I tho space at ray disposal. Some of tho Dunedin Churches, too, are very fine and roomy piles, especially the Firat Church and the new Knox Church. Dunedin, like Wellington, is a city of hills, and consequently shows well. Its retail shops are both numerous and fine, and Princes-street on Saturday evening presents quite a spectacle. Our Dunedin friends are not going to be long behind the enterprising Wellingtonians in the matter of street tramways, as a start with theirs has already been made in George street, the principle being much the same apparently a* the Wellington one. Some of the mercantile houses of Dunedin are much to be commended for the enterprise they have shown in the erection of most commodious and elegant business premises. The establishments of Messrs Guthrie and Larnaoh, Arthur Briscoe and Co., and Sargood. Son, and Ewen, are particularly noticeable in this respect. Leaving Dunedin, on the rood South, the line after getting clear of the town commences to ascend the range of hills enclosing the city on this side, Janfl as you rise you get a capital view of South Dunedin, Kensington, the Peninsula, and the Ocean Beach, all fairly populated suburbs. On reaching Caversham the line begins to get in amongst the hills, and the view becomes rather limited, but passing through first the Caversham and then the Chain Hills tunnels, the Taieri plain is opened up. This plain is of considerable extent, stretching for several miles, and appears to be of great fertility. In Borne places the oropß were really luxuriant, although at present quite green, and if only good -harvest weather is secured the yield should be very large. Some idea of the value set upon the land on this plain may be gathered Bom the faot of my having been told by a local estate agent that he had recently negotiated the sale of a small farm at £30 per acre, but that he did not think that prices would average more than about £25 per acre. At its far end the plain narrows, and after passing through a short piece of rougher country, the Tokomairiro Plain is entered ; this is very similar to the Taieri Plain, b«t rather less in extent

and boasting a town of some little pretentions situate near its centre, Milton by name. The ne*t town of any note that yott come to is Bnlctatha, a name that during the very heavy floods of last whiter wan quite a by-word. This waa ft ptosvetorm and rising town a year ago, an,d great e»peetatitfns Were entertained as to its future, but slitee 1 those disastrous floods the people appear to have lost confidence in the place, and that energetic bustling spirit which generally characterises colonist^ especially Scotchmen, appears to have been damped ' and no wonder, for men who had spent yeats of hard work to build up a home «ild arirrtfddd it With a nice garden and other dorrtfdrtsj had the mortification of seeing the result of their labours swept away by the ruthless waters, and a dreary desolation remaining in its stead, Of the severity of these floods I had some little eridenoe in the sight of the wredk of the old Road Bridge, which had been a fine substantial stractnre in its day, and in tho_ Hft'eUl Iwtetf dud chunuels in a hundred and one diflefoflt ptao'ea all around which the mighty torrent of tftffcefs had scoured out » and I saw the place month* alter the flood ocouired, and after censiderable repairing had been done. Leaving Balclutha, still going Pouth, you follow the Molynoaux or Clutha River for a short distance, and then get into hillodky ground, , a good deal of which is fit for the ploiign, but fery little of which i» actually cultivated, the land for tbo mm* part being grazed. The section o* lhw from Balclutha to Clinton is but recently opened, and che railway in many respects presented an unfinished appearance here - fencing incomplete, station buildings only half done, and other matter in like state. The tteXt section from Clinton to Gore is of somewhat older dtflnding, though even-that is comparatively new. In passing Waipabe on this section we noticed that progress was being made with the new branch Hue •. to Tapanui, about which it will be remem- :i bered so much was said during last 'session of Parliament. ; I-. Gore i» quite a small place at present, but the " knowing one* " predict that it ia i to be the Ashburton of Otago. It certainly stands iv the centre of a considerable' exV tent of very fine land, and a branch railway tapping some of the best of i* is about to be constructed by a Company under the District Railways Act. Their line will .' start from Gore, traversing the Waxmea Plains, and finally join the line from Invercargill to Kingston at the Elbow. Many of your readers will remember the sad accident which befel Mr Conyere, the Commissioner of Railways for the Soiith 1 Island, et Gore; at the time 1 passed ■ through he was still staying at the hotel ' there, although he was then improving, rapidly, and has since gone home to Christchurch. (To be Continued.)