The Wanganui River.

Manawatu Herald, 29 March 1898, Page 2

The Wanganui River.

A tiip up the Wanganui River is a most enjoyable one on account of the beauty of the scenery. We learn from our Wanganui exchanges there is some fear that the bush may some day be cut down and burnt as there is no public control over the land on the banks, the greater portion of the river to Pipiriki being through native land. We can easily understand how uncomfortable the inhabitants of Wanganui must feel at this risk and how they would be willing to do all they can to preserve the natural scenery of New Zealand's Rhine. The River Trust Board should bestir themselves in time and urge an appropriation from Parliament for the purchase of sufficient land on either side of the river which would secure the bush ai well as adopting means to prevent the fires from adjoining bush land from spreading to these reserves. Every district urges its own claims to consideration first, but we hardly doubt if any one would object to such a reasonable expenditure as preserving the beauties of this river would be, and we think that tbe River Trust would receive outside support to its representations did they but go the right way to enlist it. Anyone who has travelled through the Manawatu Gorge before the hand of man had defiled it can appreciate how easily a beauty spot can be marred. The Gorge was beautiful, bat it is not so now with a roadway on one side and a railway with its ugly slippery bankß on the other.

We have noticed also about our friends at Wanganui that they have expended very large sums of money upon their river at the mouth, with very little success. The River Trust has also been meddling at places with groins further up the rivar in the hope of retaining enough water to float the shallowest of steamers. It is evident that the members of both Harbour and River Trust Boards will not read the signs of the times aright, and for present gain neglect to notice that all this expenditure is bound to be in vain, as the denuding of the land of bush most materially affects the fall of rain and, as we have had ample experience

with the Manawatu river, we get less water each year in the summer, and the floods in winter are larger and rise more rapidly. As the Manawatu is affected so must the Wanganui> in time, be affected, and the wise man is he who takes cognisance of these facts. We do not propose from these data to suggest that the pleasures of the river traffic will be lost if only the right staps to conserve the water are adopted, but what is now being done is utterly useless. The Wanganui river is of most peculiar formation, being, what is called, a volcanic fissure and the river thus practically cuts through the hills at right angles, having all along its route either perpendicular or very steep sloping banks. The bed of the river is on the papa rock, and the width between the bankß is not very great. Without being an engineer the trip up this river brought to our mind how comparatively easy this might be made a great commercial water way into the interior by the simple device, as used to be in force in the older European countries, of " locking " the river, that is, erecting dams at points across the river from bank to bank, so as to give a certain depth of water between each " lock." The founda tion is good for such work, the bank* are so high that it would be impossible to endanger the adjoining land? from floods by such hcuou, and ihe expense has no need to be enormous. On the Thames in England this plan has been in use for centuries, though the river runs through i«>vil roun'ry, and as a charge is made at cnv.h luck. it points the way bow inteie-t on the co3t could partly bepecured. W hive nothing to do with this nv*r but hid we, it would be our inic-i\;si ro mdeavour to sroura some such work being carried ou". For a start there would not need t > be either many locks or very r.vjch water retained in the river, bur, n* trade increased these could b.- Ada A to and the existing one 3 male highvj si shii the water would be deeper and thus navigable for bigger draught boat-. We believe this will be the only way by which the Wanganui will ba navigable in a few years time.