MANAWATU-OROUA RIVER DISTRICT.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLVI, Issue 2753, 3 July 1924, Page 3

MANAWATU-OROUA RIVER DISTRICT.

COMMISSION SITS AT PALMERSTON NORTH. RATEPAYERS’ OBJECTIONS. A Commission appointed by His Excellency, the Governor-General, comprising- Messrs Thomas Brook, Commissioner *of Crown Lands (chairman), N. H. Mackie (District Government valuer), and S. Jiekell (civil engineer, -Palmerston North) sat at the Palmerston North courthouse yesterday to consider and . report on the petition praying that certain lands be included in the Manawatu-Oroua River district. Mr F. C. Hay, engineer to the Manawatu-Oroua River Board, .spoke iii support of the petition. He said the river board district had originally been 'determined on the basis of an old survey, gazetted in 1907. When the Board was formed, some lands affected by flood waters of

the Manawatu and Oroua Rivers . had been omitted. In fairness an cxv animation had been made for other such lands. The result was the petition, seeking to have these included in the area affected by his Board’s flood protection scheme, a course which would benefit the ratepayers to a degree determined by the subsequent classification. The trend of recent legislation was to give River Boards as wide a scope as possible, leaving classification to decide the benefits. The classification had, in fact, begun but had necessarily to be stopped until the Commission decided whether the lands under review should be included in his Board’s district. Evidence would lie brought with regard to the flooding of some (if them but in other cases it would be a matter of tendering engineering evidence on his own account. * SCOPE OF THE COMMISSION. • The chairman, Mr Brook, requested any persons aggrieved bv the petition to state their objections. There were a dozen ratepayers presnot, all being objectors to the prin--eiple of inclusion of the lands sought. to he affected. With the exception of Mr John Chrystall, who could not. remain owing to the long delay in opening the sitting, all voiced tlieir objections personally. In additional eases, some objectors present spoke for neighbouring settlers. Mr P. C. Mildon, speaking on behalf of himself and nine other settlers present in Court, who were ratepayers in the Kairanga section 'of the land affected by the petition, objected to inclusion of the lands of ‘those people in the river district.' Witness stated as his reasons for objecting to the ‘ inclusion of his own land that it had never within his knowledge, or that of his father, been flooded. The Manawatu river at its highest flood had been at least two miles from his land which was 20 to 25 feet above" the highest flood level. In reply to Mr Jiekell, he said that- at the time of the 1904 flood, his land had had water on it from the Maugaone stream —not from the Manawatu or Oroua rivers. Mr Jiekell: Well the Mangaoane stream is being treated under the board’s scheme. Mr Mildon was given permission to ask the engineer, Mr Hay, - v the following question: — How do you arrive at your deeis- > ion to include the lands in the petition/? Mr Hay: —The reason in a nutshell is because the lands drained into the Manawatu River at liangiotu. The general opinion was that there should be one outlet, the one drainage system, discharging into the Manawatu river at Burke’s drain. Mr Mildon said that lie would not have objected if a greater area of land in the same position as his had been included, that is the land contained not only in the Manawatu Drainage Board’s district, but the whole of the water-shed. Mr Hay: We may yet have to pump flood waters and contend that the water we would have to pump is that coming from the. objectors' land. Speaking for myself, I /was quite prepared to include the whole of the Manawatu Drainage Board’s area in the petition. My A. A. Mitchell said that he was an appellant in the same position as Mr Mildon. “We are never affected by Hoods in the Manawatu and Oroua rivers.” Mr C. W. Turner, another appellant admitting to Mr Hay that he derived benefit from the Manawatu Drainage Board’s.work,, submitted a like case: Messrs John, J. D. and M. Kearins, W- .J-. Xoung, ,L. M Turner and J. Mutheson gave evidence that their lands and those of others in the Kairanga had not been flooded and \yould not derive any benefit from the proposed flood protection works. The. chairman said that at the conclusion of the hearing, a visit would be paid to the localities concerned. Mr Hay said that, in the case of those appellants who said that their were above flood level, it had to be remembered that nearly all of them were in the Manawatu Drainage Board’s district and that the schemes of that body must benefit by the execution of the scheme of the Manawatu-Oroua River Board. Mr F. J. Boddy, another appellant, then gave evidence in respect to several sections in the Kopane returned soldier settlement, stating , that they also, were above flood level and would derive no benefit from the proposed river protection works.' In answer to Mi 1 Hay witness said that these sections were under the ■" Oroua Drainage Board’s scheme afad

lie admitted that if the Oroua River was blocked up with willows and the Manawatu-Oroua River Board did not take steps to have I hem cleared away, the drainage might, be affected.

Speaking on behalf of himself and other nturned soldier settlers at Kopane, Mr G. G. Brook said that tlieir properties would receive no advantage from the river board’s scheme.

Mr Hay said that the channel of the Oroua river might easily get into such a state that it would overflow on the occasion of a flood. He doubted whether it would even now iu its-present condition, take an “old man” flood. The ManawatuOroua River Board was dealing with it. uder the scheme and would thus ensure the safety of the Kopane lands alluded to. He reminded the commhjsion x that the ManawatuOroua River Board bad a classification scheme, whereby those in its area would be rated pro rata according to benefit received.

This concluded (lie evidence anil the chairman stated that the commission would view the lands affected hefoi’e reporting its finding.

The members of (be commission visited Kopane in the afternoon.