RAILWAY TO THE WEST COAST.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 5361, 3 June 1878, Page 2

RAILWAY TO THE WEST COAST.

> TO THEEDITOII OF THE NEW ZEALAND TIMES.' ' Sin,—l perceive l from a ehort notice in' your paper of to-day that there ia a- difficulty in .finding 'ah available railway line from the tipper Hutt to Waikanae. As I traversed that district in the year 1861, and then gave my views on,the subject of the proper lino for opening a "route to the .West Coast, .it.may be advisable that I should now repeat my ideas on the matter: . 1 It 1 appears to me that a line for a road or railway could lie‘got more easily by the valley of the Otaki than by that of the Waikanae. i ■On one journey 1 crossed from the Upper Hutt to Waikanae. I followed the course-of the Hakatarewaha from its junction, with the Hutt nearly tbits source, and then crossed! the water parting, passing over a height of more .than 2000 feet, and a very rough country, and 'dropping down .upon a tributary ;which fell into the loft bank of the Waikanae, Which river I-followed until it emerged’ upon the plains ' a few miles ' from the Waikanae village; = - • • ■■ . ■. —• I could not anywhere .perceive any low saddle in the'dividing range, and the descent of the Waikanae Valley was certainly difficult country for the construction of a road.l : ’

On‘ another journey I .ascended the Otaki River. It was stiff trayeifing. After enter: ing* the -hills' the’’ Hverls%tti& <: s33iave cut itself a channel,. with vertical, cliffs (say 30ft, or 40ft. high, it is a long time ago;-and; I -will nbthe certain as to. the height). '’'The3 river winds below these cliffs, leaving gravel ’hanks within the : bends, so that'the’traveller’has alternately to wade and to walk over a gravel bank. l . Rather . more f than -a . day’s travel brought us to where the river forks, ithe northern branch being the Otaki proper, and; the,southern called the.Waiotauheru. I think about half a day up the latter stream brought us to out camping, ground, from which to ascend the main range. On the' following day we started early, ascending 'a spur of the main range, and after come time had a fine view over the country to the. southward, looking down upon what I took to be ■ the' Hakatarewaha valley. * T tried to make but the features of the country, and it appeared to me that there was a low saddle leadipg ,into, the valley of .the Otaki, which I took to be' the valley of the Hakatarewaha, It might,’however, have:been a valley to the northward of the latter. ~ . i

I have often pointed out that the simplest way of findings road to’ the West Coast'would boTfor a surveyor,'with proper instruments, to get to the point of view which I have described above, look caftfnlly but for the lowest saddles and upon the! lin'd'of country as it is spreads like a map before him, and take the bearings and distances from known points saas to be a guide .to him afterwards, a He would then explore the bush country much more rapidly and with greater certainty than .without this previous view. I ascended to the top of the/main range, but the view, thence was too distant,-and, if I remember right, the: low country I mention was/shut out from sight. l There was, I think, only one point from which I obtained-a satisfactory view, - A guide to this spur of the main range l could no doubt be procured in Otaki. One Mauahi, a Maori who then kept the-ferry, acted as guide for me, but .whether be is uow alive or dead I know not." -i' -i.. M 1

The valley of the Otaki * is by no means so satisfactory a route os one-could wish; but I think it will be found an easier line than that of the "Waikanae.r Above the river cliffs of the Otaki there is alternately a spur and a small flat, the latter capped with gravel, thus showing where the river formerly flowed above.. A road or railway would have to curve round the spurs and cross the fiats • alternately.: What the expense would he I do not pretend to estimate,'nor can I form a very definite idea of the length , of that part of the line. .. In alternate wading up to the hills, and crossing gravel pits, qtfe does not make many miles in n day’s journey. In descending we made much > more speed, reaching the hotel at Otaki about 3-*p.m. on the day of starling down, whereas it took fully two days in the ascent. ■ _ j. ■ j Canoes'sometimes go up as far as the June-. tiou of the Waiotauheru. On further consideration I think it took two days’ wading to reach the forks of the Otaki, but I cannot lay my hand on my note-1 book, and am not certain. , > J The chief diflSoulty in finding a rout* w to | Jet through the western part of the range. It J : 9 comparatively easy to grt along from I aide of the Hutt. Jvroqld Wfl|-es6 that ea> •

quiries should be made among the farmers on both sides. They are no doubt accustomed to traverse the .bush,- going after stray cattle, and '-might give -.valuable information, s: (Explorers-from "the side of the Mutt should steel to their right, fiandj'br’the northward, or iovuu east of north, v for a saddle, instead of (keeping in the direction of Wnikauae. ’ The Maoris or settlers at Otaki might beable to give information as to the easiest time to break through the range on that side. A line of railway must be made to the West Coast sooner or . later, and it is of importance that the best and most accessible line should be hit upou. It will give me great satisfaction •if the hiuts which I have given above should lead to the desired result.—l am, Ac., James O. CBAWfom

t . P.S.—-Thcpoint at which to ascend thecentral range from thebauks of. the Waiotauheau may be easily found by a tolerable busbraan from a landmark, the description of which ,is as follows :—On the right bank "of the river there will bo found a. large outcrop of soft blue slate, tbci strata being separated by quartz veins (which, by,the way, are, ! think, slightly auriferous), the stratification vertical. A short distance 1 beyond .this tljere is a good camping ground,, and a little, farther on the spur is found by which to ascend the mountain. Ido not think a man accustomed to the bush would find any difficulty in hitting the spur, and so far a guide may be unnecessary ; but I would warn the explorer to. be careful about the river. With a slight fresh he might find himself out of his depth, and jammed between vertical cliffs impossible to ascend. '