THE OPOTIKI NEWS Monday, May 9, 1938. THE OPOTIKI RAILWAY

Opotiki News, Volume I, Issue 32, 9 May 1938, Page 2

THE OPOTIKI NEWS Monday, May 9, 1938. THE OPOTIKI RAILWAY

THE announcement of the Government’s intention to immediately commence .a resurvey of the railway route from the present railhead at Taneatua to Opotiki will be generally welcomed in the Opotiki district. The Rt. Hon. M. J. Savage, Prime iMnister, has stated that his promise to complete the railway to Opotiki is to be fulfilled'. It has been recognised for a long time that with changed ideas of railway construction, that a resurvey would be necessary, particularly as regards the difficult' Wadmana; Gorge section and it is quite possible that the gorge itself may be eliminated, by a new route, perhaps a little longer. Although the district would like to see a very early commencement of the actual construction work it must be recognised that the disastrous floods in the Hawke’s Bay, Wairoa and Poverty Bay districts will result in heavy machinery being retained in those districts much longer than otherwise would: have been the case, in the work of repairing highways and the damaged sections of railway.' For many years Opotiki has practically had to battle alone in the agitation for rail connection to this town and district. There is no doubt that Opotiki would have had the railway many years ago had other districts and even its own representatives at conferences shown more co-operation. The central portion of the Bay of Plenty has for many years shown open hostility to the idea of Opotiki securing rail connection by the proposed route from Taneatua the main reason being that the township of Whakatane would not have direct rail connection. At times a few timorous suggestions have emanated from Whalcatane that the line should follow the coast to Opotiki, skirting the Oliiwa harbour. This route of course would not have conferred any benefit t 0 settlers and the large tract of country in the Waimana and Nukuliou districts would have been eliminated.

Tho completion of the line to Opotiki, quite apart from direct benefits will also result in a great saving in highway maintenance and with large numbers of travelling stock being taken off the road, farmers along the roads leading to the present railhead' will no longer have the yearly experience of having their pastures polluted by the heavy clouds of dust during the summer season from large mobs of sheep and cattle. It would be idle to think for a moment that the district will support the railway 100 per cent. That the railway will be well supported is shown by the business already done with the Opotiki district, although the railhead is 30 miles away. There will always he the need for both sea' andi rail carriage of freight. The cost of railage on many articles of food is so high that there would be a very noticeable increase in the cost of foodstuffs if this method of freight were used exclusively. With the opening up of tho Coast, transport is likely to increase for many years, and both rail and boat should benefit. The completion of the line to Opotiki is sure to result in a big increase in the numbers of sheep and cattle coming to Opotiki by road from the East Coast and Poverty Ray districts. The reconstruction oi the new coastal highway eastwards of Opotiki, with the elimination of river crossings will enable stock to be quickly brought to tho Opotiki railhead from the Hick’s Bay and nearby districts and the suggested stock route from Motuhora to Opotiki down the Otara valley would also considerably reduce travelling time from Poverty Bay. The early completion of the Napier-Gisborne section of the East Coast Railway has suddenly awakened! '.Auckland to tlio need of looking after trade to the East Coast and if is likely that the extension of the Bay of Plenty lino to Opotiki will now receive the consideration it deserves from northern districts. The construction of the Paeroa-Pokeno link will • also be a great help to this end-of the Bay and with both lines completed, Opotiki will actually be nearer to Auckland by rail than’the present railhead at Taneatua, with a very considerable saving in freight and passenger rates. With the advent of railcars on the Bay of Plenty lino passenger traffic to Auckland will be greatly increased. Another important benefit to the district will be a greatly improved mail service and there should be no reason why mails from Auckland should not

arrive and be sorted very early in. the evening. l ' Opotiki will undoubtedly expand to a Very noticeable degree with the completion of the long-awaited rail connection. '-'"-/V-

The member for the Bay of Plenty electorate, Mr A. G. Hultquist, M.P., has been working steadily since his election to have the line to Opotiki started and deserves great credit for his persistence. In recent years Mr J. H. Reid has ,taken a very prominent part in the local agitation for the railway and for a number of years was chairman of the Opotiki Railway League, Messrs T. G. Johnson, A. Davies, and S. Shalloon have also beenparticularly active in their efforts to put forward Opotiki’s claims.