GISBOTNRE-OPOTIKI LINE

Opotiki News, Volume II, Issue 205, 10 July 1939, Page 4

GISBOTNRE-OPOTIKI LINE

URGJED BY MAORI MEMBER i ■. J PUZZLE FOR MAORI I PAKEHA ' PSYCHOLOGY | COMPETING 'SERVICES ! • ■ ■ • • i ‘‘Tlie pakelia lias a peculiar • mind, and-it is a little difficult for-tiro Maori to follow, his. reasoning. No sooner does lie complete and perfect one. form of transportation that he starts out to perfect anoher. Thus wedmve the position that the Hon. It. Semple, -Minister of Public Works and -Minister in charge of highways, is building speedways which have cost the country so much to complete,” said I Sir Apirana Xgata during lufi speech at the. official openjiig functjpu of 7 the railway to> Wairoa from Napier. L' I “In addition, we now havov-Miv IS. L. Cullen,' ALL*., telling the Minister

that Wairoa wants an aerodrome. Now that appears to me to be the very’ thing that will ‘erooJ’ the railway,” Sir Apirana continued.- “They have, a good aerodrome in Gisborne', and people are getting so air-minded that they will., not travel by road service. r l’lie,v might not even travel by 'railcar, j ‘Another thing the railways are up against, and it is' onei of ; the biggest factors, is that people have got out of the habit of travelling by schedule. , ’they can take their own cars ami travel where and when they like, without

having to depend on railway schedules or anything else. “There is also the tendency of people to promise support for the railway ,andi then to seek other transportation jvhen the railways are avail-' able. When the 'Government built the Bay of Plenty line to Taneatua, one large dairy concern set about sending its produce to Auckland by steamer. What will Wairoa do, now that it has its railway? “.My argument is that tlic justification of this railway is not to be found in the natural resources of the districts through which it passes. The, justification is that for 60' or 70 years, tlic people of these districts contributed to- the railway costs of other districts, and now the others have to help to support our line. “The chief excuse for building the line is that it will help to develop these districts'. The chief hope for its success, is that it will have the undivided support of the people.’’ added Sir Apirana, who called for cheers for the Minister of Hail ways, expressing the hope that the Minister would give the people of the Mast Coast a fair deal in regard toi the running l of the section.-

The function in which they were taking; part, he said, marked a stage in the development of the Bast Coastline, and) a stage only, lie believed that the logical goal was to Jink up with the Bay of Plenty line for Bast Coast people to- the markets in the Bay of Plenty and South Auckland. To bring .store stock from the BastCoast above Gisborne to Hawke's Bay

would be bringing coals to .Newcastle, he! pointed out. On the other hand, a link to the northward would open up sound and promising markets. The East Coast was undoubtedly the greatest ewe-breeding district in t-hel North Island, and at present every .sheep that left the Coast for the north had to hoof it by read or be taken by steamer. Recently the farmers in the Bay of Plenty and l South Auckland had stopped buying on the farms and had told the Bast Coasters to send their sheep for sale in their centres. The result was that thousands of pounds had been, lost to the Coast. t No Greater Work Waiting “J. do not know ot any greater public work for the Government to undertake than ,to- complete the line from Gisborne to Opo-tiki,” added Sir Apirana. “If Mr. Semple does not do it, someone else; will. Give him the money, and I am sure that he will do it. Even if it costs a few millions, it will be worth doing. The broken connection is a big handicap to- the district and a big handicap to the railway service generally. “Mr. Semple is probably thinking of this work now. but if he is not, then I make, him a present of the idea,-” added Sir Apirana. J lie Eastern Maori representative enlivened the gathering considerably by his reference to the events which preceded-the closing down ef railway construction in 1930. He admitted being one of those who voted to stop the work, but lie directed attention to the fact that the delivery of the Viaduet_ steel on the site of ilici work was a symbol of the- intentions that the line won hi proceed some time in the future. He invited the gathering, which al-

ready had cheered the .Minister of Public Works on Sir Apirana’s call, to give “three hearty groans” for those who stepped the work. This sally "brought much laughter and applause, and the speaker commented that that, at any rate, disposed of the past.