VISIT TO THE WAIMAHAKA LINE.

Otago Witness, Issue 2892, 18 August 1909, Page 31

VISIT TO THE WAIMAHAKA LINE.

DEPUTATIONS AT GORE.

GORE, August 11. The Ministerial party : was narrowed down to the Minister, Mr Matthews (private secretary), Mr Anderson (member for Mataura), Mr Furkert (Public Works-Department), and the, Otago Daily Times representative when it left Invercargffl by special train for Waimahaka at 9 o'clock ibis morning. - FOREST VALE ESTATE.

On arrival afc- Waimahaka Mr M'Kenzie was interviewed v by Mr Stirling, who said the} people in the district wished the Government to resume 'tlie Forest , Vale Estate, containng about 8000 acre?. When the Land Purchase Commission visited the district there had not beeh"time»to make a thorough inspection of the estate. The Minister said he would acquaint the Minister of Lands with what was desired.

THE JOURNEY* RESUMED.

The journey along the extension of the Waimahaka line was then resumed by vehicle for a distance of fully four miles over a road inches deep in mud, and aroad of' the worst description. , A .continuous jolting and pitching about for something u'ke an hour brought the party to the camp at Forest Vale, and the remainder of the distance was undertaken in a trolly. The railway formation appears to be practically completed to Forest Vale, and for nearly a mile beyond it. Tlie trolly ride was nearly all through bush containing sortie pretty heavy timber, and at the end of about five miles j the party had a walk of a mile or so to Tokonui.

WANTS AT TOKONUI.

At Tokonui the Minister was waited upon by a deputation "consisting of Mr M. Earwaker (chairman of the Tokonui Railway League), Mr E. R. Smith (secretary of €he Tokonui Settlers' Association), Mr Curry (of Waikawa), and a number of others.

Mr Curry eaid what he particularly (ywished to urge upon the Minister was the \ necessity for the extension of the railway I from the present proposed terminus at Tokonui for a distance of three miles. This would enable the settlers in tlie Waikawa district to take .advantage of the "train for that distance, and it placed them within 12 miles of Wadmahaka. Waikawa was a little seaport and a won- ! derful place for scenery, and was greatly i recommended by doctors as a health re- ' sort. It would be a great benefit to the settlers if the Minister could .see his way to extend the line for thxee miles further. This section would include a range -of hill 6 • covered with' timber, which, of course, would bring freight to the railway, and would enable people in the district to drive in a morning to the railway station. There were three or four sawmills in the district, and he understood another one was about to start, and there were many people coming shid going. There was a very fair amount of settlement along tlie ' Tokonui, and the line would no doubt prove payable.

The Minister said that at piesent the railway was authorised for 32 miles 40 chaine, which included the Tokonui Station, and it was probable that it would take something over a year to complete the Ime to that point. Before it could go any further it would be necessary that the additional distance ehould be authorised by Parliament. He might, of course, say that three miles of railway through a flat country was not a work of any magnitude, and he did not think that when they got as far a« the present proposed terminus of the line ifc was likely to stop at that point; but, as he liad already pointed out, the matter

' was in the hands of Parliament, as a Authorisation Bill would have to I passed before the line could be extende any further. j? Mr E. R. Smith said they would life to see a fixed sum placed on the Esta j mates in such a way that it would bi ' entirely distinct from the Catlins end o ' the line, and that the amount should h '' sufficient to finish the Waimahaka eni within the nexfc 12 months — that was jM far as the proposed Tokonui Railwa; Station. He also suggested that in ord«i to expedite the construction of the lini the work should be started from t& Tokonui terminus and worked backward towards the present construction with 5 view to relieving tlie congestion of th, labour market. He understood that thea> were many unelnployed in lnvercar<pll and this would give tlie necessary reli^Js The Minister interjected that since fi had been in the district the only repase sentation that had been made to him 6i the subject was* to the effect that the^ were one or two unemployed to be pwj vided for. '- Mr Smith, continuing, said that anothe reason "for the construction of the lha from the terminus was that the railwa^ sheds could bs finished simultaneous^; with the line itself, and that would -pM vent any farther delay when the lte .was completed. He stated that there wj| a cheese factory at Tokonui, and it vrj£ a great handicap to the settlers to has to cart their produce 12 miles, as thoj did at present. A great many mor settlers would come into the district a soon as the railway was completed. X the Minister could see his way to put 8 more men on to finish the line quickly i would give the settlers an opportunity o taking their produce to the Waimahaki Railway Station, which was their on| outlet. He also drew the Minister's arc teution to the fact that those presea represented Tokonui, Waikawa, Sandoii and other districts. ]

Mr Earwaker said he was very pleased! with the progress that had been made since the Hon. Mr M'Kenzie had] taken office, but they would like moral rapid progress still. As theae was nohalfSj way station on the line it was necessarjji that the line should be completed befored they would derive any advantage from iltj at all. ' He urgec 1 that the work shoultl be pushed on as a'apidly as possible. H« also wished to bring before the Minister the necessity for completing the roacl to the Haidane Settlement. It was essen-. t-ial that the Toad, which was the means of communication with the line, should? be completed] Haldane was really a^ Government settlement, about eighf ov nine miles 'away from the proposed ter- 1 rninal station. The land there was*~very>; good, judging by the amount of produces that came from there.

Mr Wicks said , it would be to the ad«q vantage of the settlement and sawmiller* if a siding was. arranged for within aboutl! two miles of the Tokonui Station. &

The Minister said, as far as the exten— ' sion was concerned, he had already stated, .that he could not tell them anything-^ about it until it was authored by Parliament." So far as the Waimahaka end,* of the line having a separate vote from; the Catlins end was concerned, that woiildmake very little difference, because thoj whole money for the line required to' be voted by Parliament, and once it avosj voted the department would see that i<rj was spent to the best advantage. He*l pointed out that when he entered the>? Ministry -there were only 38 men on the*" Waimahaka end o,f the line, while nowy; there were about 100. With regard to the question of starting from the ter*. minus of the line and working backwards, this woula" be an expensive process. The . duty of the engineers was to construct lines as cheaply as possible, and if they started at the terminal end it woul<l naturally cost much more in working expenses. With Tegard to finishing th* Haldane road, he might say that it woulii' be the duty of the Government as soon as the. line was completed to make roads " to give x the necessary communication tcl~ enable settlers to use the railway. Ho thought the railway should be completed to Toftonui in about a year's time — that' was, unless the rails were on the steamer. Maori, which had been recently wrecked. - If such proved to be the case fome delay-^ would .naturally result. They might,,' however, feel assured that, in the interests of the country as well as their own, the " line was to be completed as speedily as pos*iM«. *

Mr E. R. Smith said that, in view of the £a.ct'thai the Hon. R. M'Kenzie was the first Minister of Public Works who had visited Tokonui — at all events, since th« railway works had been in progress,—

heir appreciation ot his visit should be hown in true British- fashion. He theretoon called for three cheers for Mr li'Kenzie, which were given with gTeat eadiness. BRIDGE FOR THE MATAURA, : On returning to Waimahaka Mr G. J. Anderson, M.P., introduced a deputaion to the Minister, explaining that what he deputation wanted was a subsidy for k bridge over the Mataura River at the south ei\d. The County Council would jjhre £100, the ratepayers were going to »x themselves for another £100, and jhe Waihopai Riding was to be asked. to [ive another £100. It was thought that £c Government might give the balance. : The Minister : About how much will it »st? \. Mr Anderson : £600. The Minister: That is a fair Tequest. We will very likely give you pound for pound. You get Mr Malcolm to men--lion the matter. [. Mr H. Templeton. a member of the deputation, said the bridge would connect JJie Oteramika and Toi Toi districts. It was the Government engineer's estimate for the work that had been obtained. . The Minister apologised for his hurried Departure, and in a few moments the nrty was in the train on the way back o InvOTcargill to catch the train for Gore. f COAL MINE. ■ At Gore Mr J. A. Yule (Mataura colieries) waited on the Minister on behalf ioi the coal mine owners generally as to ihe conditions under which the collieries a the vicinity of Gore were worked He irged that, seeing the mines were small, a survey be made once a year in place spf once every six months. He then |>rought under the notice of the Minister he matter of hauling-engine drivers. The Inspector of machinery had advised them that they must have an enatfne-dnver with' a winding certificate. As they only irork«d on an incline plane, and not with ja perpendicular shaft, they considered Jthis was not necessary. They did not [liaul men ; they only hauled coal. His ifchird point was a<s to tTie number of mon under a permit. At present a Jpermit issued by the Inspector of- Mines allowed a. man to manage a mine t if the ■employees were less than eight in number. The Minister said he would look into the various matters when Ive got back to and find out how the law r*tood. RAILWAI CLAIMS. j' The Mayor (Mr A. A. 'Mac Gibbon). .Messrs F. Young (town clerk), J. H. sjDolamore, D. L. Poppelwell, T. Green. j*nd W. F Inder waited upon the Minister about 9 o'clock. I Mr Anderson, M.P.. introduced the Jfieputation and explained that it wished to bring forward the questions of extending •ithe Waikaka railway to Roxburgh and of : proceeding with the Hedgehope-Gore rail!"w»y. The Mayor said he understood that the.. WaikaKa line was paying particularly well. sTfcey recognised that the only outlet to •tiie country north of Waikaia was the <jßluff. He did not wish" to see the Dun«din people in opposition to them, but natural outlet to the Waikaka country, Moa Flat, and Roxburgh was. the Bluff, rhey believed tliat it was' by the extension of the Waikaka railway that the

npest service would be maintained, and :Jkhey trusted that before any further tenancy was spent upon the projected line r-jlha route, of the Waikaba line and rfifcs advantages wqul<l be properly exam- : jmed, and that the Minister's discretion L ayojd be exercised in a proper manner. i'Sytth regard to the Hedgehope line, ft was | extended aboult 20 nrfles from Wixvton |Mn t north-easterly direction, and its ulti!*pute destination could not be otherwise Ipfchaii Gore. Bj the extension of the line

lOO,DOO- acres of country would be opened, which required a large amount of agricultural work to bring it into condition. Putting a railway through it would enable farmers to take # lime, etc., to it, which would bring the 'land into a high state of cultivation. There were about 1300 acres held by one gentleman at the present time, which would no d«oubtr be cut up it the line was extended. They felt sure that by placing that line in a better position land would be opened for settlement that would be beneficial to the whole country, and they asked the Minister to give these two matters his most earnest consideration. Mr T. Green said as to the LawrenceRoxburgh railway, it was almost like throwing money into the sea to m-alc-e the tunnel. He was one of the promoters of the Waikaka Railway Co., which -had 'been carried out so successfully, and that success had been admitted by the Government, which was very slow in admitting anything. Th© Minister: You mean the Opposition, I think. Mr Green, continuing, said that' the Hon. Mr Millar had admitted that the" line was paying, and if the railway was made to Moa Flat it would answer the purpose as well as if it had been made to Roxburgh, and' it -would pay. As to the Hedgehope-Gore railway, it had been mooted years ago. . Mr Poppelweli ' indicated that if th© same system as- had been adopted in the case of the Waikaka railway wer© permitted, he believed^the money Avould be forthcoming. When the money was subscribed for the Waikaka line it was understood thar if there was more than sufficient to carry the line to Waikaka it should be expended in carrying the line further, or on having a "flying survey made. Tba extension would open a large extent of country now used only for raising'stock. As to the Hedgehope railway, it would really tap the country at the back, and its area was very considerable. They could ask that when there was a forward policy in railway construction these lines should be reported upon by experts so that the whole facts might be in the Minister's possession to enable- him to deal with them on their merits.

Mr Inder said that when a report was asked for "the questions Avould be as to engineering difficulties and what country th© railway would open. It appeared to him that the natural outlet from the country beyond '.was by way of the Waikaka line. Personally, he had not approved of the principle upon which the Waikaka line had' Been constructed, and he thought it would be wise for the Government to consider the betterment principle. He. could get to Roxburgh in half a day leas than it could be got to from Dunedin. There was a natural v»Hey, and the way .to that country was down through the Waikaka Valley. He felt satisfied that if experts were asked to report the report would be thai the outlet from Roxburgh was down towards Gore.

Mr Dolamore said what they wanted was a report as to' the feasibility of the railway and as to the country it would open up.'

The Minister said that in Sotithland generally they had a magnificent asset and one tliat deserved every assistance towards its development. Coming to railways, Southland was fairly well off — ijetter off than most parts of the Dominion. He thought they had a railway to every little gully on the plains of Southland, and if there were others they were making a very decent effort 'to get railways to them. He recognised that this railway was a most important matter to them, and it would be a good thing if they would proceed to Roxburgh and try to persuade the people that it was to their advantage to get the railway the way urged. There were no less than five or six different routes advocated, and Otago and Southland seemed to be revolving round Roxburgh. First, there was one from Lawrence, then another from Balclutha, and then they wanted one up the side of the Clutha. They also wanted one via Waikaka, and then^ (smiling) he supposed the next tiling would be they would want one from Waikaia. He had also heard a railway advocated from Alexandra * to Roxburgh. Perhaps the best course for him was to take everything they told him, and .everything everybody else told them, as gospel truth, and go and examine the country for himself. — ("Hear, hear."') After that there was the question of finance, and they seemed to think there wae a suspension in progressive railway construction ; but let him disabuse their minds on that point, because it was never so strong and vigorous as it was to-day. They spent more money in railway construction now than in previous years. . During the last financial year they liad employed more men — in fact, they had employed a couple of thousand more men — in railway construction, and had spent over £100,000 more in the one year than in any one year before. I However, there was a change in the I policy, and it was that when they once started to construct a railway they wanted to take it to a paying point as quickly a.s they could. The policy had been altered in that respect. Coming to the Hedgehope railway, that was a new idoa. He supposed it' was one of the last gullies in Southland they wanted a railway made to. He was satisfied that Southland was a very fertile part of the country, and it was a pity that there were not more parts like it in New Zealand. There was a large percentage of people in the country wlio were not within 50 or more miles of a railway, and they had a claim upon the Government that was reasonable before others. While the deputation had a good and reasonable claim, there were others who had more urgent need for railways. However, as long as the present Government was in power Otago and i Southland was very strongly represented,

and their interests were well looked after. It would be part of his duty to see that the representatives were not permittetl to take advantage of the rest of the country. He thought that "was a fairlybrief answer to the different points which the deputation had brought before him.