WAITOTARA.

Patea Mail, 24 December 1880, Page 3

WAITOTARA.

Friday Morning. The walking match yesterday forenoon was won by Mr Brewer with three and a half minutes to spare. This difference would have been greater but for 3lr Brewer and Mr G. A. Nicholson, in passing through some bush, having gone ahead of Mr Fisher as their guide, and having taken the track towards Papatupu instead of towards the No 9 bridge after crossing the stream. To get back to the

right track, they had to scramble through a lot of supplejack and swamp before ' reaching Mr Fisher, who had been sittin, wailing at the outside of the bush exactly nine minutes. The time occupied was forty minutes from the township to th M iinahaki stream, ami sixieen and a h.n! minutes (including the nine minutes lost time) from the confluence of the si roam with the Waitotara river, to the bridge on Block 9, which was the goal. Tons had the right track been followed the distance would have been covered in 47£ minutes, or as nearly as possible three quarters of an hour. This however was really no true test. The road by the river was over fences, through grass and thistles to the Mornahaki, then through nearly a quarter amileof lately fallen hush : while thcother route followed the main road for the first half, thence by the carriage drive mentioned by “ Ratepayer,” and finishing with a culling’ down hill to the bridge. Mr J. McKenzie, who accompanied Mr T. H Nicholson, states that lie believed the latter walked at the rate of six miles an hour. On returning to the township Mr Fisher paid over the stakes to Mr Brewer. During the afternoon Mr Of. A. Nicholson came down and protested against Brewer’s walking. Mr Fisher declined to receive the protest, as it had not been made immediately after the race. Mow for your Waverloy correspondent and “ Ratepayer.” The former seems to be very far from accurate in his information, and extremely loose in his asscitions. Ho says, “It seems strange that a man should have so little confidence in what he lias written as to bet,” etc. If this refers to Mr Fisher, I hot that he bet in favour of the road he advocated —you bet! The assertion that there is no post office at Waitotara is too absurd to require contradiction. It is true that the Government contemplates removing the post and telegraph business to the railway station, but this has not yet been done, and, so far, there is no indication that it is to be done. The distance from the present post office to the railway station is, I believe, by surveyors’ measurement, one mile and Jive chains, or one and one-twentieth instead of T.V miles, as asserted. But even if the post office were at the railway station it would be just as convenient for the Momahaki settlers to get letters, ole., when down with or for goods, as where it now stands, while they could procure almost anything in the way of groceries and clothing in the township’ “ Ratepayer ” questions my statement as to the distance from to the Mornahaki river. The fact of the distance being covered in -10 minutes, through the country above described, should 1 think be sufficient proof that it is not more than two miles. No man could walk -1 miles on such a road in the time stated. My statement was based on what I understand to have been Mr De G. Fraser’s measurement when laying off the road in dispute. I am perfectly aware that there is a Moinaliaki station, but am not aware why it was moved from its originally intended site a mile towards Waverley, from the point where the road from Mornahaki through Williamson’s strikes the main road ; and where it is more likely to benefit the settlers using Howie’s lane than those for whom it is supposed to be intended. As it is, were llie road made down the river bank, the Mornahaki and W aitotara stations would be about equidistant from the settlers ; and apart from saving three miles extra railway charges, they could get their correspondence, transact money order or savings bank business, and obtain necessaries, by going to the Waitotara in preference to the Mornahaki station. 1 had not the remotest desire to impute mercenary motives to the Wairoa Highway Board.

Mr Gladstone refuses to support the scheme for an Euphrates valley railway.

As a rule it has been noted that long -lender bodied hens la} 7 eggs somewhat elongated or pointed,' while short, round tliick-s ■! "-ns lay almost round.

About brickbuildiims, an old resident of Wanganui says :—The old Church atPutiki was of that material, and it was shaken down by the earthquake of 1855. I never saw more complete destruction. Not only were the walls broken off about a foot above the ground, but all above that level was reduced to the condition of a heap of old bricks, scarcely a dozen remaining attached to each other. A brick wall on the mission premises was similarly destroyed, and some of the mission famil} 7 had a narrow escape, having just run past the wall when it fell.

Gold Skek.kjjs. —There are at present three or four prospecting parlies out seeking for gold on the Thames peninsula, who are subsided by the Government. One of them has been at Tupu for some months* and has furnished several samples of coarse gold. This was obtained in following up a creek, and now they believe they are in the vicinity of the reef whence it came, and hope to soon be able to report a valuable discovery. Another party is at Purn, and a third at Puriri. Great care has been taken to select reliable and honest men, instead of the noisy goldfields’ demagogues, who have brought the system of subsided prospecting into disrepute, through loafing about instead of working when out of sight.—Auckland Ncivs.