PATEA COUNTY MAIL PUBLISHED Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. TUESDAY, JULY 5, 1881. OPENING LANDS.

Patea Mail, 5 July 1881, Page 2

PATEA COUNTY MAIL PUBLISHED Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. TUESDAY, JULY 5, 1881. OPENING LANDS .

About ten thousand acres of land in the Momahaki block, chiefly bush, will be opened with roads and offered for sale as soon as a vote of about £ISOO now on the Estimates for road-making has passed the House. This block was surveyed some time ago, but being in the Wellington Land District, and far removed from the official centre, it has been lying unnoticed and almost forgotten. The Government have learnt the advantage on this Coast of opening land blocks by main roads before inviting purchase. New settlers don’t care to bid for land unless they can get to see it before the auction. The Momahaki block, together with all land between Waitotara river and the old provincial boundary, has lately been transferred to the official care of the West Coast Land Commissioner. Mr* Wray is losing no time in getting the land opened with roads. One road to Momahaki has been partly made by the Wniroa Hig’livvay Board, -commencing close to Waverley; and this rohd is to be extended to the back of the block, which is already surveyed into sections. A second road almost parallel with the first is to be cut through Momahaki, commencing half-way between Waverley and Waitotara. A third road will be made as soon as funds are available. The largest area of available land neat' Patea port is the extensive and unexplored region northward of the Kohi, behind the University reserve, and adjoining Kaitangiwhenua. Maori tradition says a native track led through that . region to Taupo and the East Coast. A contract was made for cutting a track along that line, but the contractor had the misfortune to discover that the track became impassable after a certain paying distance had been cut. It is to be hoped the prospecting for this Kaharoa track will be resumed at an early date. The Survey Department appears to be. short-handed at present, and other pressing work must be finished before the tracing of this track can be resumed. The Land Commissioner appreciates the importance of the problem to be solved in that quarter, and we believe the local public are satisfied to leave the matter in his hands without agitating inconveniently. There is probably no subject on which it would be easier to get up a large meeting in Patea than that of opening adjacent lands for settlement. Nor will there be much longer waiting, so far as we can judge. It would certainly, be an outrage on local opinion if, for instance, the University reserve of ten thousand acres near Patea were allowed to go into only two or three hands, instead of being utilised for proper settlement. Probably the Government will propose to give to each district the power and the means of promoting settlement as a necessary part of local government, or they will strangely mistake the temper of the voting majority. Other land behind Woodville needs official attention, though the country there is too rough to be. of much account. The region behind Whakamara is reported to be fairly good for settlement, and the area is considerable. Surveys of the bush behind the Plains are proceeding. About fifteen thousand acres are now laid off in sections ; tep thousand being northward of the Mountain road and five thousand to the south*

Another sale of this bush land may be held in August, and some unsold sections at Manaia and Opunaki will be offered at the same time.