TIRAU.

Putaruru Press, Volume VI, Issue 224, 16 February 1928, Page 8

TIRAU.

THE GOLDEN FLEECE. Romance Lost in Dust. Evidently the folk of Tirau township have no romantic notions about the golden fleece- -at least not when it is moving along a dusty road upon a sheep’s back. During the past fortnight a large number of sheep have been brought through from! Gisborne for the special sale of 10,000 sheep held at Tirau on Friday. Needless to say, the slow meandering of these at least 40,000 feet through the township has raised the dust, and the fine powder has floated into every chink and cranny and deposited a liberal greyish-yellow layer on all flat surfaces. With the idea of obtaining some measure of abatement of the irritating trouble, Mr. Frank Rose wrote to the Matamata County Council as follows in a letter received at the monthly meeting at Tirau on Friday:— “ The business people and residents of Tirau have been greatly annoyed over mobs of sheep being driven through the township. This in itself is bad enough, but when the sheep are driven through the town for grazing purposes we consider this is ‘ rubbing it in.’ “ You are quite aware that we have nothing but dust on the roads through the township, and the slightest breeze is sufficient to cover our premises and houses with dust, without the aid of thousands of feet to stir the dust up. A Stock Route. “ I took the matter up with your Mr. Barton, and he informed me that there was no stock route, and no bylaw to keep the sheep out of the township. “ I also took the matter up with the Farmers’ Co-operative Auctioneering Company’s agent, who, I understand, has charge of the sheep, and he informed me that they had a perfect right to graze the sheep in the township and drive them along any road they wished. “ If such is the case, I think it is about time the council passed a bylaw and defined a stock route for the township of Tirau. “We are eating quite sufficient dust off the roads now without having an extra dose to swallow through the sheep grazing in the township. “ Trusting that you will look into this matter.” The chairman (Cr. J. W. Anderson) said that no doubt the sheep caused annoyance, but the council had no power to stop the traffic. “ Where do they come from ? ” asked Cr. E. J. Darby. The Chairman : From Gisborne, and the Tirau business folk have had a real Christmas of them for the past fortnight. The clerk was instructed to reply that the council sympathised with the business people in the matter but had no power to stop the grazing of sheep along the road so long as they were kept moving. Comment. In order to provide a satisfactory stock route for Tirau township it would appear to be necessary to dedicate the load running from the Tirau side of the railway crossing on the Tirau-Rotorua road, running parallel with the railway down past the station. From the turn a new piece of road might be made through the Farmers’ Auctioneering Company’s property, junctioning with the main highway near the saleyards. To make such a scheme feasible, permission would be required to leave such stock route unformed. The dust nuisance will no doubt be ! reduced in the main street when this portion of the highway is sealed, but sooner or later a stock route skirting round the residential area is found highly desirable in all centres for several reasons.