The Times. PUBLISHED ON TUESDAY AND FRIDAY AFTERNOONS. "We nothing extenuate, nor set down aught in malice." TUESDAY, APRIL 1, 1919. THE WAIKATO RIVER.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 8, Issue 462, 1 April 1919, Page 2

The Times. PUBLISHED ON TUESDAY AND FRIDAY AFTERNOONS. "We nothing extenuate, nor set down aught in malice." TUESDAY, APRIL 1, 1919. THE WAIKATO RIVER.

That what is the finest waterway in New Zealand should have been hitherto invariably treated with cold neglect by the Government is one of those thinpsthat are difficult to explain, though *it may be that if it had had the luck to belong to the South Island like the Midland Railway or the Otira tunnel there would be a different tale to tell. It is true that during the last three or four years Ministerial interest has been somewhat aroused as to the possibilities of the river, and that,'autumn after autumn, one Minister after another has had a pleasant picnic trip upon " its island-studded waters, but there the matter has ended, and no attempt to seriously improve this invaluable waterway or to put it under the control of a body competent to improve it has been made.

From time to time '' The Times " has paid a good deal of attention to the Waikato River, fully recognising what a valuable asset it was. Holding, as we did from the beginning, the opinion that the surface was not susceptible of being lowered sufficiently to un-water large areas ot swamp south 01 Mercer, our views were not palatable to a number of our readers, but time has shown that we were correct, and the finding of the late Royal Commission has clinched them. But our views upon the question ot the importance of the river and its tributaries, as a net-work of water-ways serving as roads for large areas of country that will always be difficult of access by land, have never varied, and we trust that now the war has ended the mark-time attitude of the Government towards the river will also end.

As Minister for Lands Mr Outline is uo doubt primarily fnterested in laud drainage. The failure of the River Board in dealiug with the Waikato" itself is now tacitly admitted, but there is no doubt the Minister will find much to approve of in the excellent work the Board has done in the Maungatawhiriri and other creeks. Although large areas of laud must inevitably remain morasses until dyked and pumped there are. on the other hand, very considerable sections that the clearing of the creeks has Hirned, or is turning, into valuable "razing land And. independently of the River Hoard large operations are being undertaken which will bring into us-- thousands of a ~res of fertile lam! When the wo-ks

being put in hand by the Waikato Drainage Hoard are completed it is expected sum" I l.nnn

~-,,... ~f swamp will • "Hi! ■ 1

bile ;• Ht'ir • Tui ■i>tu be tl li lU(1 i>, a cut, I.ii U icei wide into the v\'iia:i;;aniariiio stream

Hill, although lilt.' drniiiajfc of swamp lands is what iiiust principally iuteiest the Mini-tei, he wnl ..i)l Ik- doing his duly lo the count rv it he shuts his eyes to what may he clone to improve the navigation. Hitherto all efforts Invr In t-ii 111 I lie 'in .-etion of lowei ni'.' Ihe surface -ind not the lied ol Ihe liver. The exnendi•sft,?i inn- ot many thonsflnfls of pounds, • ill "t which has l>een completely. thrown 'iwiv, has shown that no m-i'r'iid i'nv iuk' ot ih« surface

can ever be effected ,*and it is time

now to turn attention to the bed, and see what can be done with that.

W<- have no doubt now, any more than we had in the beginning, that by a little careful training, the river cau be made to work out its own salvation as a water-way. We do not advocate dredging, for no mechanical means will deal with the millions ot tons of SBnd brought down annually by the YVaikato. By the judicious use of low training walls, confining and directing the summer flow, but allowing the flood-waters to freely run over them, the sand-banks, now so grave a hindrance to navigation, may be coaxed and melted away. If a uniform minimum depth of three feet can be secured the •luestion of the navigation of the Waikato will be solved.

We do not advocate a heavy expenditure, as we do not think such would be necessary. Caution and careful examination of the results of experiments are the way to proceed. It is an axiom with engineers that every river has its own little peculiarities which have to be mastered or they will master you, and the Waikato, which in some of its features is unique among the rivers of the world has fully its share of whimsicalities to be reckoned with. For the last half-a-dozen years attempts to bully it have ingloriously failed. Let us now try whether a little judicious humouring will not render it amenable to reason.