THE OPUNAKE RAILWAY.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXIII, Issue 15, 15 May 1912, Page 5

THE OPUNAKE RAILWAY.

SITTING OF THE COMMISSION AT HAW ERA.

THE PRESS NOT WANTED

The Commission, which is to inquire into flic matter of the Opunake railway, held its first sitting yesterday in Hawora. The Commission consists of Messrs R. W. Holmes, chief engineer of the Public Works Department (chairman), James Burnett (chief engineer of Railways), G. Bullard (Commissioner of Crown Lands in Taranaki), and E. Clifton (director of the Fields and Experimental Farms Division of the Department of Agriculture). The Chairman announced that the proceedings would not be open to the press j but the following summary of tiie evidence was supplied to the press by Mr W. McNamara, secretary to the Commission;—

Mr G. V. Pearce, M.P., was present .and introduced the witnesses, who were given evry latitude in expressing their views, and were questioned by the commissioners to further elucidate some of the points raised.

Mr G. A . Pearce, M.P.. advocated tiie location of the lino about threequarters of a mile south of the Sheet load, so as to enable the large factories on the southern portion of the Waimato Plains to use the line, and thus relieve the roads of tiie heavy traffic now going over them. He claimed that most of tiie factories at present shipped their produce from Patea by coastal boats, and would continue to ship this way.. The lino should therefore lie located so as to give the shortest possible route from the factories to the Port of Patea. He was not in favour of a tramways Ironi Manaia to Hawera. And tramways constructed should lie from the factories to the railway which lie advocated. Tiie main object of the hue was to tap the dairy factories, two of which were responsible for hall the total output from the plains. Air J. B. Murdoch, chairman of Lie Joll Dairy Company, gave statistics of population over the district to bo served by the proposed railway. Jhe expenditure on maintenance of the main roads was becoming a burden on tiie county ratepayers. Six miles on tne Main South road cost £I2OO per annum, and four miles and a hall on the Skeet road £4OO per annum.

I he directors of dairy companies in South Taranaki recognised that it was to their advantage to ship through Patea.

Mr A. W. Gillies, Mayor of Hay,-era, strongly advocated the construction of a tramway or light railway between Hawera and Manaia.

Mr C. Goodson differed from this \ iew, and urged that the railway was preferable to tramway.

Mr T. Barmby held similar opinions. Mr W. 1). Powdrell, chairman of the Kaupokonui Dairy Company, advocated the construction of a railway along the route suggested by Mr 1 earce, M.P., with tramway feeders 1 ro;n Kaupokonui and Kaponga. Patou would probably remain the shipping port for many years to come. 1 be produce from South Taranaki was likely to double in volume in the near future.

Mr A. Christensen, chairman of the Patoa Harbour Board, gave evidence of the facilities provided at Patea foxshipping. He pointed out that many of the South Taranaki dairy companies uei'e financially interested ixx shipping at Patea, and urged that the line junction at the southernmost possible point with the main line.

Mr Walter Goodland, oh airman of the Hawcra County Council, urged the claims of the Nonxxanby route, on the ground that it would serve better country than the more northern routes, ami that if the line junctioned north of Te Roti is would not serve these richer lairds. He opposed the ManaiaHawera tram.

Mr Edward Dixon, chairman of the Chamber of Commerce, gave evidence on similar lines, and in addition urged that In place the junction far north of To Roti would he to rob Hawera of trade from To Roti, Matapu and other centres which had for years been coming to Hawera. Hawera. business men favoured the Nonxxanby route, and did not support the tram scheme. M r Oswald Hawken, president of the Egmont A. and P. Association, urged that the construction of the line to junction at or near Nonnanby was the only solution of the Hawera County roading problem. Patea would be the port of South Taranaki for many years to come. Really, to fully serve the district, two lines were required—one joining the main line at Nornxanby, and the other perhaps at Eltham, to relieve the Eltham road. He thought local bodies would allow railway feeders to bo constructed along the roadsides.

Mr T. McPhillips, chairman of the Waimate West Road Board, concurred in this view.