North Aucklander Is Astounded

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 316, 29 March 1928, Page 15

North Aucklander Is Astounded

ROADING IN SOUTH REMARKABLE CONTRASTS Comparisons are odious and Mr. M. E. V. Wood, of Whangaripo. has found out how odious thay can be. He has just concluded a motor tour which enabled him to compare the roads of his native North Auckland with those in the South. HE returned astounded at what he has seen, and is convinced that, in the main, nono of the local bodies north of Hamilton know nearly as much as they should about road-mak-ing. and that the northern count v councillors should organise a tour to see what ran be done with modern methods. “I WAS ASTOUNDED" Mr. Wood, who is a member of the Automobile Association, returned last evening from a trip through Taranaki, and much of the centre of the Island, having travelled with Mr. R. Cham - taloup, touring manager of the association. “I can only say .that 1 was astounded at what I saw when I compared the country and the amount of settlement with North Auckland,” Mr. Wood told The Sun yesterday. He admitted that North Auckland did not have metal on the spot to anything like the extent that local bodies had in the South, but when he came to tar-sealed roads in the centre of almost virgin country he was unable to ex - press himself. “They say the North Auckland roads are in country that is not capable of producing the necessary rates, but we passed over miles and miles of country on. perfect roads, some of them even tar-sealed, where the country has never, produced a penny. ’ he commented, and mentioned portion of the Raetihi-Waiouru Road as being tar-sealed when th© area was practically regarded as back-blocks. “If the results are in any way attributable to the work from prison camps the sooner we have half a dozen in the north the better.” he said, referring to the splendid roads in the National Park area between Honopito and Waimarino, and on the Waiouru Plains. He was particularly struck with the continued maintenance, and the number of power-hauled graders, and commented sorrowfully on the fact that once a road was properly formed in th© north it appeared to be thereafter neglected until it fell to ruin. EASILY SATISFIED “Though we are more closely settled and our land has been epened up for years, we are getting absolutely nothing compared with these outback places in the south. “If some of our men could see the methods in the south they would open their eyes in wonder. They are so used to bad conditions that when they get some small improvement they sit back pleased and satisfied with themselves,” continued Mr. Wood “Yet we have an important and urgentlywanted highway from Silverdale to Maungaturoto on which practically nothing is being done, while we saw 30 miles of the road from the main highway to Kawhia with metalling nearly completed. As far as I could see there were not half the people that we have.” He spoke of a ten-mile stretch, witii three quarries on it. which had taken nearly five years to metaJ, in his own district. It yet had two miles to do, and was expected to take till next year. At Kawhia two miles remained —and it was expected to complete it in a week! “It is all tills fiddling round letting contracts for a couple of hundwjd yards at a time that beats us.” Mr. Wood also felt that the North was not getting th© Highway Board support that it was entitled to. He said they always had a fight to get a pound for pound subsidy, but t.he South seemed to get £3 for one easily enough. “They get deviations and all sorts of improvements, while we carry’ on with clay roads and bullock-hauled graders,” h© concluded.