DREDGING OF WAITOA

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 450, 4 September 1928, Page 12

DREDGING OF WAITOA

MINISTER OF LANDS VISITS TE AROHA NATIONAL CHANNELS SUGGESTED (Special to TUB SUN) TE AROHA, Monday, An inspection of the drainage in the Waitoa district was made by the Minister of Lands, Hon. A. D. M t . Leod, to-day. On his arrival at Te Aroha he was welcomed by the Mayor. Mr. R. Coulter and representatives of the Waitoa, Elstow and Hungahunga Drainage Boards. The Minister was accompanied by Messrs. R. McMorran. Dominion chief drainage engineer, and E. Taylor, district drainage engineer, ami Messrs. A. M. Samuel, C. E. Macmillan and D. S. Reid, M.P.’s, also accompanied the party.

The morning was spent in a tour of the area covered by the three drainage boards. The chief purpose of the visit was to enable the Minister to gain first-hand knowledge relative to a request to the Lands Department to dredge the Waitoa River for 3 miles 27 chains from the Ohine Creek. This was estimated to cost £8,500. It was explained to the Minister that the three boards had spent between £60,000 and £70,000 on drainage works and were now meeting with troubles which the dredging of the river and clearing of snags was hoped to alleviate. Mr. W. J. Andrews, Elstow, asked the Minister to treat the dredging of the river as a national undertaking, in which case the boards concerned would be prepared to remove snags from the remaining 13 miles. Mr. W. R. Johnson supported a suggestion from other speakers to nationalise important outlet rivers as “river highways.” Mr. McLeod said it might be feasible to nationalise the maintenance of important drainage outlet rivers as suggested, but any scheme so devised would have to apply to the whole of the Dominion. As far as the dredging of the Waitoa was concerned, he could definitely say that a vote of £5,000 or £B,OOB could not be faced this year. He would investigate the dredging and snagging of the river again on his return to Wellington and endeavour to forward a decision as soon as possible.