PAEROA TO POKENO

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 616, 19 March 1929, Page 16

PAEROA TO POKENO

NEW RAILWAY URGED MINISTER SYMPATHETIC (Special to THE SUN) POKENO, Monday. A sympathetic hearing was given by the Minister for Public Works, the lLon. E. A. Ransom, when a big deputation this afternoon urged the claims of the Paeroa-Pokeno railway. A saving in distance of 43 miles, and in time of two hours, the Minister was told by Mr. J. Woodcock, would be accomplished if there was a railway. Mr. Woodcock is chairman of the Pokeno Chamber of Commerce. He said that these savings would mean a great deal to the East Coast. The line would open up the rich Hauraki Plains, and many thousands of acres suitable for settlement at Maramarua. The line would also reduce freight congestion between Auckland and the Waikato. Mr. George Mclnnes said a railway between Pokeno and Paeroa would increase settlement and production in the area three-fold. The shortening of the route would reduce freight charges, stimulating business. The country was easy, and some of the works necessary to the railway already were in hand. Mr. J. N. Massey, chairman of the Franklin County Council, and Mr. John Dean, Mercer riding, stressed the value of the railway from a settlement point of view. The Minister said he would be pleased to put the representations before Cabinet. Ho urged the deputation to keep the question prominently before their members and the Government. MARAMARUA LAND Another deputation stressed the value of the land in the Maramarua area for settlement in preference to forestry. The Minister said the Government realised that land once regarded as suitable for forestry was now more valuable for settlement purposes, and a survey would be necessary to decide how much of the Maramarua land was in this position. Members of the deputation pointed out that the Government had between 40,000 and 50,000 acres in the area, and the highway and the proposed railway passed through this land for several miles.