That Waihi Bridge.

Te Aroha News, Volume VII, Issue 430, 21 December 1889, Page 2

That Waihi Bridge.

A pu.blic meetinsr, convened by the Ch.ilr-rn.-m of the Katikati Road HoaH, MrG. Y. Stewart, for the purpose of furthering the erection of the Waihi Bridge was held at K.itikali on Saturday, 7tli inst. Present* — Hey Canon Johnston, General Stoud.ird, Capts. Macmillan and Stewart, Messrs G. Y. Stewair, \V. Boyd, Klaus, W- Preston, J. Killen, Duckworth, E. Gledstanes, Gilbert, Lockington, M. J. Stewart, W. Andrews, Hoeing, Taylor, Love, A. Clark, Biiaby, Simms, Giay, N. Johnston, MeCliue, 0. Hunn, C. Kelly, Middlebrook, T. Ansltiy, Ferguson, Ilenry and others. The Chan man, in opening the proceedings said : One of the first matters ho tooic in hand on his return to the Colony thirteen months ago was this Waihi bridge, and within six weeks of his return ho had obtained an absolute pro inise, and thought he was able to congratulate himself that the work would have been completed before last winter, in proof of which he would read the following: official letter from the Ohinemuri County Council : — Ohinemuri Council Chambers, Paeroa, December 11th, 1888. Sir, — I am instructed by the Chairman in reply to your letter of the 26th uK. to Inform you that the Council appointed a committee to examine the site of the proposed bridge at Waihi, and to take such steps as would be necessary to get the Government to erect the bridge. The Committee next visited Waihi and chose a site, and have further informed the Government that a good traffic bridge could be erected there at a cost not exceeding £200, capable of carrying 6 tons. The Government has been urged, in place of subsidising a bridge to the extent of £250 as they promised, to allow the County to erect it bj giving them a grant of £200 for the purpose. I am instrqetod to thank you for the kind interest you are showing in the matter, and with you the Council trusts that before long the Waihi bridge will be an accomplished fact. — I ana, etc., Nepean Kexny, County CJerk.. G. Vesey Stewart, Esq., Katikati. Finding, however, that the sn miner wan quietly passing away, he frequently pi eseed the matter personally on tho Ohinerniui County Council at Paeroa, and on the 21st July he received the following communication :—: — Ohiuemuri Council Chambers, Paeroa, I9fch July, 1889, Sir, — In reply to your letter of the Tth tilt., lam instructed to inform you that the delay ,J in the mutter of tho Waibi bridge is due to' certain alterations in the plan of bridge required by the Government, which will add' very considerably to the cost of the bridge, and which the Ouuncil ooneider under the advice of theirenginecr as unnecessary. The matter is now under discussion between, the Council and the Government.— l have, etc., Nepean Kenny, "qouaty Cleik. G. Vcsoy Si.owar.fc, §i.l-, -Katd^ati.

They would observe that twelve months had now elapsed since the Ohmemuri County Council had expressed thejiopo " That .before long the W.iilii bridge wouUj be an accomplished fact," but unfortunately they appeared to be as far off now .18 they were then, Mid-summer had now come ; in a short time the autumn Showers would fall to be followed by winter rains and river torrents, the result of which wilj be that <V'aihi and surrounding districts will be^Qut on: from Kafikati and Tauiangn, and the iridustrioUJ miners in the goldftelds wiir have to pay~enhinced and exhorbitanfc prices for all the necessaries they may require or consume. They had on ! the other side of the river an enterpsising 1 English . Company, and some I Colonial Gold Mining: Companies, who are paying - property tax, circulating their moneys freely, .giving 'employment at liberal wages, and. adding in many ways to the revenue of the Colony and to the prosperity of the district. Ho a«lced them if it was fair to these men ; was this the encouragement Sir Harry Atkinson pro* miaou" them he would give to the mining industry, that by the want oE this bridged viitivil toll o£ at least 10s to 20a per ton should bo placed on all the machinery transported, or on the necessaries and comforts ot life to the mining population of Waihi and neighbourhood. What w>3 the cause of the delay in commencing tho work? They should boar in mind that they had the distinct promise of the lion the Minister of Mines (Mr G F Richardson), the money required had been voted, was at present in the Treasury, and only required to be drawn ; it was an absolute giant, ami not a pound for pound subsidy; and further, Air Richardson was so impressed with the necessity of this work that hu selected the site himself. If the Ohinomuri Count) Council were unwilling toexecute the woilc on the lines required by the Government, the Trustees of their Highway Board were willing to meet the wishes of the Department without any expense to the ratepayers, and these trustees asked them to endorse their proposal, and impress on the Government the absolute necessity a£ commencing tho work without any further delay ; to accept their plans and tl.rovv upon tho Government the onus of. the result. Mr Bnckworth moved : "That the want of the Waihi bridge is the only broken link in the road communication betweenrauranga and the Thames That the delay in its erection h fraught with &eiious loss <md inconvenience to the struggling' settlers of -Katikatf, ?c»d retards the progress nf the important mining interests of Waihi and of the surrounding auriferous districts." He often had occasion to cro«s the ford and know th-s danger well. Tho erection of tho bridge was not a veiy big undertaking, but to get it accomplished all should he ! p. Mr T. Fergu-on seconded the resolution, and in doin-j so said h ■ ha 1 been across the ford and could iiu.l -(stand thed inj:fr. The sooner the hri li>e w,i, b lit th i Wult.-r it wou'd hi for Kilikitia id .i 1 cono rued, ihe miitioii being put to th i unjetfnjj it was carried iinaniiii mi ly. lliiv. 3an n J .h.'iston next m >v.jd : '• That tin: R itikati nettl t* in puli'iu inuoting assembled, encFoiMo thu resolution pissed by the titi^tees r.fc* .he Ilijh-v.y !s<>aid in requesting tli (y >vei u iteii.fc i>-L-rc't the Waihi Bnd o m-l r the s-ip m'.j,tonlcncL' of Llioir uwu drpatt.ui jut, or &[*>> li.md over the amount of tho vote to t ioKatikati Ri.ad 13 »ard, Io be expended Uy them in iccordanee with the. in ru Uckk of the G'Vin.niMit oflioi r->. ' He had great ple.i.suie in moving such a rosolu i • ', puitiy because ho livml near to Waihi, and paitly because he knew the d Iliculty o<! getting across the river. The er-uliou of the bridge would be of great adv. ntajjo both to Kttikati an I those living at Waihi. To the former bccuise the budding »old-fk-ld offered a steady mark> t for tho settlers' produce ; and to the latter becausethey would be able to get their supplies at a more reasonable cost than at present. He had heard tluit it was the intention vi: the Ohinemuri Council to prevent lh^ erection of the biidge, and thought it" buch were the case it was a very '' dog in the manger" policy, lie hoped the report wa3 not correct, but knew for a fact that the public thought it »vas. O.ipt. Maenii l u u , in seconding the reso^lution, agreed with ilio roi msr speaker's remarks. He said it certainly was commonly lepoitcd that the O!iinom vi Council threw obstacles in ihe way of erecting the bridge ; a report which hy was inclined to believe. On being put to the meeting the foregoing lesolution was cairied unatiimously. The third resolution was proposed by C.'pt Il.Stuwaitas follow-. : "That a copy of the foregoing lesol u tin ns be forwarded to the Hon G. F. Richardson, Minister of; Mine?, with the reqt est that he will kindly give effect thereto, and carry out his promise for the immediate erection of the bridge, upon the site personally selected by himself." Mr Killen in seconding the resolution supposed the Chairman was aware that the Government had the powir to build the bridge independent of the Ohinemuri Couucil, and deduct the amount necessary for the work out of the County's subsidies, lie had undeistood that a £ for £ subsidy only had been promised ; but it now appeared that a positive grant of £250 had been made. The Chairman explained that the original promise by Government was a £ for £ subsidy, but that now a grant of £250 had actually been given. Tlib motion was then put to the meetingand carried unanimously. At a meecing of the Katikati Roid Board, held immediately before the general meeting of settlers, the following resolution was passed :—": — " That we, the Trustees of the Katikati Fo'ad Board, desire to draw the attention of the. lion G, F. Richardson, the Minister of Mines, to the the great delay that has occurred in the erection of the Waihi bridge, and reque c t him to give directions for the immediate building thereof, under the supervision of the Government Department, or else place the amouqt of the grant to the credit of this Board, to be expended by them 'n accordance with the instructions of the Government. —Bay of Plenty Times,

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