STRATFORD RAILWAY.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 81860, 9 October 1906, Page 3

STRATFORD RAILWAY.

THROUGH THE BACKBLOCKS. The Now Zea'and llera'd some time ago dispatched a special eomniisI .inner from Ongarue along the. proposed railway route to Stratford. J lis impressions are of in.crest to the people of Taranaki, giving as they do particulars of the country as yet known to very few. The commis-

sioner writes :

As may be seen by anyone caring to glance at a map of the North Island, the route of the Stratford-On-gai tie railway runs roughly in a north-east and south-west direction, rig.tt through the heart of north Taranaki. Aready numerous loads have been planned to converge on 'o it, I o thai even now it is not difficult to understand what an important effect the construction of this line wi'l have on the development of this part of New Zealand. There is not another Hade route to the southwards until the Wanganui River is reached, nor is there another to the northward nearer t.utn the Waitara-Mokau-Te Kuiti road. It may be safely 'said, therefore, that this Stiatfird-Onga-lue railway will form the only outlet for produce and passengers over an area of country forty miles wide and at least one hundred miles in length. Besides th's, however, it will ,a>; I have pointed out before, form the connecting link between the provinces of Auckland and Taranaki, which in itself is sufficient warrant for considerable expenditure, because already a very large trade is carried on between ih)he two places, and it only needs pioper communication to develop this Hade enormously.

ALTERNATIVE TO THE .MAIN TRUNK.

Another argument in favour of the Stratford-Ongarue railway is ihat ii wiil form an alternative route lo the Main Trunk line, and in ease of landslides or accident in the rough country south o Ongarue through tratlie could be diverted on to the \\'c-l Coast system. All these arc important arguments in favour of the construction of the line, but after all the real solid reason for its construction h that it would open up for close settlement three million acres f excellent land. When 1 pushed out beyond Mangaroa I began to undcr- \ land how the settlers and the district are handicapped for lack of a railway. It takes four days, and sometimes five days, for the settlers to drive iheii cattle in to the Main Trunk at Ongarue. For months in the year it is almost impossible to drive even cafe along th.'s road, and utterly useless 10 attempt to drive sheep. With the railway there would of necessity come a decent main road, and when once there was any inducement the l;ettlcrs would soon improve their by-roads. PAPA FOR ROADS.

It seems that the district will have to depend upon burnt papa for roadmaking material, and burnt papa makes very good roads at no great cost. Papa, it is said, will not stand heavy traffic in wflt weather, but scarcely any other road material wil stand under such conditions, unltU constantly repaired, and burnt papa has the merit of being handy. It ean be quarried out of the hillside anywheic along die road, and as at the present time there is an abundance of timber for burning it the district need not lack decent roads just because blue metal or s.iingle is no. available. MAUORAIIORA. li.xlefrom Mangaroa to Mahorahora on Saturday afternoon, and spent the night at Mr. Donison's place, kawhiiiroa—"the valley of the long sunshine.'' The valley As as pretty as its name is poetical, and is better than pretty, it is rich. A neighbouring farmer whom 1 met here informed me that he had put forty three-year-old bullock'- on to a fifteen-acre paddock for a fortnight, and that they eould not eat V.v grass down. At the time of my visit the grass was very plentiful, and the stock had evidently wintered weli, for cattle and horses were in good condition.

KAWIUTIROA TO TATU.

Much of ihc countty between Matccte and Mahorahora is ideal dairying land, and it would be hard to find any district which offers so many beautiful homesteads. 1 «'t out for Tatu «n Sunday morning and reached there early ill the afternoon. From Ongarue to Tatu is between forty-five and fifty miles, and apart from the terribly muddy condition of tli«- roads orfus no difficult!.'• either for equestrians or for lailway construction. There are no bad rivers to cross, no steep hi'ls to climb. In the summer it must be a very pleasant journey, and well worth undertaking to anyone wishing to see pioneer life and promising country. I would advise young fellows with a bit of capital to spend a few weeks down there during the dry summer weather. lam adjured that unlike many other pans of Taranaki the grass does not burn up in the hot weather, and that the feed on the hillsides is something worth looking at.