THE MOKAU RIVER

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVIII, Issue 81916, 10 January 1907, Page 2

THE MOKAU RIVER

Tlu> Mokau i!ivor Trust has taken a wise step in arranging preliminaries for tin' report of an expert upon the question of rendering the upper roaches of the river negotiable for launch mill steamship Ivallie. Without such iulviee, and without some definite scheme of operations, the Trust must work entirely in the dark, or at best guided by men who. whilst possessing an intimate knowledge <:t the river and its rapids and shallows, illicit involve the Trust in an extravagant and useless expenditure of money. As one of the members remarked at tiie animal meeting, snagging and clearing without some experience in oilier rivers under similar conditions illicit result in making one Jon" i' :, l )ill > '> ke a I|U " sluicfi - < -' a|) " tain Marshall, in many year's work on the Wanganui river, lias found it of the greatest advantage at times to substitute other means of deepening and straightening- the channel, and the Mokau llivcr Trust will be fortun ate if a report from hiin can be obtained. As the result of repeated requests from Mr \V. T. Jennings, member for Eginont, an oflicer of the Tourist Department has visited the Mokau and reported on its scenic attractions, besides giving an idea of the diiliculties to bo surmounted before the river can be made easily accessible to tourist tratlie. In an extensive report to the Department Mr Cowan says that as far as the coal mines, about 22 miles from the heads, the river is titta!, deep, and fairly clear of obstructions. From that point to Totoro, however, numerous rapids are encountered,, many of them difficult, some dangerous, Por fifteen miles or so above the mines the rapids arc mostly caused by snags, and beyond that by boulders and beds of shingle. Mr Cowan considered that the Mokau | could be made navigable for shallow draught steamers or power launches as far as Jvawakawa (42 miles) or Kaiwaka (14 miles) either of wheih would make a convenient terminus of the river trallic. The removal of the snags and the concentration of the river into straight runs in the present rapids did not seem to present any great engineering diiliculties, and the opinion was expressed that Uiis could lie done for an expenditure of approximately .£IO,OOO. "Prom a scenic point of view," writes ilr Cowan," the Mokau is certainly worth developing, for the greater part of its course below Totoro (which is fully 40 miles from its source in the Kangitoto mountains) it runs through thick forests with occasional clearings. This forest is beautifully luxuriant, and in most places it clothes the surrounding ranges find banks down to the water's edge. The tree ferns which border the river grow to a larger size her probably limn anywhere else in the island, not even excepting the Wanganui. In the still reaches in favourable weather the shadow ell'ects are wonderfully line. Some parts of the river above the limits of steam navigation i consider prettier than the Wanganui. The scene just above the Panirau rapids, where the river takes a sweeping bend through a narrow gorge topped by forest-clad ranges, is one of great beauty. The Wanganui is much more majestic, and its dill's are grainier, but for the luxuriance ot the forest and fiu-ns that bank it in, the Mokau is unrivalled amongst the rivers of the island. A short distance below Panirau there is a very pretty waterfall, called Te Mimi-a-Maroa, failing over 00 feet: into the river. While the present clearings when laid down in grass will give agreeable variety to the river, it is urgent that the still untouched- forest fringing the river below Kawakawa should be preserved intact. If this is done no navigable rher in New Zealand will compare with the Mok-.m in the years to come in point of the pristine loveliness ot . us forest surroundings. On the banks of the Mokau near Totoro there are two mineral springs (cold) which may possibly be found to be of medicinal value. One is highly sulphurous, and is said to contain iodine. About eight miles above Totoro are the Wairere falls where the river, drops about 200 feet in a series ot beautiful cascades."

Apart from the possibilities of the tourist trallic, New Plymouth is vitally, though not demonstratively, interested in the Mokau and its development, for the river can 'be and should he made. the. mean-, uf conveying to the settlers in tJiac r( 'gion stores and the necessaries of life at reasonable rates of freight. An absolute necessity, besides the snagging of the stream, is the improvement of the entrance, and no ell'ort should be spared to induce the Government to allocate a sum sullicient for this highly necessary work which must result benelieially to the whole district. Meanwhile the deepening of the river channel is in excellent hands.