PIONEERING.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 45, 18 March 1909, Page 3

PIONEERING.

TilE GREAT NEED OF SETTLEMENT. A REGION WHERE METAL IS UNKNOWN. SOME SUCCESSFUL SUBSTITUTES. EGMONT I'll!•: IMPORTANT SOURCE OF METAL SUPPLY. r (New Zealand Times.) T'lie first requirement of land settlement is tlie properly metalled road, and the one blot on the pa*t Kami settlement policy of the Government is that land iias been ollered for selection before proper means of communication have been provided in the shape of metalled arterial roads ; anil this weakness is particularly harsh in its ell'ect in such country as the Whaiigoniumona and other inland districts of Taranaki and the contiguous lands between Taranaki and the .Main Trunk line, for there is here no metal, and the papa character of the unformed road makes the worst of all materials for a winter higliwav. BURNT l'Al'A.

Ju the Whatiganiomona district ail excellent substitute for the ordinary road | metal is found in burnt papa. Papa is found in unlimited quantities, and would make the district absolutely independent of metal were it not that the cost of burning may yet prove a bar to its use. The value of burnt papa as a rondfornihig material is undoubtedly very great, and when properly burnt' is declared to be superior to metal. Certainly a. portion of the main W.liiii.ngamomona road made with it, and down for a number of years, is a beautiful piece of highway, and running as it does through heavily-timbered country, its red nature presents a very picturesque appearance. It was declared to the writer by one Wliangnuionioiia settler that in winter the burnt papa clings to the wheels of vehicles, but this, others contended, was because the papa had not been properlv burnt.

The general use of papa, especially in the future, will .altogether depend on the cost of it. The ready made road material, metal, will not be so expensive when the local railway is through, ami the metal pit at the foot of Mount Egniont is opened out. Supplies will then also be obtainable from Te Kuiti, which will be au especially cheap source of supply should be the Stratford-Main Trunk railway be unfortunately diverted to a point just below Te Kuiti from the original route, by way of Ongarue. There are many people who prefer the burnt papa to metal, even with the price of each material the same. The cost of the former is fairly heavy now, even with a plentiful supply of firewood, but when the Whangamomona country is cleared the cost of fuel will probably prove an insuperable drawback to the use of burnt papa. At the present tfone tli<e method of burnPng the,. Whangamomona district is -to select a,'paipft face with a supply of firewood near by. A basin is cut out at the base of the papa face, and the building of the kiln proceeded with. Logs are hiirt down, -running from the road to the back of the kiln, at a little distance apart, to provide lire holes. Then the firing timber, split logs, are laid lengthwise in alternate layers, with the broken papa. There are nine layers of papa rock in all, the layers of papa being about eighteen inches deep, except the first layer, which is about two feet deep. Tawa is the wood preferred for tiring, and it is used green, us it hums with greater strength when green. The kiln taki*s -afbout a fortnight to burn out, and such a kiln gives about 400 tons of road material. Tii cost runs to about Us (id a yard in the kiln. It will he seen that anything which will increase the cost will be'a bar to the extended use of the burnt papa, and there is, therefore, little hope that it will be used when, with the completion of the railway, metal will he brought in at a fair price. The idea of burning papa for roading is, of course, not new. It has been used in the .hih'iat'mv i-omitv Kvi'th excellent results, as well as the Upper llangitikei district. North of Auckland clay of a Hiiitable character was largely burnt and formed excellent road, and when labour was cheaper could be burnt and laid where required at as low a cost as 4s fid a yard. It would cost double this price at the present time.

OTHER HOAD-FOKMJNG MATERIAL. There is a slate material in the To Kuiti district which makes ail excellent road, standing the heaviest o{ traffic for several years without requiring a penny of expense for repairs. A sandstone in the district is also a valuable road-forming material. Good metal is also declared to lie in plentiful supply in the TcKuiti country. In the country towards Ongarue the pumice, which is Ihe main sub-formation, provides easilysecured roading material. But it lies inches thick in dust in the summer, a plague to man and beast (especially to the cripples that do for horseflesh in sonic of the public couches ill the district), but solidities with moisture, and tlius forms an excellent winter road. ROAD FORMATION. A principle of road formation followed by ilr Biml, District Engineer of the Tc Kuiti Kond District, is a model for local bodies to follow. It is counter-sinking the roadway for the width of the metal to be laid, a crown being made in the formation. Boards are stood up in edge 011 either side of the track, and as the earth is removed from the track it in banked up against the boards in the outside. Thus when tile metal is laid in the properly formed roadway it is protected 011 the edges by the banked earth. Tliis not only keeps the metal in place, and prevents it being scattered and thrown oil' the road, but preserves the crown. Hoads so formed have lasted for many years without repair, with the crow, the essential feature in maintaining a road in good order, always in the desired shape. The Minister of Roads and Bridges, the Hon. Mr Hogg, strongly approves of this principle of road forma-' tioi). lie secured its adoption in certain districts, but, unfortunately, there are engineers to local bodies who do not like to be told that there is a better method than the one they have followed, and they refuse to adopt the new idea. Probably a means will be found, especially where the Government contributes to the cost of a road, of forcing them into line. Mr Hogg does not intend to be an ornamental figurehead of his important department of roads and bridges. EXI'KDITIOX REHIRED.

A common weakness in road construction is want of expedition in carrying out tlic work. This is especially the ease in districts like Whauigamomona, where the winter weather plays havoc with the soft, papa formation, and compels the work of metalling to be carried out in the dry season, The lion. .Mr Hogg, wilh his long experience of backwood roads in his constituency, is fully alive to the importance of this matter. An earnest of this is his action us soun as he took over control of the yoad and bridges department in ordering a motor waggon foir this purpose. It is'not; ;i new idea as one or two Have been imported, but have failed to come up to expectations. it is to be hoped the one the (lovcrnnient Jias ordered will be more sa tisfaetoi'v. A SATISFACTORY FEATURE.

If the country has not been as generous as it might have been m constructing the main arterial roads ahead of settlement, and thereby inflicting unnecessary hardship on Hie men and woim*n--who are the principal means of increasing the national wealth—it is sati'stfaVtory to know that the field oflieers of the'roads and bridges department are doing very satisfactory work. This Is certainly, the case in the Te Kuiti Road District and the Whangamomo:ia district, anil though the pioneers in these way-back settlements have their grievances, they are generous in their praise of the good work of the district road engineer*. \v.lik>, it is freely ndmitted. are rendering excellent service with the funds at their disposal.