Through the Ohura.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVI, Issue 182, 31 January 1914, Page 6

Through the Ohura.

A DISTRICT WITH POSSIBILITIES.

ITS XATI UAL OUTLET. CHAMBER ol' COAI MERCK I'AUTV'S VISIT. (Xo. If.) there is a good deal of rivalry between ' >liur;i nuil Maticrc. Each claims that il will eventually lie the capita! of the Ohura district. To the outsider, however, there seems only one place ill the running, and (lint is Ohura. It .possesses a post ollice that has been built with an eye to the future development of the township. It is the centiul point of i perfect network of roads. In it ur&—established two banks: it has the one church (JJethodist) in the whole of the Ohura, whilst' another (Catholic) is in process of building. Tenders have been let for e. Presbytcl'ian clini""' l ' H,ui the Anglican- are a'so about to bin', Then, tile resident of Ohura, who is nothing if not confident in the future of tlie township, will lell you that at a iT'i iMif of tlie ."i4 offered were sold at the upsets and over, whilst only three out of 33 .'sections in Matiere found purchasers. Section- in Ohura are rapidly increasing in price. At lbs first sales, in 1004. a corner section iu the main street was sold for C-J!) Ills. . Now tlie owner wants CtiOO for il. The Bank of Xc.v Zealand gave £:l.">U for one not, so favorably situated three years ago.' SubTITWn sections which brought £G per acre nt ft sale in MOfi are now com- | mauding- £3O to £4O. The streets of the township have been named after native birds. Thus we have a Tui street, lluia, Titi. Kiwi and Kakapo streets. Judging by the stumps there nui'l have been some heavy timber in the township, mostly white and re'l pine, there being little matai or totai'a. The township possesses a recreation

ground reserve, which is pleasantly situ-

ated not far from .the site of the pro- ' 'posed railway station. I.t also sup- ( iports a capablv-condueted little weekly newspaper. COST OF CARTAGE. , Settlers are eagerly looking forward to the advent of the iron horse. And no wonder. Cartage from Ongaru';, on the railway, in the winter month; runs up to £l2 a ton. In summer the •charge is as "low" as ,C2 10s. The price ( is governed by the condition of the roaos.' One settler out Tokirima way has this season 120 bales of wool u> cart out. They liavc to be .sledged out one at a time, for four or live miles, and then carted to Ongsiruc. "Verily, 'the pioneer is severely handicapped! THE VISITORS BANQUETTE!). In the evening the settlers tendered the visitors a banquet in the spacious dining-room of Mr. Aves' accommodation house. There was a large attendance, and Mr. \V. Sardinian, chairman 1 of the Ohura County Council, presided. After a-capital dinner, a short toast list was discussed. ~,'The Visitors" was proposed by the chairman, who said tlie visitors bad come, as it were, to spy out the land with a view to establishing trade relations with the Ohura. They would find that Ohura was a good district airl its trade worthjstriviug for. , A RICH DISTRICT.

Messrs Wilson and Okey, Ml'., s, responded. The former said tlie district was one of the richest in- Xew Zealand. It was a good sign to see men spying out tlio land. The district was, considering its latent capacity and resources, producing little or nothing at tile present time. The business men who got in early -,vo.ul<t reap the reward of their enterprise. Tney could not have too much competition ,'in a young and developing district, lie hoped New Plymouth would enter the commercial lists —aiuty what whs more to tlio point, bring wltli them plenty of hard cash. (Laughter), Mr. Okey said that lie had visited the Ohura about ten years ago, and in going .through the district again he noticed a nuirked change, there being evident of progress on all sides. It was n good district:, perhaps noL so suited for dairying as for sheep and grazing. With the markets as they were, lie did not think they would lose much by contilling their to sh#cp end cattle. He believed i.t was the duty of members of Parliament to see the different )>arls of the Dominion, and he assured them that anything he could Mo to help Mr. Wilson in matters afi'ectj'ing the welfare of the district would be j most cheerfully done. They must pull together, and lie was pleased to say Mr. ■ Wilson >vas always ready to help him. Xew Plymouth did not want to take business from their Auckland neighbors, '.but competition must result in'benefit to the. farmers, who were well able to take care of themselves. He took a hopeful view of the future of the Dominion and believed that in three years the exports would reach a .total of C3O,OUH.<JOO,

! MORE PEOPLE AXD MORE MONEY ; WANTED. "Trade and Commerce" was proposed by Mr. K. Williams, who expressed the i'opinion that) with its present virgin country brought into production tlie exports of the North Island alone would 'increase in a few years by ten millions. They wanted more people in ilw? Ohura. If was only about eleven years old, and they had certainly made progress during that lime. They had now a population of about 2001!. Their WiMii export fur tlii' first three years was only lim bales, but this year they would send out between 2000 and :10ii0 bales mi wool, besides large quantities .'of fat stock. Hut railway commiinie.iMion was necessary (o enable them to take advantage of the market for fat lambs, pigs. etc. If Taranaki business men wished to do business with Ohura they would have to oll'cr a higher market and ,-cil cheaper. "Otherwise." he said, "you cannot, expect us to do business with you." (Laughter). COMPETITION THE LIE 10 OF TRADE. Mr. 11, liurgc-s. president of the Taranaki ( liamber of Commerce, 'mil Air. Xcwton King, replied. The trip bail been a. great pleasure and an education to him. a- to the others of the party, said .Mr. llurgess. When tile railway came through, the Ohura would forge ahead. Taranaki was as anxious as they were to have the line through. When it was the Ohura pcol>le would .-it on velvet, for they would have at both ends people anxious to do '.business with them. Taranaki no doubt would do its share. The people 'of, Taranaki realised lliat unless they had .something good to olVer busineswould not, result. Rut he felt sure •that they could compete successfully with Auckland. It was a ease of the better horse winning. .Mr. llurgess referred to the. progress of the port of : Xew Plymouth, which, be said, would shortly ha able to accommodate Home liners, ,

NO SE.\TIMEXT IX TRADE. | ■' Mr. King was heartily applauded onrising ,t,o speak. It was his first visit ■ to the district, with which he was much impressed. There was no sentiment in trade. He recognised—they all recognised—that the Ohura. could not, under existing conditions, be better served from the south than from the north ' When the line was through it would he' time enough to talk. Then they would see through whatever was undertaken. Taranaki people were peculiar in many respects, but once they resolved upon a line of action they would carry it through to a successful conclusion. Xew Plymouth had the advantage of 85 miles over Auckland in respect of railway distance, and, providing freights were equal to anil from either port and the *Old Country, it stand to reason tli.it they must, choose the cheaper route. As for THE XEW PLVAKHTII HAIiJSOIi, that was progressing a good deal jnore than most people thought, lie traced the history of the port, and said that ' only about ten years ago did they set ol] j hi earnest to provide for big boats.

uriginaily rr—e i""V " 'asked for a d^ ll ' a ' Wilter «P l ' ,n « tide of 30ft. Tha?' "'as dredged, and then the companies that depth lie increased to 33ft. .! three feet had taken a considerable " n^for the work was by no means e:i but it was now almost completed. They had also to provide further swinging room for the vessels and ;to finish dredging in the fairway to the required depth, but in twelve months they could reasonably expect Home boats at Xew I'l.ymoutli. At present 1 hey had to pay (lie coastal freight and transhipment charges, running into 17s (id per toil, which had to be paid by tlie consumers. This would be saved as soon as they got the Home liners to call, lie mentioned that a vessel had been cliar--1 , ; r])>■;_,_ out from Hull direct ' ll Xew PlyntoUti ai»>3 ions of slag, aniT would sail at the end of February or I the beginning of March . They would therefore see how well the harbor was | progressing. As a matter of fact, they could take in the boats now, and mcnI tioned the fact that the Riinutaka could ( have been safely berthed at Moturoa 1 during the strike. Hut they intended jto take no risks. They wanted* to I have everything in readiness before a ! regular service was instituted. \\hVn this was done it would be a good tiling for all of them. The Ohura people - who were, part of Taranaki —were, or should be, as much interested as those living closer to the harbor. , lie had not yet been all over the district, but whether they went iu for dairying i-r sheep, hp had no other opinion than that it was a good country. The. last two years had been very difficult lor everyone. The Government had no money, as was shown by the way applications had been turned down. The banks and financial institutions were in the same condition. Everyone ivas thereby inconvenienced. Respecting his own operations, he could only say that he would not feel ju-tilied in coining into the district unless he was ab|e to <;o business with settlers in the same way and on the same terms as with the re it of Taranaki. If lie could not give reaj sonable accommodation to settlers :ie would prefer not t» commence operations. It resolved itself into a question of finding the necessary capital. Concluding. Mr. King expressed the hope that the I Hurra settlers would visit New Plymouth, and see for themselves how things were shaping with the harbor, when lie felt, sure -everything would be done to make the •trip as pleasurable as they had nia-le the present trip of the Xew Plymouth party. (Cheers). Mr. fl. C. Stevenson proposed "Public Hodics," Mr. Okey replying. "The Press" was responded to by Mr. T. C. List.

Mr. Okey proposed the health of Mr. Hagenson, whose services he eulogised, as did others. Mr. Ilagcnson replied in brief and modest, terms, saying it was a | pleasure to have accompanied the party land been of service to it. "Auld Lang Syne" was sung, ami a most enjoyable function concluded. at ten o'clock.® THE .IOURNEY SOI'THWARD. At 8.30 next morning the party saddled up and proceeded to Tokirima, via Tatu. The visitors were accompanied I by Messrs W. Sandison, S. Meredith, ti. [c. Stevenson and \V. K. Williams, leading settlers who from the commencement could not do sufficient to make the trip enjoyable and successful. Nenr Tatu, the party left tlieir horses and took to vehicles provided for the purpose by Hio settlers. Tlie country passed through on the way to .the Tokirima Valley was all good sheep country, there being practically no waste land. This remark applies to all the country iu Ihe Ohura—it w all capable of supporting sheep and cattle. This country was thrown open about eight years ago. when improved sections, of from 1.11) to 200 acres, were balloted for. The holdings are altogQter too small, and it is not surprising to learn that many of the original settlers have sold out and that the sections have been aggregated into farms of f)00 acres and over. To do any good with this class of country a settler requires at least .jOO acres. Those of tlie original settlers who remain .ire able to keep things going by working part of their time on the roads. Money is wanted to fence, grass and stock the country.

CAPITAL WANTED. The men who have the capital arc securing good results. Those who 1-aven't are severely handicapped, for unless'the land is fenced into convenient, paddocks and properly stocked, it soon becomes "dirty.'" and has to be cut nnd burnt and grassed all over again.- On 'the svav to Tukiritna one notices the marked difference between Hie seel ions worked by a man with financial resources and that held by the struggling settler. One is clean and healthy-look-ing; the other is dirty and povertystricken. One is dividend-paying from the time the grass is up: the other is hardly self-supporting, and steadily going back. IX THE TOKIRIMA VALLEV. Arrived in the valley of Tokirima, the part, halted at Mr. Herbert Craven's. He has got a nice slice of easy rolling downs, nearly all of which is ploughaWc. The country hereabouts was originally free from timber, (here being only titrce and under-scrub. At the back of the farm is au eminence from which can be gained a splendid view of the topography of the surrounding country. The party made the ascent and were well rewarded for the exertion it entailed. The hills enclosing the Wanganui river could be seen to the east, and, further across, partly enshrouded in clou Is. stood, like, sentinels of the interior, Tongariro and Kuapchu. The intervening country appeared to be all settled,. Its immense extent surprised the visitors. All of it will carryindeed, is carrying tens of thousands

| of sheep and cattle, the products of ! none of which now find their way i:o j Tarapaki ports, but are credited' to .Wunganui and Auckland. Much of the Wool from this district is packed and sledged down to the Wangaimi river landing, and the road, or truck, thereto is being improved. Someone said not j so many years ago that the time wild rome when the value of the sheep products of Taranaki would equal' the Value of the dairy produce. After seeing rt-he back country and its huge posui- , bilities the conviction is forced on :):>e that beforo many year# are over sheep will play as important a part in Tara- > naki's prosperity lis dairy produce now ' (locs. ' ' The party were entertained to dinner i by Mr. and -Mrs. Craven, who, like all • ?the other settlers visited, were liospi- ■ /tality personified. Afterwards (lie party went on another mile ami retraced their steps to Tatu, where the V'Ohura party of settlers, who had be»n : %o kind to the visitors, were farcwelled, 1 as was ilr Wilson, MP., who was staying for the! show, and mounting their steeds again, a start was made for I THE TAXOAUAKAC.

, The road was in good condition, excepting some portions on the hill on the Ohura side of the gorge, which in wet weather would not lie very easy or comfortable to negotiate. Right -up to 'lli# saddle the country was very like in eharir' ! t ( ' r tlistt passed, through—good sheep anJ cattle country, only requiring more labor u'lii moie capital to biing it into the profit. Jhe ride through the Tanga.-'ik'H' Oorge will never be forgotten by tin? pni'tv. Xo description can do it justice convey an adequate idea, of its beauty and grandeur. It has to be seen. Halts were made at Mr. -T. H. Roche's and Mr. John O'Donovan's camps, '.'."(l. a.usual, 'the. billy was boiled by tlie ,/!"*' whp were glad to see the visiCir., TKI3 COM.MCNTCATIOXS.

, The road on this side of the Tanya- | rakiui was particularly good. 'The eaolc ■ bridges tlia.t have recently been erc'.'U'd I make the journey to the Ohura from the Wlianga side a comparatively easy • matter. Negotiating the old low-level bridges in wet weather was always a perilous undertaking, and it is not surprising that the journey was taken only when absolutely necessary. The approaches, too, judging from what! one fan see of them now, were almost as dangerous as the bridges themselves. Little wonder there was little or no in-'ter-eommunication between the Ohura nnd Whanganiomona. Xow coaches run bi-weelcly between the two centres, and, later on, it should prove a profit.able service. The well-known jchu. "Tom" Moore, is in charge, and what he doesn't know about eoactliing and the back-country roads in particular is not !worth knowing. HLs enterprise merits •success. He runs coaches now right from Whajigamomona it-o the railhead on the Main Trunk. How he nuna-ges to keep the services going as he does in winter on such roads is the wonder of everyone. Where lie cannot go, no one can go—that is regarded as a truism throughout the Ohura. A story. One day the versatile "Tom" transferred the reins to a young fellow he desired to break ill as a driver. In coming down a precipitous decline the horses got a .little out of hand, and the driver just managed to save the coach from going over into a gorge hundreds of feet below. "Say," said the startled "Tom," who was inside relating to an interested passenger one of his original and wellconcealed stories, "\A hat do you mean? ,We a-re not ready to enter the next world yet!" The driver, quite a new band with horses, and coaches, inno.cently rejoined, "Well, T reckon I had three inches to spare." "Three inches!" Tom roared; "by gad, you had better come in here; l'ili do ithe. driving! He did. The amateur's services were not availed of any more by Ohura's coach proprietor (To bo continued).