A MAIN HIGHWAY.

Taranaki Daily News, 20 February 1919, Page 7

A MAIN HIGHWAY.

BETWEEN TARANAKI AND AUCKLAND. METALLING OF MT. MESSENGER. DEPUTATION TO MINISTER FOR PUBLIC WORKS. The necessity 'ay effecting necessary improvements to the main road between Taranaki and Auckland, and particular ly the metalling ot Mt. Messenger, was strongly stressed by a deputation of local bodies that waited on Sir William Fraser, Minister of Public Works, at Waitara on Tuesday The deputation was introduced by Mr W T. Jennings, M.P, for Taumarunui, and Mr R. H. Pjgott (chairman of the Clifton Count/ Council) presided. Mr Jennings said he liad no hesitation in saying the most urgent need of the district was the improvement of the main road between Te Kuiti and Waitara. Some portions required immediate attention, and he had communicated with the Minister, and as a result Mr Holmes (chief engineer to the Public Works Department) had gone through the district. Mr Jennings suggested that steps should be immediately be taken to strip the quarry at Uruti, that bad pot holes on Mt. Messenger should be metalled, that the approaches to the Mokau ferry should be attended to -and the Awakino Valley Lower road immediately completed. He considered that Mt. Messenger was the most pressing, and as this was a scenic reserve, it was further entitled to consideration from the Government. He admitted — and challenged any one to deny—that considerable sums of money had been expended in cuttings, fillings and tunnelling on the mountain during the gast few years, but it was still in a bad condition, and after wet weather the coach could not get through, and the past season, being a very wet one, had accentuated the position. Mr Pigott said it was unnecessary for him to impress on Sir 'William Fraser the importance of the road, and the state it was in, as when he went through the district three or four years ago the cars were stuck up. The Government had promised to get the woTBt parts done this summer but nothing had been done »erocept to prospect for metal. He would admit labor was scarce and the road would again be a quagmire next winter. Up to last week it was impossible to get a car through, and the. settlers year after year were isolated for six months. The Clifton County Council endeavored to keep' the road open to. the foot of- the hill where the Government took control. If it was a good' autumn there might be a chance of getting some work done, and he urged the Minister not to lose any opportunity. Mr Bcckbessinger, on behalf of the Waitara Chamber of Commerce, welcomed the Minister to Waitara. Not only Mt. Messenger, but the road from Uruti to Piopio was in a deplorable state He knew" of one settler who took three days to get two balesi of wool to Waitara. It was a cruel shame that settlers had to go through this turmoil in order to keep their families alive. He hoped advantage would be taken of the fine weather that might reasonably be expected during the next winter It was realised that the Work had been greatly needed for years, and though they recognised the handicap dueto war conditions he felt that labor was now available to do valuable work before the wet weather set in. He also touched on the expense caused thrpujJt lack of attention to the roads, pointing out that he had known of isma ; ll stops to block the watertables for twelve months doing considerable damage to the road. Month after month hardly a bit of work was done on the mountain. Mr Smith, M.P., said it was recognised that the road was the main road • between two great provinces. It had. been settled ldng enough for the settlers to demand that the whole work be taken in hand, and the request to metal Mt. Messenger was therefore a reasonable one. Its present condition was retarding the progress of the province, He -pointed out that Taranaki was not getting due consideration, and in this respect he referred to the hydro-electric scheme, in which it was proposed to spend seven and a quarter millions. Taranaki was. sadly left, as it would he the last district in the North Island to be served. That meant that Taranaki mu3t work out its own destiny. If the Government was not prepared to put the road through it might payjjhe settlers to put their hands in their own pockets and do tlie work themselves. New Plymouth was shortly going In for a loan of £300,000 to* extend its harbor and the lack of road improvements hindered the true progress of tlie province. Mr Burgess (Mayor of New Plymouth) stated that they were present to give their weight to the deputation and to show their sympathy with tlie council and settlers in the district who, through want of these necessary road improvemens, were isolated for six months in the year. Mr F. S. Johns (president of the Taranaki Chamber of Commerce) pointed out that though the two provinces of Auckland and Taranaki had been settled for over 80 years the mam road connecting them was in some places still almost in a state of wilderness. Despite the disadvantages under which tlie Minister had labored, he hoped for the sake of the settlers that something would he done this season, Mr T. C. List (chairman of the New Plymouth Expansion and Tourist League) strongly pressed the claims of the country settlers. New Plymouth was interested in the matter, because what helped the country districts benefited New Plymouth and what benefited New Piymouth benefited Taranaki and the whole Dominion. It was a matter of great importance that this national highway should be given more attention than in the past. Taranaki, notwithstanding its splendid country, had not been done, justice in the past as regards roading, particularly in. the baokblocks, where conditions in many places were very little better than they were 25 years ago. He hoped the Minister would be able to give an assurance at least- that the worst places on Mt. Messenger would' be metalled right jiway. Mr Ai H. Johnstone said that on the following day the Minister would be going into a neglected country, and would see no change in the country as existing oh his previous visit. Twenty miles from Waitara there was.not a chain of metal on the main road or any of its feeders until Mahosnui was reached. Some of. the feeders were only 12 feet tracks and others were only 0 feet tracks. It The Minister: The same conditions

apply in other parts of the Dominion. „Mr Johnstone said that this was called, the garden of New Zealand 20 years ago. As showing the way bad roading retarded progress lie pointed out that in the Taranaki County the population averaged 20 to the mile, whereas in , Awakino, County, with a valuation of« over ojne million, the population was 709, or under tw6 per mile, and these included shearers and casual labor. In Clifton County tlie average was .only five or six to the square mile, notwithstanding that a portion was closely settled. He considered it would be. a good thing from a Dominion point of view to put the road in good order at once, as it was a main trunk road and would not only enable settlors to place their goods on the market but would enable the country to become more closely settled. That point of view should weigh more than the parochial or provincial, one. 'There were thrcje barriers on the road at present—Mjt. Messjjiger with its murjj ihe of a. bridgfe at Mokau, which had .heen ■settled 30 years, and the completion of the Awakino Valley road, some of: which had so fallen into disrepair that it would have to be made again. He was aware jf the shortage of labor troubles, but hoped these would not stand in the way in future and strongly urged the Minister to regard the Work as one of paramount importance to the Dominion. The chairman stated that the Whole of Mr Messenger was under the control of the Public Works Department, The Minister said that with regard to metafling the road from Waitara to Mahoeimi when framing the Estimates he had made provision for metalling Mt, Messenger and as soon as the House rose he had told his engineers what he wanted done. The trouble was not want of money or want of will, but want of labor. His engineers had told him that they could not get the gang of men necessary to do the work and the same applied all over the Dominion. He was 300 d men short of what he Jiad prior to the outbreak of the war. People said that men must he available, but it must be remembered that the majority up to a month, or six weeks ago were men who had been through the hospitals and were not fit for heavy work. Since the armistice was signed he did not think he had got 50 or 100 additional men: He now had 2700 men, of whom 405 Were Jugo Slavs, and if as the result of the Peace Conference these were to leave he would be in a worse plight There was no hope of any improvement until the main body returned, and were settled, and then if he got as many men as before he would be fortunate. He had said that he could employ 10,000 or 12,000 men if he could get them, but he never had hopes .of getting thtfh. Even N allowing for the "boy.s'who had g\'own to manhood, after deducting the 1600 or 1?.00 killed antl wounded', therp were not as many men in the country as before the war. He would not say the position Was hopeless, but every part of the Dominion required world done, and they would not have work carried out to any large, extent in any particular part without raising a hue and cry all over the Dominion. If they wanted more work done they would have to trust to assisted immigration to find the men, and there was room for plenty of them. Regarding the road under discussion, it needed nothing that had been said to convince him of the necessity of metalling it; far from it, but he was faced with the difficulty of labor. He would have done the work if he could. He Jiad urged the engttieer" to prepare plans for the work. Mt Messenger was going to be.done, but he could not do it without labor, fit wSWj be- l<J6jg, Bodies woutfy help, lis labor - ,. He/JiM JtnoWa of icas'e9 wnerfc. labor was promised, and when'43s m' gineers Went to get the work done the labor did not turn up. Continuing, the Minister said that the hill must be done properly. When told by his engineers that they could-not do it comprehensively, he said that before winter some of the worst holes must be metalled. "The trouble now about roads was that in many cases a road was called bad because a motor car could not use it, whereas a horse and vehicle could. He recognised that the motor had come to Btay, but if local bodies maintained roads for cars then the cars must eaupect to pay a heavy tax. If he could get .the labor he could gat to work at once, but if not they must not blame him. As far as labor waa available, e.ven if tt was only patch-work, he would instruct- his engineers to do the work. He promised to look into the matter of the approach to the Mokau ferry on the way through. But for the war he felt certain ,that the road would have been metalled' to Awakino before this. At first money was very scarce, all being required for the prosecution of the War, and the marvel was that New Zealand was able to pay out of her own funds the cost of the war. Later when money was easier they were unable to obtain men. Last year up to March 31st more than half the authorities for work issued had been unexpended and the position was nearly as bad this year. He' knew what lack of roading facilities meant to settlers m precluding their reaching the market and he would like to see money spent in the King Country. He would do his best to put the road through. He had a few days previously given authority to purchase a motor lorry for metalling Mt. Messenger as machinery was necessary if the work was to be done efficiently. He hoped before next summer that 2000 or 3000 more men would be available, in which case they would have no cause for complaint. (Applause). Mr W T. Jennings expressed gratitude to the ■ Minister for visiting Waitara and also thanked the members of the deputation for attending. He differed with some members-of the deputation regarding Taranaki's neglect, claiming that marvellous work had been done in the improved farm districts of Ttfngitu, Mapara, etc. He considered the metalling of Mt. Messenger' the key to the whole district. A vote of thanks was accorded the Minister by acclamation, Sir William acknowledging in suitable terms.