MUD BEDS AS ROADS.

Taranaki Daily News, 29 July 1921, Page 7

MUD BEDS AS ROADS.

IN TARANAKI BaCK-BLOCKS. TAHUNAROA’S TROUBLES. Last Wednesday morning a meeting of Tahunaroa settlers was held at the old school on the Valley Road, for the purpose of laying before Mr. R. Masters, M.P., their complaints regarding public matters. Fifteen were present, and Mr. W. Cal’ jhan presided. It is about fourteen years since the district was first settled, ami the pioneera seem to have had a very had struggle ever since the farms were first taken up. When the European war broke out the district could not keep a school-teacher at the school, and so- the school was sold. The recent slump in prices hit the settlers very hard, as the staple industry was sheep-farming, and many have had to take up dariy-farming. The reading problem, however, is the big difficulty, and means of communication arc just as bad ls they well could be. There is no met?.! at all on the roads, which are just miles of mud bed.;. The very high cost of securing road metal is I the biggest obstacle in the district’s adI vancement. About eighteen months ago a shell-ruck deposit was officially inspected and from this the settlers expect to find a way to improve their roads, and it is expected to prove a great asset. The settlers have formed themselves into a spcial rating area for the purpose of raising’a loan of £ll,OOO, to carry a Govern*ment subsidy of £ll,OOO, for the purpose of I metalling the road from Whanga to TaIhunaroa, a distance of eleven miles. The petition of the settlers has been signed and presented, and it now remains for the council to take action. A sum of £1509 was also placed on the estimates last session for the work, and this money is still available.

All this was explained to Mr. Masters by those at the meeting, and he, in reply, said that there was no doubt the county was faced with a very difficult proposition. The amount of rates that could be collected was £4500, of which £l4OO remained unnpaid, and the administrative expenses totalled £1074. Regarding grants from the Government they should not be disapponited if they did not get all they wanted. It had been decided to considerably decrease all grants to local bodies as the financial position of the country was not strong, and it was likely that in the present year there would be much less income than in the previous year.