DAMAGE BY FLOOD.

Taranaki Daily News, 13 February 1922, Page 7

DAMAGE BY FLOOD.

GRANT FOR OMOANA DISTRICT. NOT CONSIDERED ADEQUATE. The recent cloudburst at Omoana and its serious consequences was again -before the Eltham County Council at its meeting on Saturday. The Public Works’ Department wrote stating that the Government had approved of a grant of £2OOO to assist in repairing the damage done in the district by the recent cloudburst. The chairman reported on the deputation which had waited on the Minister in connection with the grant. He was very disappointed at the result. He was under the impression that the Government was going to take the whole thing in hand. The Omoana district was in a bad position and would have about a £3OOO debit on March 31.

Mr. McWilliam, of the Omoana riding, said t-hat the state of the district was that of a ship on its beam ends. The settlers could not pay a higher rate; it was all they could do to pay the present rates. Apart from the damage to the roads the settlers were ruined on their land; the land was “all to pieces.” Fences were gone and stock was buried. It seemed just a question of the Public Works reforming the road or the district being abandoned. He thought they should urge Mr. Hawken, M.P., Who had been very attentive, to make a special effort to help them. He moved that the chairman and Cr. McGuinness should wait on Mr. Hawken M.P., and urge that he should make further representation in regard to assistance. The engineer (Mr. M. E. Fitzgerald) reported that he had spent the week following the cloudburst in endeavoring to. make a road through to Omoana, and on Friday a- oar had passed through for the first time since the .occurrence. They had had several loeal cloudbursts since the big one, and these had undone some of their work. He had spent about £7OO on the work so that they were already up against it. The roads w'ere purely temporary and 48 hours of heavy rain would wash them away. He proposed now simply keeping up the road on the Eltham side of Omonan and keeping up horsetraeks beyond Omoana. A great deal must be done before the winter to save the road to Omoana.