THE HINTERLAND.

Taranaki Daily News, 14 March 1922, Page 6

THE HINTERLAND.

TARANAKI’S BACK COUNTRY. IMMENSE POSSIBILITIES. ASSETS AWAITING DEVELOPMENT. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE TOUR. A man may take the train from New Plymouth to Patea and claim that he has seen Taranaki. But to catch a fleeting glimpse from a railway carriage, though it may be to see, is not to know Taranaki. One has to get off the beaten track to appreciate to the full this province of ours, so richly endowed by Mother Nature in scenery, productivity and all that goes to make for prosperity and happiness. But this has only been achieved, and will only be achieved, by consistent, intelligently directed hard work. What has been accomplished by these means by the hardy pioneers of the backblocks was seen by the members of the Taranaki Chamber of Commerce during their recent tour of the Ohura and surrounding districts. The party, twelve strong, left New Plymouth on this tour—a tour, too, ' with a purpose —last Wednesday morning, arriving home on Saturday evening. Soon after the cars were turned east on leaving Stratford, the nature of the country w T as unfolded as the three cars commenced to climb long winding saddles and dropped again by equally tortuous routes to the rich valleys below, only to repeat the proceeding a dozen times over as the cars sped on. The “gateway to the east” was the Douglas saddle. Then the Strathmore, the Pohokura, the Whangamomona, Kohuratahi, Moki, Paparata. and so on. The roads are metalled as far as Ngatimaru, and then a good clay surface takes its place, though whether the descriptive adjective “good” holds in the rainy winter season is open to question. A BEAUTIFUL PICTURE. A beautiful picture was presented when the party reached the summit of the Whangamomona saddle, and a halt of ten minutes was made. Range upon range of hills extended as far as the eye could see; all were covered with standing bush, the sun picking out the varied shades of green, and thus completing the final tomdies to an animated page from the Book of Nature. Down hill again slid the cars, and the passengers were glad that the springs in the I car-seats were strongly built, for the road from here into Whangamomona, though presenting no formidable obstacles at this time of the year, is decidedly bumpy, and in winter time the process of ploughing through mud and slush holds no charms. The railway had kept fairly close to the road throughout, except about Huiroa, where the road sweeps to the right to pass through the Strathmore districts. Several tunnels have been constructed towards while, the cars have to take the hills.

After three and a half hours’ easy running the party descended upon Whan gam omona, a fair-sized town. Sheep-farming is the principal occupation, for which the land is suited. One settler, with whom the News reporter with the party had a chat, claimed that the country was the finest in the Dominion for sheep-farming. Whangamomona has a daily train service with the outer world.

On leaving the township, en route to Tahora, the party had a comparatively plain-sailing ride as far as Kohuratahi, after which another saddle provided a fresh hill for conquest. The country about here is composed mostly of blue papa. Two tunnels, respectively twelve and nineteen chains in length, have been bored beneath the saddle. and, when gliding downhill from the summit, the rail-line appears suddenly from the bowels of the earth, goes for a few chains across a filling, only to bury itself in an opposite hill. This part of the country is utterly devoid of the fine scenery that marked the passage over the Whangamomona saddle'. TAHOKA’S RECEPTION. ' Nearing Tahora, the .party were met by several Tahora settlers, whose guests they were at luncheon. During the honoring of a subsequent toast list, Mi. Kennedy, the president of the Tahora Settlers’ Association, hoped the tou would be productive of good results. He regretted the telowness of the railway construction, recalling that it was 21 years ago since the Hon. Mr. W. HallJones turned the first sod of the railway at Stratford. An urgent need was that of metalling. Three and a half miles a wav was a metal deposit upon which the ‘Government had favorably commented, whilst a good shingle deposit was available at Te Wera. Mr. T. C. List, the president of the Chamber, after expressing appreciation at the settlers’ hospitality, said the object of the tour was to make members more cdntersant with the needs of the back country, for the interests of town and country were interwoven. The Chamber felt strongly regarding the Government’s railway policy in respect to the Stratford fcrtank railway; they felt it should have bfeen made the chief railway work undtr construction in the North Island, instead of being placed third. The a national one, as it would connect important provinces and relieve the M'iu.in Trunk. He had been over the routes mH both the North Auckland and ’East railways. both of which districts weL served bv harbors, rivers or roads, whilst this district had neither. The proispects of the Tahora district were. boui*d up with the railway. The speaker ref-erred to the desirability of the district having New Plymouth as its natural outlet. The harbor was fulfilling its purpose surprisingly, but, with the opening up of tine country, more provision for accommodation was needed. He advised that th* settlers should concentrate upon securing a good metalled road, with reduced gradients, between the rail-heads until the railway was linked up. The speaker was still in hopes that the Government would see the necessity for pushing on with the railway, though certainly the Minister for Public Works gave no indication of an altered policy. The toast of the Tahora Settlers Association” was proposed by Mr. Newton Kim* -who said the district needed either a railway or a road, in the pressing of which claims they had the support of the whole district. AT THE RAILHEAD. The party then motored to the Tahora railway station, and then on for about half a mile to the railhead, where work has stopped, though the formation work has been done for about two miles. The railway between Kohuratahi and Tahora is still under the control of the Works Department, which runs a “train twice a week on thia section to connect yith the train at Kohuratahi. The line

I for four or five miles before Tahora is reached has yet to 'be ballasted. The next seven miles of construction to be done will probably prove the most difficult along the line, for in seven miles as many tunnels are required.

There are seven settlers who live in the direction of the proposed line after Tahora who at present are practically isolated. They asked that a road, which is partly made, should be formed and completed. A bridge is also required to give access to their properties. Of the seven, six are returned soldiers.

After an inspection of the rail-head and the local school, a totally inade quate structure for its purpose, the party pushed on en route to Ohura. A shower of rain had fallen, and this made the Moki saddle very slippery in a short time, so chains were put on for the one and only time they were needed on the trip. THE TANGARAKAU. After the saddle had been surmounted the cars entered upon the Tangarakau Gorge, and for thirteen miles the journey was continued through a wonderful vista of sylvan beauty which it would be difficult indeed to equal anywhere. On both sides steep slopes, hundreds of feet in height, were covered with trees and native ferns, the whole effect being one of incomparable splendor. Members of the party who had been through other gorges, such as the Buller and Otira, were unanimous in their verdict that Tangarakau surpasses them all for beauty, vastness and grandeur. The gorge is practically all standing bush, very little of it having been felled, and as the land is too precipitous to be used for settlement, it has very properly been declared a scenic reserve. RICH VALLEYS.

On leaving the gorge the settlement of Tatu was passed through. The valley opens up, revealing some rich dairying land, the surrounding hills being specially adapted for sheep. It bears quite a prosperous appearance. After a three hours’ run from Tahora, Ohura was reached. The country about here is fairly open and of good quality, especially the flats. The township itself lies in a kind of natural, amphitheatre, from which roads radiate in various directions. It is really the meeting point of the main roads of the district. The party was met by Ohura settlers and allotted to their “diggings.” In the evening an informal gathering was held in the Ohura county chambers. THE RAILHEAD. At 9.15 on Thursday morning a plea sant ruto of about 50 miles was made, the destination being the rail-head at Tohua, a mile or so past the township of Matiere. Plate-laying is still being proceeded with slowly, about sixty men being employed at this end of the line at the present time. Formation work has been done some miles in advance of the rails. All three tunnels between Ohakukura (the junction of the line with the Main Trunk) are completed. ,The distance from the Matiere railhead to Ohakukura is about eight miles. The mile or so that yet remains before the rail reaches Matiere is, according to the Public Works Department, to be completed by May 31. Present operations will have to be speeded up if this promise is to be fulfilled. It is hoped that the line from Matiere to Ohura, a distance of about twelve I miles, will then be pushed on with all speed. Ohura, it is probable, will then be the terminus from the eastern side for some time.

A very interesting visit was then paid to the Matiere timber-mills, which are now in full swing. These mills have been established for ten or twelve years, though operations ceased for a time. They have, however, been re-established for the last six or eight months, and turn out apprqximately 20,000 feet of timber daily. Between 65 and 68 men are employed. The timber, which is obtained about two miles away, consists mostly of rimu, white pine, totara and matai. At present the company controlling the mill has a two-years’ contract with the New Zealand Railways for the supply of timber. The machinery used is all up-to-date, and the cost of fuel for driving it is inexpensive in a district where firewood is so easily obtainable. A feature of the operations was the activity of the men —in striking contrast with "the “Government stroke on the railways. EGMONT BOX CO.’S MILL.

Later the mills of the Egmont Box Company were inspected. The first favorable impression conveyed by the large quantity of timber neatly stacked for seasoning, was not removed by subsequent investigation. Rimu, totara. raatai and white pine were here also the chief timber being cut. The white pine is used chiefly for boxes, a plant for making which is to be installed shortly. The mill has only been working for eight or nine months, and employs thirty men. Circular saws were installed, and a deal saw, which can cut a log into eleven lengths at once. A novelty was a crosscut saw which can be affixed to a log, and is worked by a small motor. A log 2ft. 2in. in diameter was cut through by this means in two minutes. At present the mill is supplying the Public Works Department largely. A tram-line runs into the bush, where it is estimated there is about ten years’ cutting. The daily output from the mill is from 10,000 to 14,000 feet. SOME GOOD COUNTRY. The return trip to Ohura was made via the Otangiwai settlement, returning to the main road at Niho Niho. Practically all the roads in the district are unmetalled, but at this time of the year are, except for the clouds of dust that arise, very suitable for motoring. In both the Otangiwai and Niho Niho districts are splendid areas of country, much of which is suitable for danrymg. The hills are easy, and evidently of good Thursday was sale day at Ohura. and some* members of the party paid a visit to Messrs. Newton King, Ltd. s, yards. Then another drive into the country was made, this time to the Le Koto and Tokorima districts. Here there are some exceptionally fine valleys. A visit was paid to Mr. M. Cravens property, where a good view of the surrounding country was obtained, with the Wanganui watershed in the distance. Range iipo.n range of hills stretched as far as theVve could see, the configuration of the being striking On from the height the party were entertained at afternoon tea by Mr and Mrs’.\Craven, whose kindness and SspitXX Provided at very short nntiee were dulyK. acknowledged by the president. The run\ back to Ohura_ was continued, roughly, up a circle, after most enjoyable outingC,(To be continued.)