THE BACKBLOCKS.

Taranaki Daily News, 24 March 1922, Page 8

THE BACKBLOCKS.

IMPROVING COMMUNICATIONS. REPRESENTATIVE PUBLIC MEETING. 1 MINISTERS TO BE ASKED TO VISIT DISTRICT. A large number of business men responded to the invitation of the Taranaki Chamber of Commerce to attend a meeting held at the Soldiers’ Club, New Plymouth, last night to hear reports of representatives of the Chamber who recently visited Taranaki’s backblocks. There were about seventy present, Mr. T. C. List (president of the Chamber) presiding. / The chairman thanked those present for attending, and said their attendance could-be taken as evidence of their interest in the backblocks, a matter which the Chamber had been trying to foster for some time. The object of the meeting, as a matter of fact, was to secure the interest of the townspeople in the backblocks and their “support for what the Chamber of Commerce was trying to do on behalf of the settlers there. He emphasised the close identity of the interests of the town and backblocks, and the importance of the latter to the district and the port. The purpose of the recent tour was to give members an opportunity of seeing for themselves the conditions existing, particularly in respect to the railway works, and to become acquainted with the settlers’ views and their wants. He assured the meeting that many who had not been there before had had their eyes opened to the possibilities of that part of the province; also to the disabilities under which its people had labored for many years. From' this aspect, and apart from the hospitable time experienced, the members of the party were agreed that the visit should be made an annual one. A NATIONAL RAILWAY. Tahora was the first place visited, and they saw that work on the railway there was practically suspended, the policy of the Government being to push on with the line from the other side as far as Ohura. The absurdity of this was brought home when they saw so much splendid country without roads, and untapped. and the speaker contrasted it with the kind of country through which the (East Coast, and North Auckland railways were passing. However, this%was tfie policy of the Government, and would have to be accepted for the time being. What they had to consider was the best way in which they could immediately help the. districts in the -matter of communications.

The furthest point the line would go for some time would be Ohura, and if the Government showed any energy at all it would not be long before it reached that point. The Ohura people seemed to be under the impression that the Taranaki people were not particularly interested in getting the line through to Ohura from the northern end, but the visiting party endeavored to correct that misconception. They were glad' to know that the railway was going' through and that in a few months’ I time it would be as far as Matiere. In ' connection wjth railway progress, Mr., List mentioned that it was not always the Ministers who were at fault. The Ohura people had become sick and tired of delays, and so set up a vigilance committee which kept a keen eye on the work. By the way things were going they saw they would not get the railway into Matiere this winter, as had been promised on more than one occasion. Their representations at Wellington led to the replacing of the man in charge of the work, and greater expedition was now being shown. ' Dealing with reading needs, he said that older Taranaki and the port were the natural outlets for the Ohura, and the settlers wanted to do their business with older Taranaki and use the port. Therefore the business men were studying their own interests in endeavoring to get linked up' with tne back districts. METALLING THE TANGARAKAU. Mr. List proceeded to say that they should aim at what should be quickly and easily attained, namely, have the road between Tahora and Tatu- metalled. There were no great engineering difficulties in the way, and the probable cost would be about. £30,000. This would give communication - with the back country all the year round. This great need should be brought before the. Minister for- Public Works and the Prime Minister, who could not consistently resist the claim, seeing they deemed it inadvisable to link up the railway. Therefore the council of the Chamber were of opinion that the Ministers mentioned should be invited to the province, and, if possible, go over the locality. The sum of £1,037,972 (without counting accumulated interest) had been spent up to March 31, 1921, on the Stratford-Okahukura railway, and it did seem to those who had be£n over the country that the Government did not realise the importance of completing this important work. If road communication could be obtained ft would be a big thing for the district and for the backblocks.

COASTAL REQUIREMENTS. The next need in the backblocks was on the coastal side. He referred to the > lower Awakino Road, which he describ- I ed as the gateway to the back part of the province and to South Auckland. [ The party found a fine feeling existing j there towards Taranaki, and it was well J worth cultivating. They were anxious I to establish trade, but were blocked by | : the Taumatamaire hill. Only in toleri ftbly fine weather was it possible to i get through; hence the trade on that | side did not come Taranaki's way, and never would while the barrier remained. ■ The connecting link between Awakino and Mahoenui —the lower Awakino Road —was quite flat, following the ‘ course of the river. At the present time the Public Works Department had . a steam shovel and about 4ft men em- ! ployed. A great deal of work still had i to Jbe done, but it would be quite pos- ; i sible to have the whole of the work comI pleted inside a year, if energetic meas-' Inres were taken. Another steam shovel was required, and the number of men ; should bo increased by 100. The road,' when through, would tiring the people of I the back districts very much closer to Taranaki than to the Auckland district, jyhich they now made their centre. The roads in that part were a good deal better than those in the Ohura, with I the result ibs-t there were more of prosperity. ... >

The Chamber desired public support in bringing the urgency of this work under the notice of the Primfe Minister and. the Minister for Public Works. The road was recognised by the Government as of national importance, and the route had been scheduled as a national highway. The Minister had taken? in hand the metalling of Mt. Messenger, which was now completed on the New Plymouth side, while the worst parts on the other 1 side had also been metalled. They wanted the Government to push on with the metalling right through to Awakino, and to make a start with bridging the Mokau river. It was a crying shame that the river, which was another barrier *to through communicaMon between Auckland and Taranaki, should have remained unbridged for so long. The local settlers stated that it was impossible to do very much trade with Taranaki at the present because of having to swim their stock across the river, where they suffered great losses. They therefore were forced to send their stock north, which was a loss to Taranaki. Nfr. List emphasised the benefits that would accrue to Taranaki through trade coming to New Plymouth and the port, whilst the motor traffic would also be considerable if access was good. Probably there was no more picturesque route in New Zealand than that between Hamilton and New Plymouth, and but for the barriers mentioned the route was fairly good. The improvements suggested would have the effect of diverting much of the northern tourist traffic to Taranaki, and that would mean a great deal to the district. The principal thing, however, was securing communications from the backblocks settlers.

At a meeting of the council of the Chamber, Mr. List said they had adopted a suggestion that each district, such as Tahora, Ohura, and the Awakino. should have representation on the Chamber’s executive, so that they could be kept in touch with what was being done and also enable them to inform the Chamber as to the position of things in their respective districts. ' The proposal had been cordially received during the trip, and he was glad that it had been adopted by the council. Mr. List then moved the following motion: “That the Prime Minister and Minister for Public Works be invited to visit Taranaki at once so that the province's urgent works, particularly in regard to communication with the backblocks, may be laid before them, and, if possible, the route between Tahora and Tatu, the lower Awakino Road and the Mokau river be inspected by them.” The idea, the speaker said, was that if the Prime Minister could be induced to visit Taranaki arrangements would be made with the representatives from the different districts interested to bring all possible pressure to bear in submitting their claims, and he was hopeful that some good would result. At anynate, it seemed to be their duty as the capital town of the province to give a lead —a greater one than' had been given in tht past—and- go \out of their way to help the settlers, and, at the same time, help Übemselves. There was one million acres, the trade from which was not being secured at present, that was rightfully Taranaki’s.. The settled pait of Taranaki was a bout-two million acres; there was a million acres in the back country, the products of which could, and ought, to come to the port. Therefore every man having an interest in the district should do fcvery- ' thing possible to have the communica- • tions opened as quickly as possible.

Mr. E. P. Webster seconded the motion, and, as one of the party who made the trip, he expressed the opinion that the back country of Taranaki was capable of producing either cattle or sheep far better than any other province in New Zealand. In travelling through the Ohura they had seen some splendid country, capable of cropping and of raising fine stock. The country was starving for communications, and since 1904 the settlers had been laboring under heavy disadvantages. He had learned last' year that from the railhead to Ohura, a distance of 16 miles, the transport of supplies cost settlers more than £l2 per ton. There was something wrong with the methods of settlement in New Zealand when such things were allowed to exist. HELPING THE SETTLERS. It was' no wonder, Mr. Webster continued. that the people in the Ohura welcomed the visitors from the capital town of the province, and hoped that they were going to help in the fight to better the condibions. He could give an assurance that the C'hamber had made up their minAs that they were going to stick to the task of battling for the backblocks until they had got their communications. It seemed very wrong that a band of men should have to form themselves into a vigilance committee to see that a railway construction work, which the Government had promised them for thirteen years, was progressing properly. The Minister had made a promise that the line would be completed as far as Matiere by May 31 this year. Though the speaker doubted if it would be this far advanced, it would probably be very near it by the date mentioned. A WISE POLICY. He thought the roading of the Tangarakau gorge would be a very wise policy,/ because if they waited for the railway it would be ' many years before Tahora was linked up. The gorge compared favorably with any in New Zealand for its picturesque qualities, and the tourist traffic would become a great thing. The reading of the intervening distance would pay the railway, and it. would pay all concerned. The line to connect up was to be diverted east of the gorge, and it would be some years ■before it was completed, because very difficult country had to be traversed.

“UP AGAINST IT.” Referring to the Awakino district, Mr. Webster said the residents were( “up against it” because of what they called the apathy of the Public Works Department. The completion of the whole road right through from Awakino to New Plymouth, and the bridging of the Mokau river were urgent necessities. He ’ particularly desired to see some steps taken m regard to the bridge. There was no doubt that the people in the back country had been fighting for so many years that they almost thought it was a hopeless task. “But we don’t,” said the speaker; “it is a duty we owe to them to fight lor them.” The party had travelled for four days through beautiful country, and it was a shame that it should have such bad roads. The Chamber ought to be persistent in their representations to the Minister for Public .Vorks, even to the point of making themselves a nuisance, in order to get something done. Messrs. C. E. Baker, D. Thomson, W. D Webster, S. Burgess, and R. H. George ”11 of whom were members of 41 <. on the recent tour, also spoke

A BACKBLOCKER’S SUPPORT. During the discussion, Mr. C. Ryan, who was introduced to the meeting as one of the original settlers of Ohura, and one who had helped to make the trip most enjoyable, assured those present that the good feeling was reciprocated in his district. The settlers were pleased to see that the men in Plymouth were taking a keen interest in the welfare of the district. The suggestion which had been made by Mr. List, he said, to bring the Prime Minister and the Minister for Public Works was a good one. He hoped that the Chamber would, join with other districts who were’interested, forming one big body, which he hoped would be hoped would be able to achieve some results, and achieve a realisation of the Chamber’s ideas both in regard to the Awakino and Ohura districts.

The question of the coal deposits near Ohura was mentioned by Mr. C. E. Baker,- and the chairman remarked that though the coalfields were within a few miles of the settlers, the people could not help themselves to the coal owing to the condition of the road There was no doubt that the deposits would be a great asset to the district in the near future. STRONG APPROVAL FOR ROADING THE TANGARAKAU. Mr. Newton King strongly emphasised the necessity of putting through the road from Tahora to Tatu. This was absolutely necessary since the Government had abandoned the railway for the time being. Taranaki wanted the exports and the harbor needed them. A point not to be lost sight of was that the port of New Plymouth was something like 90 miles nearer Ohura than was Auckland. He heartily agreed with the proposition to invite the Prime Minister and his colleague to the district in order to urge them to put the road through. It hxd to be admitted, Mr. King said, that the Ohura people could not verv well advocate, pushing on the railway from the Taranaki end, because personally they were shut off and must get communication somehow, and they had the railway within a reasonable distance. Mr. H. Cocker urged that figures concerning the probable imports and exports might be prepared for the Minister’s visit. The chairman thought that there w r ere about one million acres of country in the hinterland, and he thought they could get the trade. At an approximate estimate the exports could be put down at a million pounds, and the requirements of the district at say half a million, so that the trade from the backblocks was easily worth one and a half millions.

Mr. H. Ashton touched on the question of outside representation, as mentioned by the chairman, and asked for further details. He said that he knew the Stratford Chamber of Commerce had done a good deal in connection with advocating the needs of Ohura, and he would like to see them included.

The chairman replied that in the country districts the various settlers’ associations would be asked to send representatives. It would be the Chamber’s idea to include everybody who could exercise any influence, and they •would, not think of neglecting to seek the co-operation of the Stratford Chamber in connection with the met.alling of the road. The Stratford Chamber, as a matter of fact, had done splendid work in the past in trying to get connection with tlu? Ohura, and. as their interests were identical in the matter, the Taranaki Chamber would welcome, as they valued, their co-operation. At the conclusion of the meeting, which waa a hearty and successful one, a vote of thanks was passed to the chairman.