A TRIP TO MOKAU, VIA PUKETITI AND AWAKINO.

Waikato Argus, Volume IV, Issue 277, 21 April 1898, Page 3

A TRIP TO MOKAU, VIA PUKETITI AND AWAKINO.

(BY OtTR THAVKLLINfi CORRKSI'ONDENT.) (Concluded). " Gkt up, gentlemen, the steamer is waiting." This unpleasant nnnonnccment roußed us at what appealed to be about the middle of the night, hut may have been near dawn, and getting into our clothts at what must have been a record rate, wc were soon stepping out in double-quick time to the steamer landing on tho Mokau river. Here the screw steamer Kiripaka (Captain Joue 0 , .-iommandtr), was waiting with full steam up, lying alongside the sand hauk, which, having deep water c'ose up to it, serves the purposes of a wharf. 4ls no time can be lost if we are to catch the tide, the Kiripaka is soon under weigh, with the steam launch Despatch lashed alongside and two coal barges, each capable of carrying 40 tons of coal on their flush decks, in tow. Orce fairly up the river, which is for a few miles fairly wide, with low flat lands, upon which arc native cultivations, we have time to make the acquaintance of Mr Pott, to whose eneruy and business talent the whole concern is mainly due, and of which a few particulars may not be without interest. The company, known as the Mokau Coalmines Syndicate, is owned and run by a G'asgow syndicate, represented in New Zealand by Mr Pott, who, of course, is also a Scotchman. Believing that thero were gnat possibilities in the Mokau coal deposits, Mr Pott sent Home to get the necessary capital —rather a common thing in mining matters—and succeeded, but il'-luck has followed the company, two of their steamers having been lost at Opanukc, and what with the distance to pet the coal down to the heads and the difficulty of obtaining a vessel of sufficiently light draught to go up to the mines and yet take a good load of coal to sea, the operations of the company have so far not been a financial success. However, matters are now en a better footing. A coal bin capable of holding ICO tons has been erected at the heads, which will be kept filled by the coal barges, towed up and down the river by the Despatch. By this means Mr Pott expects to double his present output of 400 tons per month, and send the coal down the coast as far as Wellington by the Kiripaka, which takes 120 tons each trip. With this brief explanation we will return to the Mokau river, aloug which we are gliding at a rapid rate amid scenery, which of its kind can scarcely be surpassed. The steamer sweeps round bend after bend (the river course being so winding that 22 miies of steaming are necessary to reach a point scarcely 8 miles in a direct line), with wooded hills closing in ou either side, the growth of vegetation along the banks being of the most luxuriant, almost tropical kind. Here and there are flat lands stretching back, the extent of which we can only guess, and upon which the soil appears to be of the richest nature. A few large trees are seen but Tawas, Puneas (of t;reat he : ght) and an almost endless variety of small trees and scrub are growing together in a density rarely seen, while through the branches and trailing iu the water are handsome creeping plants of many kinds, which, backed by the immense hills, formed a beautiful and ever varying scene as the steamer moved alone, and over which an almost unbroken silence reigns. The monotony of our voyage is, however, broken by an incident illustrating some of the difficulties of inland navigation At one of the sharp bends of the river, now narrowing to not much more than the steamer's length, the helmsman of the second barge took too wide a sweep, which resulted in his craft crashing into the bank, brining down the overhanging branches and boughs in a perfect shower on deck. Some anxiety was felt as the coal boxes were being swept off the barge, and no siqn of the helmsman. However, a few minutes later the missing man could be seen in the river striking out vigorously for the bank. For a short time matters were somewhat mixed up, everyone showing a laudable desire to assist, the Aug US representative promptly falling over a coil of rope in his efforts to do something, whde the captain's voice gradually assumed a tone, plainly indicative of a strong desire (save for the presence of the managing director) to preface his orders with a big D, and albeit he was, as a skipper should be, a stout, good tempered man. The steamer is stopped, a boat lowered, Mr Pott being the first in, and n.an and boxes picked up, but an hour is loit over it, the difficulty being to get the steamer and barges fairly going again in the narrow water-way. At one of the bends we pass a bush clearing, now deserted, consisting partly of hill and partly of flat land, the latter being covered, as far as we could judge from the steamer, with a dense growth of grass, weeds, etc., but of the hill land fully half the surface soil had slipped away, leaving great yellowish scars, the grass on the other half being apparently killed by caterpillars. Duffs clearing was indeed a sad commentary on the probablo results of bush farming on the higher lands of the Mokau. At one spot ou the southern bank of the river, where limestone juts out in great quantities, a lime kiln was in full blast, the burnt lime being taken away by the coal steamers to various coast ports. As we passed the whole family of lime-burners, including two females, stood on the bank and watched the steamer; visitors are none too plentiful ou the river, and one could not help feeling sorry for women living in such an out-of-the-way place, but who knows, they may be happier than others having all the comforts and luxuries of civilisation. To show the capabilities of the soil and induce settlement, Mr Pott has had a portion, 100 acres or so, of the flat bush lands held by his company fallen and sown with grass, the clearing lying along the river, and should be a success. The company hold 4250 acres aloug the northern bank of the Mokau ou a 50 years' lease, and would rent any portion, save in the vicinity of the mines, ou very easy terms. On the southern side, and extending almost from the Heads to. the mines, is the 56,000 acre block formerly held by Mr Joshua Jones, but now by a firm of London solicitors, a not unusual termination ot litigation. When within about Bix miles of the mines, the Kiripaka, now getting into shallow water, with rapids, stopped, and we went on in the Despatch, having one of the barges in tow. As we near the coal bearing region, the country gradually becomes of a more wild and rugged nature. Still covered by forest the hills seem to hem in the little stream that flows by their precipitous bases, and in many places slips have come down from the cliff-sides, bringing rocks and timber into the river, necessitating a good deal ot snagging to make it navigable at all. About 11 a.m. we reach the Company's landing with its large coveredin coal shed, standing partly on piles in the river, and connected with the mine, by a short line of tramway, the coal being run through shutes into the barges. Being handed over by Mr Pott, to the mine manager (Mr A. B. Waldie) who is a recent arrival in the colony, but an experienced coal mining engineer ; and, it need scarcely be added a Scotchman, we are soon in the mine, following the main drive, which enters the hill, almost on a level with the tramway. The mine has several coal seams, one laying above the other, but only the top one—which averages 7 feet 6 inches in thickness—is being worked at present, and from which coal can be won and delivered in the barges at a wonderfully small cost. There is no water to contend with, and the workings are almost on a dead level, one horse hsing able to take out several tons ac a time in the trucks. After inspecting the different drives, leading up to the faces or working boards, as they

call them, in which the great coal seam looks bright and glittering in the lamplight, and more import mt still is ini proving in quality as- a greater depth under the hill is ivached ; we adjourned to daylight again, by tins lime quite ready for the excellent meal, at a table kept by in ho e-t eoiple, who l oid ih miners at a moderate rate. Th.s r.eces ► ary fauction over, w>' take a stroll round, while Mr Pott fixes his business up, enj yiirg the scenery, but. not the pungent adour from the burning slack coal, to get rid of which, in Hlis narrow confined spot, is one of the chief difficulties of working tho mine, as they dare not put it in the river, ulieady too shallow.

At 2 p.m. it is all aboard again, this time in a small boat, the launch having gone brick to the stc mer, will) the tide, which rises and falls here about 4 ftet 6 inches. To make matters worse, it began to rain, the first we had experienced on the trip. However, we took the rowing iu turns, and the six miles are scon cot over, the greatest progress being made, of course, when Tub Waikato Arous was at the oar. On reaching the steamer, we found the launch ready, steam up, and waiting for us with its commander, Capt. Jones, and his merry nun, inc'uding the helmsman of the second barge, who will hereafter be able to boast that he has swum the Mokau, as every patriotic American hopes to die, with his boots on. As the Despatch, with Capt. Rcardan at the wheel, runs down the reaches, now against a strong flood tide, darkness sets in, and only by his long experience of the river and intimate knowledge of its devious windings are we able to keep clear of the banks. Nearing the heads a cold wind springs up with quite a little sea on, ns the river widens out, outonly lights being the Captain's pipe and showers of sparks that rush up from the funnel as the stoker, who is also first, second and third engineer, fires up, coal being cheap on the Moka.i, but strangely enough though these fall in a constant and brilliant stream of red-hot sparks on the water's surface, they fail as, I fear, the most of ns have already failed, to set the river on fire. About 7 p.m. we reach the landing again, and once more in darkness make our way to Mrs Reardan's. The Mokau township consists of about a dozen houses of various sizes, including two boarding-houses, a store, and a school, where some 27 scholars are taught by a lady teacher in the employ of the Auckland Board of Education. The trade of the place is mainly through the coal mines, another of which is about to be opened by a local syndicate, who own the steamer Manakau. Mokau is also the chief port for the Awakino settlers, whose goods are landed here and carted alone tho beach to Awakino heads. From Mokau, southward, to White Cliffs is 18 miles, tho track being principally along the beach ; thence to Waitaia is auother 22 miles, at which point the West Coast railway lines are touched. Taking the distances from Te Kuiti or Hangatiki there would bo about 90 miles of railway to construct to connect our Waikato lines with those of the West Coast, and as much of this would be through a rough country, and towards the southern end be competing against water carriage, it is evident that the possibilities of such a line being made are very remote indeed, more particularly as almost the whole of the country is more a pastoral than an agricultural one, and therefore not likely to bring much business to a railway. The most important and not unieasonable wants of these western districts are good roads, the telegraph, including a through mail service, and schools; given these the settlers will do the rest.