ACCESS FOR RIVER SETTLERS

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 83, Issue 38, 15 February 1939, Page 6

ACCESS FOR RIVER SETTLERS

TIME SOMETHING WAS DONE WAITOTARA COUNTY CONCERNED discred *t to the Public Works Department that nothing has oeen done to provide access for unnver settlers,' and that with all its qualified engineers, the department cannot find some means of overcoming the difficulty,” said Cr. L i Jones, when the matter was brought forward at a meeting of the Wai totara County Council yesterday Large sums were being expended on giving backblock settlers roads else X»°. re ’ 1,0 Said ’ and the Wanganui ? Were entitled to equal consideration. Cr. Jones considered that the matter was being allowed to stagnale and that it should be pressdonc Un 1 somet hing concrete was Cable Cage I nsatisfactory. Questioned regarding a proposal made recently by Mr. E. M. MeGregor that a cable cage be erected the county engineer Mr A* . ’ le fi° r ted that the Public Works Department had come to the conclusion that the scheme was unsatisfactory, as there was too much accident risk attached. Mr. Me Gregor proposed to install the’ cable apparatus provisional to the council tor? S ° Ver “ U proved satislaclory, explained Mr. Dix. The cave woutd be the width of a motor-Uuct and 10 feet long. Two rollers would oe set in the floor of the cage and bmffi T. a gi " wheel a ‘> bank ihe rear wheels of invehicle being transported worn placed on the rollers, the started and the revolving would wind up the cable, propelling the cage across the river. He saiq that the department contended that motor WaS a dciinitc danger of the 7l’' slz,n g- It was not averse McGregor erecting the apparatus, isit it was not prepared l; recommdnd a subsidy, as in the case of an accident, the department would be, responsible. The meeting agreed that the department was justified in condemning the scheme if it was unsatisfactory but it considered that it was higi time definite action was taken to re. lieve the settlers’ distress. On ths Hriln 0 ? 01 Cr ’ K ' llandle y it was deemed to write to the department and the Minister of Public Works, the Hon. R, Semple, stressing the urgency of access. Petition from Settlers. Difficulties settlers on the river particularly those on the right bank,' nave had to contend with since the stoppage of tile river steamer service was brought to the notice of the Wanganui Tourist and Development -.eague last May, by a petition signed by 20 up-river residents. “We have no means of getting out produce to market except when an occasional steamer is taking wool, ’ it stated. "Cream cannot be sent to the factory except by taking it across the river in a boat and cariy.ng it up to the road on the east side. Anyone who has handleo a can of cream will appreciate what a task this is. If tne cans were sledged it would be necessary to swim the horses across the river and take them up on the other side, or maintain a separate establishment , there. "To collect or send mail it is necessary to cross the river and go to the - road, and this cannot be done by women and children. The river is often flooded for more than a weeK at a time and except for experts, crossing it is dangerous and often impossible. Women and children are isolated practically all the winter. Schooling for children is another difficulty for anyone who contemplates Jiving here and bringing up a family. , . , Settlers were induced to come here originally in the belief that there would always be some means of communication. The river steamers supplied this for 4u years and it has now stopped without any alternative means of transport. Ihus, so far as we are concerned, conditions have gone back tu something worse than those which existed at tile end of last century.” Minister Approached. "The plight of the settlers wa. brought to the notice of the Minister of Public Works in Wanganui lasl may, when he was approached by a delegation from the Tourist League and the Waitotara County Council. 1 rovKimg the county gave a subsidy, Mi. Semple promised to have six cages installed along the river baiiK, and for which £l2OO was placed on the Estimates.”