The Wairarapa Daily. FRIDAY, JANUARY 8, 1886. OUR TIMBER INDUSTRY.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume VIII, Issue 2188, 8 January 1886, Page 2

The Wairarapa Daily. FRIDAY, JANUARY 8, 1886. OUR TIMBER INDUSTRY.

On looking around in this district at the timber forests that liavehitherto yielded good totara, we cannot help being struck with the mariner in which nearly all the valuable woodshave disappeared, and anyone who is curious on the subject, will perhaps be surprised to learn that tho Wairarapa can no longer export totara in large quantities, He will even find that railway sleepers are actually being imported from other parts of the colony. We think that while there is a suitable forest that can be made available, an effort should be made to stop this importation, and .to keep the money in the district, If thiseouldbedpne, alarge number of would also find employment, and the district would reap a further benelit. : There is, we think, only one large totara forest within reasonable distance of Masterton, namely, that on the banks of the Taueru. between Otahuao and Te White, which, roughly speaking, contains abqut two thousand acres. The land is held by several Europeans and jNatiyes, all of whom would, no doubt, be 'only too glad to reap a royalty from the timber they own. the difficulty whjoh stands in the way of them is however, j&e ye,ry. serious one of the want,of a road, antj this, we are afraid, they are scarcely prepared to face without assistance. TJiey can scarcely expect tjmt the Government or County Council wjll go to the expense for' r °. a d W?uld open good country, and increase settlement, Sawm'illers alone are not in a position to 30 to such an expense, and

we are thus brought up by the question, What is to be done? The opening of the bush would be of great advantage tp the district, and,would provo a saving to the Government, as it would be a saving in the carriage of timber, and as none of those interested in the matter can do anything, alone, could they not join together and con- 1 struct the road or tramway that is required 1 The distance would be about four or five miles, but in addition to the cost of construction, there would be the expense of buying the road-line, which would not be, however, at all likely to prove ut serious item, Of what value this forest would be to Masterton may be gathered from the following figures, based on actual experience, which have been given to us by a well known local saw-miller. Our infoimant has leased less than three hundred acres of land, not half of which is totara bush, and during the five years that he has been at work his returns from the sale of timber have averaged £3,500 per annum, or £l7 500 in all, and he is still at work in the Bame piece in bush. We havo thrown out the hint thinking that some good may be done for the district, and that the parties and local bodies cencerned will see their way to some satisfactory conclusion on the subject.