CAMBRIDGE AND TAUPO ROAD.

Waikato Times, Volume XIII, Issue 1018, 2 January 1879, Page 2

CAMBRIDGE AND TAUPO ROAD.

(From our Special Correspondent.)

Our special reporter hasjust re tuned from a visit t> this road* up;>u which a party o" Armed Ojnstabalary have been working lha most favorable months of the p^ist two years, and furnislu'S us with the following account of v ri«]e he took last weak is far as the Waipa camp : —

Starting from Cunbridgs at six i.m,*la-<t Monday m >rim/, I rod-, he says, to'Taoraoroa,.; Ju i v betiore coming io ;he firm ot Mr Norris, the nevv ro>id' branches ofl' t lif.le to the i':gh .f *r about a mile. Ifc is f-iirly li:vel, with a few -iding-; cut hi the side of tli^ hills, and oie or. t«vo culvfts. At Fur-russon's Gully an exten ive cutting' has be ;u m i le, a.nd formal -with a gradual *l->|m. rii«; prnb nilcmeut is m so.nn plio .s. r.weaty or thirty her, high. Ar i,h.-. botto i is a culver-, vv-i-ch li *.s bee-i several '.imes was i«d awiv, owuig to the sandy nature of tlie ■'oil. At r.his poii) 1^ alxjil a iloZ'u til « ; ■ iO ' ♦'•he ilrmed Consrubu-ary F hcv aiv a wo;k, under Surmount Uhi cy, c >vering m a new culvet, and miking i peniianenb^|j--)b of it. Tlie.r ci'tip is piiched jiisf. brtyond the srullv. • hesse whares iave been oonstriicted, aud the mini s^era to hive made themselves as comfomible as possible. Here, I whs h >apit;<blv entertained to breakfast by Sergeant Chitty, who showed me over tlio plac^Si. The cook-hous? an^l ni^ss \vhaires-,arr« siouated cfo3e to a rusiiiug stream, . which,. j"sfc bolo w , forus two bGaiitiPul cisc:id(3R. * ("ho first pours over the rocfc as" well as through a JioJe m- i l , add has- the appearance of issuiHg~£nojn a ci.ve.uij it then falls on a terraueot~^(,'iiil i'o^k, under -which, the water" has worn a deep; hole, making a capital bathing place. Rushing over the terrace, which- is only a few yard-* iv ex ent, the stream fall iv a magnificmt cascade, into a very

deep b *sin, smie tweivy feet b»l>»\v. Che whole, forms a very pretty picture, w.-dl worn taking" a irle to .see. This camp is only about tight miles from Cambridge. Snuitia-,' away again about o ; ght .Virloclv firward on my j'juruev, t!io roidap--eu-ed to have neen male full widt.li to to about a mi'e beyou-l FHrgusson's .(.luilv, the un lula-ing. liiturc of fc'io grounl, requiring cu'tiu.rs nearly the nli>le waV, of more or !e>3 extent. The culverts ssp.m sab stintiaily made, and siflings finished after a workmanlike ra ••inner; B) yond this mint, th>) road is nob been .made quite so wide, but still ampK ■sufficient for any foiir-wlu-t-J. «d vehicle. On leaving the U-o-ton estate, the to >d runs nnav tTu> river for some distance, close to th >. Pairiri rapids, which extend for about a mile and •i-hilf. Ab'ig thy ro id, sp.vi'val wifle aid deep gullies and ravings are crossed, whicli must have presented some engineering difliauliifts, judging by the length, depth, iii'l vyindingrs of the otifctiiiors. Immediafcoly thj rapid* «rfl pissed, the ro-ui crosses the Pairiri s>iv>am, which is spanned by a well-built an I su'is^antul bridge, cbn.svrarj^H by the A.C. Road Pfiity, andor Sub-In^i)ec-tor N"evvall, last autumn. ; Vfrer cros-jiug this bridio, the r*j.<l lies atoig a levfil saidv terrace, to the li'Jjlit of Messfji M. iclean & Go. 'a Pairoa iS cation, which is situt'el on the hi^hei' 11 it. Tin Sl>.(ion is reached by what at t|rsf ap 3ar-; r.o be an onnyinons catting on tie hi'L sile, bitt which m re-ility is only a wa'er;- cour-jR; which had carried thousands of tons of sand &iv\ ;>t t vel to tliß fo >t of tho hill, utii Uyei it just as if ib-liad bef n done by harrow and trucks. Tui^s water-course forms . an excellent waggon road to the ' Pairoa Station, which won 1(1 have I cost Luudrels'of pnladVif doieby the hand of man. Ai'tei" ab) it a mile and a-hnlf of level i^ul,a Ion sj the sandy flat, we come totho Pokawhenjja stream and rapids.. The •stream is a roaring torrent, which 1 has cut. its way through 'soli'l rock, making" a doep bed for 'itself, the sides of which ars quite*uemondicular. - A small b-idg3 crossu this ■ stream, • built of. .totara timbjjr and •planking, # The rapids," which are about half a-raile m extent, have a £franil fivll.# h\oai a neighWino. height, a magir'fio^iif viejv *ay lie obtained of the majestic r*ve^- fj^vv- ' ing broadly .and silaritly .fci(l ifrmeote ..

. Utf .i,i^ U.jn ihu-n an, rocky iilets, ,«m which some frees and shrub 3 seem to thrive m the sctntv soil, when sucl Jenlv -its .-peaceful aspect is , ili-inged intp^thatofjx. boilihcr' and roaring torsjpt, jj^iirmg- ovelf the rock??, <,tid churning its^f into foam. v Lne bi^a/l f |nd quiet stream, at once oh.m^ed-. m'tu a turbulent torrent, .presents a ;ngure m the landscapa worthy tho pencil of any painter. A short time ago, I am told, Mr the Government iS^ineer, ed by Mr McMinn M.H.R. »ov W .ipa, and Mr R. R. Hunt, manager o' the Waikato Steam ■Navicraftoir- Corcpatiyi took a trip alo ig this road to see and report npon tho practabiiiiy o f making the ■nvjr navigable as f,r as the Waipa str.-am- Messrs McMinn and Hint expres-ed an opinion that it might oe done for the sum of £500. But I am more inclined to fall m with

die virtw of the Government Engineer, viz. that it : would cost some .nilli.ua ! At Gonoa a caiml would Mrive fco be dug iinc i there would have ! -o be a lock, at Pairiri another one with at least three or four locks, and ■ at Pokawhenua two or time others •vould be required. The cost of loing this, ir will be seen, would make a railway several times o n er. The ivm lining t'iree miles from the Pokawhuriura bridge to the Waipa oarap lies alongside the ri-er, several small streams have been accommodated with stone culverts. But 'he S)il being m most parts saud, the road is contiunally blocked by landslips after rain, which have to be repaired bofora traffic ein be. resumed and communication kent a'? with. Cambridge. About eleven o'clock I arrive 1 at Waipa, where I was cordially received by Sub-Fnspeuror-Oipel, win is m charge of the Armed Constabulary working at the Waipa 'bridge mid approaches, and whose liberal hospitality entrained me till ■he foil lowing morning. Captain. OiDP.I showed me round thj camp uid works. The former is pitched, •m tlm right bank of t.he river Waipa, (of course your readers will not couFound this with tho Wnip* which j-ins the W.iikato at Ng-»ruawahia) a dear and >iiver stream now about 50 feet wide, and six or ei^ht feet deep. To the left (,he camp il bounded hy a perp -ndiculav wall of ri^'itic borders from twolve* to ~ «ig!)t<>eri or Dwen'y foet h : gh, under •shelter of which most. of fjie tents are pitched: A large mess whare for tho men was built by those left m charge of tlje camp dnriuo' the A'intpr, also a sfc-ible. Many of the m>n had b'lilb wluu-es for themselves «nd a sfood number harJ private fents. In ths interior of most of them I coal I not help noticing 1 the apple-pie order m which every hiug was kept." The' nmn-b°r of private tents and whares enables the men to be ulaced two in 'each tent; they are therefore able to build bunk-*, so that nO'ie sleep on tho ground. The bridge mow being" con -tructed over the Waip-i will be ninet.v (set span. ..The timber, a'l tofcara, lv-is been sent from the Njorrh, and the whole of the pitas would have bsen driven, before Christmas, hid there not been one short, which was sent tor weeks ago. The works on the bridge, however, are ao' at a stand still, the men au* now employvl upon the snperstructiiv. 'ihe piles are driven by a monkey, weighing fifteen hundredweight.. The woilc as far as progress has at present been made, exhibits the skill ami neatness of an experience*'! trad amen. A large i>a s ty rf men aro employed upon the

>[> -ivoaohos io thebridgtj on the right liuik. This is no light work, as tlie who : eof the cutting 15 fci j t; wide has to be ciH out ot the solid rock. A y.in-r of men i.s engaged bl;stiug tlio rocl<3, others m carrying the stone, and m building the face of the* t'lubankmeub wit!) it. Two draughfcv. horses sue also employed carting and sleVhing 1 the stone. Taking into ucconut; the) length of time the men hwe bs-m at work, not two mouths, th« process made both upon the brides and cutting- is very consi IsiMble. The nimi seem to work with a will, and take a pride m doing well, what they have to do. There did not. seem to be any " G ivei-nmeno Stroke " business ; all ' seemed f lyu ■ ly eng wjed, and trying to do a fair share of the work. The mci, too, see in 'id to have been dis : iributed judiciously ; there were not t io many employe I m one pla'de, so that one hindered the other ; but, all were working, heartily and contentedly. Ca »t-*iu Capel ' reports ill it tin men ; woik weli, do their duty, and, are nit m the least disorderly or troubtesom -m camp. There are, altogether, about thirty men i > the party, indu-Hug Sergeants HalU, Girland and fciteele. The cuisine department is. looked after by Constable iMußvid*, who gives universal . satisfaction. The men seome I all jolly and contented. The sto no which they are blasting, is a kind of silicious freestone, which '\Voald bo very valuable for building* purposes, if it could, m any way, be conveyed to oowu, First thing m the morning, and^-n mediately, after work" in 1 the afternoon, nearly all'the .nieo take a dip m the river, whiob js close at haul, an!,' out of the ? whole lot, there 'are only two nonswi miners.

' The natives, a few of whom hovor about the oamp, are friendly. About; two" miles beyond the camp, is a large -Waterfall, \vliiteh can. be seou from the bridge. I bad not time to viaitit, but it is 'reported well 'worth, seeing, and- falls fro m a considerable height, ._..■■ On the following 1 morning, I : refcame I to ■Cambridge, ha^in" 1 enjoyed myself, ./ " "°