A TRIP THROUGH THE KING COUNTRY.

Waikato Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 2376, 1 October 1887, Page 1 (Supplement)

A TRIP THROUGH THE KING COUNTRY.

RAILWAY WoKKn THH TUNNKL KIT. I I,kit To Axamntu (ii 111.* I'h iu-t ; 011 mv way to the Tnhua utry passim; |lhrmgh T- Kiiti, anil W.iiu-ti. Tii--Smfl In. k l.j Otur>jliam*a is iu sylfii'li'l order irjiv tlio swamps hive be-;r. bridge! and fis ined, hut I shimld not advise any one who has not bi'i ii that way cine-; the improvements hj ive been mide to u’o without it-.-ttinir careful directions as th; tn-k nox diverges from the old one and the swamps on the latter are bad. Not knowing where the divergence was I went Ihe old way, and though I got through it was a matter of .some difficulty. The ilmgaorotigo was iu flood, but tle-re i~ a small bridge for loot passengers, on which I crossed, n.y horse swimmiug over at the ford, doing from Otorohauga to Kuiti, I would advise travellers to take the “ cave track," as it is decidedly 0.-ttcr than that through the ici-'h. 1 went by the latter, and returned !.y the former, which I can safely -say is mu. hj th 1.-tt-r of the two Otorohauga is very dull j Ist now, ami will he so till th- Lui i Cnirt sits, which wdl he some tim-.-n.-xt mouth. Te Kuiti, on the other Imi l. pres-nts a lively appeal, me.-, as to- ii.- o ariiv a lot of m.m employed on tn ■ raii.viv works in the. vicinity. M-= is An 1.-r-ou ati 1 C>. iu e id having their irm; .v-ck* carried ou heic. which wi’i m- u. mon- ni--n to feed aud clolue, so t rj it :e;>:iie,s p--ople look forward toa prntitahlc time, i'iiere are three stores k.-j<t i.y M -ssrs ilri-iguiau, dashel. and Hettit. two hj lar-uug-hoases, Messrs I’.-rry and Tann-r being t'u- pr .prietor-. ami a hop b—i hic-.very run by Mr Waite. K-sides tlie-f* there are a hj ;k- re in full swing an i two .-tie rs I b-licv- in eours-i of or. ction, a saddler’- shop and a smithy. Te Kuiti is therefore a place of some importance. 11-re al-o art- th-‘ ree-iving stores for the two .- ultra its, .Vaiteti aui the Tunnel. AlhJ'ii • iron in c mnecti .n with the \\ a:tet: -.-.-tion will he worked up her-, wh-r ■ it w ill he >.-ut direct from the -hip's -id- in An-siand i ill the iron is eomiv g iron Kuglaiol), N \vli:it»*v»*r wiiM** t . ;t in tin* way of ptin-hinir, tr, nsnr!** w at hj nil*', all iKat v. iil hj * *3"i:** at tli** YV>rk' h*T :it will n b»» put «-n tlj.- trucks aiifj run l*» tin* -it** >»i *h* vi»'ln«*t. Tin* iiMulli of hav::iir it n fiv nirabl * Mr K*»l»**rt-«u inaiiaili'r) at! irnai. n -'* amount of woil; th ? wh >!*; *>{ tbv *-f»ntru t. ;<n-1 if in- v it ih.i j* im<* r.i l ** ii** routing (in** Av* ath**r lli-j \v*»rk of i\ ini; will s *..» a- i! i-, > ;:u- J: i> b—n rlmi** at th,- T- Kuiti end of llw '•vtttion alrr.tdy. 'I h** road to Waileri avh:- hj a-as very g-ol iiefore thla'e rains set. in is again m very bad ord -r. The I itl.-r [.'ace also jire-eiils a sc-.’iie of activity th>;r- being of conr-e a large number of men employed there. At Mr Perry's boarding house there is a nit* little library, the funds for which hive bevn raised hv sub-cription, dances, Ac., so there it plenty - f reeling material fur w-r days and long evenings. Mr and Mrs Kerry hj *vi*iiktu an active interest From IkT“ t*i (be TaniH-ltbe road U in fairl*- * 3 i*rd r, tberv b bwu little tr.ilii-: on it. lb it part of it, however, lea iimr over ‘•Ceniie Annie, ’ is not by any means good, a- jn-t now it is slippery am! muddy. Owing to the -t.-ej. iiielin- it is always bad in Wet iveaihor. Notwithstanding tin—e drawbaeks. Mr ISritton, the man iger of the Tunnel works, .-nece* ded iu taking over this truly ah .mill ihh- hill two -team engines, which are to he us.-d in ronn.s--tion with the manufacture of bricks at the Tunnel. How Mr Britton got the engines down on the M-ikan side is a [).:z/le to me, for the gradient on one of the hill- on that aide mu-t he about one in four, hut he got them down all right, for I met both engines on the Mokau flat, one being drawn by ter, ami the other by twelve bullocks. Oa arriving at the hills at the south end of the Mokau flat the two teams would be yoked ta one engine tn g-t imp the -feep pinches. The job of making the bricks-about three millions, was Jet to by tender, Mr North, of Te Awainutu, being the -nr.;*-s>fiii temh-r.-r. The road from W iiteti to th- Tuoik-1 wa- laid out by Mr O'Brien, and is a monument of his pluck if not of his engineering skid, for he -coni.si the idea of going round a hill, but followed the old Miori track over it. If be had had the laying, out of the railway he would, to a certainty, have carried to.; hue over the top of Kakipuku. This truly infamous hill—named in deri-ion “Gentle Annie ' —could hive be, uentirely avoided for tln-re is a gorge 1- cling from the Waileli tlnough t . th- v.ll. y of the Mokau by which a g-.oi rod with no steeu in. Cine— could hav- b—u -htiin-d. A heavy r.—pcn-ibiley r«—ts upon yj r O’Brien, for the mircg-ne-aie ;:.;v-l]er generally inak-s a v.-.,,t-inl d>sp,.iy of jji« whole ato.-ii of pr-.1 .auity :u g :u_ r over this loYt-Jy bib; c'JiisifjiU'iitly U*j lias i>r<ue li-ft !*jr any <*f tb- jiijicm—• ou the to }*j!o f» T.ii’.'uo, ;m*l if lit* ,nmi liii.s M'.iiv Juiiu going down to tiie i uhoa i- so i-Mjuisitely infamous (that just exjiresse. it- in wet w-atSier t : at tic; ordinary and c uimunp'ace profanity of tin; siuin r j. totally in--ade.joale to i-.-o-ve ’-i- feelings. It re-■|-Mi..' cii-; ■<; e: about twenty bullo [.drivers p.wtr to do it properly. Fiu-iiag inv-elf nc-.j-iai t . tiieta-k, when g.-iug over it a f-w day.- ag .. I maintained a phi> is .paled sib nee ou tile p-’uciuh- that if a tiling is v.orfii doiugat all it is worm doing w.-il. Next time I shall hire a mao wim iia- gni-luatc-l with honours in the -c;n. d of [.rounity pi do it for me- Tin- d.-;ripti’u - t tile road must not lie •lli-iersto;..! as .ip; lying to it in-summer time, i •: wii.-n tic- rods arc dry it is real'y a pleasure trip, and g.-t----ting oil to walk up and d-.wn tic- st-ep hills is no hardsd;,. In my n-xt I -hall make a short reference to the section between the end of the Wait-ti aid the Tunnel, an lan account of the work done at the latter place.