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Riponui Outlet. —Improvement work has been done on the creek at the lower end and over some length of the drain proper. Ohariha Arm. —Clearing of the Okarika Stream has been carried out from the river to above the Otakairangi Road. Maintenance. —Cleaning of the Ngararatunua Canal has been commenced ; also cleaning, with some regrading, of the outlet through Sections 7, 12, and 11 (Okarika). Plant and Machinery. Bucyrus Plant. —Nos. 12 and 14 excavators have been working as drag-lines on river improvement. Wear and tear has been excessive only in respect of buckets and wire ropes used in grappling with timber and rock under water. No. 13 Bucyrus. —This excavator is parked at Apotu. No. 26 Dipper. —This excavator is stored at Apotu. No. 3 Priestman. —The machinery, &c, of this excavator is stored at Apotu. The pontoon is used on the river for transport of the drag-lines. Drilling and Compressor Plant. —This plant is stored at Apotu. Locomotives, Trucks, &c. —No use has been made of this plant. The one remaining locomotive has been transferred to Hauraki Plains works. Truck and Cars. —One 30 cwt. truck and two cars have been in use through the year. Workshops. —These have been staffed, as occasion has demanded, to facilitate bucket and machinery repairs, &c. Other Work. Survey Work. —Levels, cross-sections, &c, have been taken as required. Belief Works. —Through the year quite a number of Hikurangi men have been employed in the swamp area. For the 'first few months some twenty men were employed under the rationed No. 5 Scheme ; later in the year the men were employed under the No. 5 Camp Scheme and the numbers increased to an average of sixty men. Classification for Rating Purposes. —The two classifiers completed the classification of the district in terms of section 3 of the Swamp Drainage Amendment Act, 1928, after which the Classification Roll was open for objection. The appeals, of which there were about eighty, were heard before the Magistrate, and the roll was then completed as laid down by statute. In order to finalize the position before any rates are struck, a departmental Committee has been set up to investigate and report on the capital loading which the district should carry. Proposals for Coming Year. —A limited programme of river-improvement work, from No. 5 diversion upstream, is proposed. Hand work will be on jobs approved for No. 5 Scheme workers, and in cleaning and maintenance where required. Works Expenditure. —The expenditure for the year totalled £6,158 7s. 7d. Waihi Dbainage Area (20,000 Acres), Tauranga County. The work carried out in this area was exclusively maintenance of existing drainage outfalls, stop-banks, and flood-gates. The accumulation of silt in the lower reaches of the canals and main outfalls from the higher-level drains, the removal of which has formed a large portion of the past expenditure in this area, is now operating at a much slower rate, signifying that stability is being reached with many of these drains. All hand drains in the area were cleaned during the year. Repairs were carried out to several concrete flood-gates, the concrete doors of two being replaced with specially constructed cast-iron flaps. A total length of 37 m. 73 ch. of drain was cleaned during the year. The areas east of the Wharere Canal continue to carry a heavy growth of millable flax, but although a flax company is actively engaged in improving the drainage system and in cleaning foreign growth no milling has been done during the year. Development work was proceeded with on the area of surrendered flax lease west of the Wharere Canal totalling 930 acres. A total of 388 ch. of drain has been constructed, two 3 ft. concrete floodgates placed, and an area of 122 acres of manuka fallen in preparation for grassing in the autumn. A portion of this area will be suitable for settlement, and work will proceed during the coming year under the Small Farms Scheme. Expenditure for the year totalled £612 Bs. 10d. Drainage rates struck totalled £1,957 Is. 6d., and £762 19s. 2d. was collected. PotiKAWA Drainage Area (13,567 Acres), Hawke's Bay. The work for the past year consisted of the continuation of the cleaning and deepening of the dredged cut and improvement work on Crown land. This was carried out with relief work, a camp for twelve men being in operation throughout the period under review. Work done comprised 105 ch. cleaned and 120 ch. deepened of main cut; 33| ch. boundary and 59 ch. internal drains constructed. Rates struck totalled £1,430 4s. 5d., and £1,168 15s. 6d. was collected by the District Office, Napier. Expenditure totalled £864 18s. Bd., of which the major portion is recoverable from the Unemployment Fund. I have, &c, R. G. Macmorran, Chief Drainage Engineer. The Under-Secretary for Lands, Wellington.

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