FROM OHAKUNE TO TAUMARUNUI.

Auckland Star, Volume XL, Issue 292, 8 December 1909, Page 6

FROM OHAKUNE TO TAUMARUNUI.

FIFTY MILES OF iT>REST.

("6tar" Special.)

For fifty miles the line runs through the Waimarino forest, from Ohakune to Taumarunui, the northern limit of this magnificent stretch' of wooded country, which has no equal in any part of the Island. The kauri forests of the far north, with their towering monarchs, ■whose great, grey boles and giant arms have taken a thousand years to reach such massive proportions, are more impressive, but the vast extent of the Waimarino, with its lofty rimu and totara, sweeping away from the foot of the lordly Kuapehu and his satellites, its serried ridges and valleys dipping to the horizon like a green sea. farther than the eye can see, has a. charm of its own. For miles and miles it is a trackless region, whose silence is only broken by the call of tui and kaka, or the "ku-ku"\ of the shining-necked wood pigeon, but where the railway line has invaded its solitudes, a multitude of saws scream a monotonous dirge, which is I the death-knell of the forest kings, and it is only a matter of time when the settler with axe and .fire completes the work of decimation.

North of Ohakune, ia a space of about twelve miles, lie the great viaducts which carry the line, over the gorges and chasms that Ruapehu'3 snow-fed streams 'have -worn away as they flow down to swell the Wanganui Biver; and twenty-six miles from Ohakune is the Spiral, by which the railway surmounts with an easy grade of one in. fifty an otherwise unscalable face hundreds of feet high. ' Between Qhakune and Taumarunui there are some nine stations with an average distance between them of four and ahalf miles, the shortest gap being three miles, and the longest seven... Around most of these stopping-places settlement is springing up, the nucleus being generally a sawmill, and the most important at present is Raurimu, at the foot of the Spiral. Horopito, the first station north of Ohakune, is one of the most juvenile of the forest, towns, under Mount Ruapehu, of which one here gets magnificent glimpses* Horopitoites pay the penalty for this proximity in a biting winter. Horopito has prospects of becoming a substantial country town, supported by a trade from a part of the Raetihi district and the Manganui-a-te-ao settlements. There is a. sawmill here (run by Messrs. E. Wilson and Co.) within three miles of the station; and. a mile out there is a small plant for sleepercutting. There is excellent forest in the close vicinity of the railWay, but most of it is being conserved by the Government as a. timber reserve.

Three miles further on is Pokako, one of the highest points on the line on the three thousand feet above sea-level plateau. Here, again, the Government ■has. reserved a. large area of splendid timber land. A large back country should assure Pokako being a respectably sized station town in the near future. At Waimarino, , which stands at the edge of the plains of that name where •they join the forest, there is at present no settlement, but it should in time become a fairly important stoppingplace for other reasons. Aftejr travelling for miles through the tall forest, th'i SoAitn-bonnd train, , suddenly rushes out of the sombre,'avenue,' and as it sweeps' on to the open country, smoking Ngauruhoe, white-topped Ituapehu, and Tongarhro • ri.se into view on the other side of the tussock plains, and look d-Qvmover a belt of forest, which comes down to tne level land, and stops with a line as regular as. a company of soldiers on parade. Jhere is no other spot <m tae,luie where. one eu.cn I * 891W #ceil # $W* tfwi«w eight. Iβ

winter, when the three peaks put on their white robes, the view is indescribably grand. It is proposed to make Waimarino station a junction for a tourist route to Tokaanu, on the southern shores of Lake Taupo, and a road is already partly made between the two places. The route is quite a short -cut to the Lake, and orosses some fine trout streams. The road also passes close to the foot of the Mountains, and among other sighte of the way are the Ketetahi Springs. There is a possibility of the plains, at Waimarino becoming the site of a great summer camp under the new scheme for compulsory military training , , and for this purpose it could not be improved upon. Ite position is handy both to troops from the South, as well as the North; there is an unlimited area of ground for manoeuvres, and a more healthy situation for a camp could not be secured in any part of the Island.

Raurimu, at the foot of the spiral, is already a township, and is destined to be one of the main settlements on this part of the line. It will always be one of the chief stopping places on account of the spiral. There is good farming and timber country in the vicinity, and it will also tap a part of the Kaitieke Block, some 2200 acres of which wire recently opened up in close proximity to the township under improved farm conditions. It will also in all probability be the headquarters of a new county which is being formed. There is a good deal of land suitable for dairying round about this part of the country, and a company has been promoted at Raurimu to build a factory, which will operate next season.

Owhango is another station with a lot of excellent bush land suitable for dairying, etc., and about 9000 acres in the Hunua and Kaitieke districts were thrown open in October last under improved farm conditions. Most of this trade comes in Owhango, and further settlement will undoubtedly follow when the quality of the land becomes better known.

Kakahi, ten miles from Taumarunui, is the site of the only Government sawmill in the North Island. Started to supply the needs of the railway as it. pushed ahead into the middle of the island,, it proved such & useful concern that its scope, has been enlarged, and it now sends timber all over the island for Government purposes. The mill, though small, ia one of the most economically worked in the forest. There is some talk of a branch line of railway from the Taupo district coming in to the Main Trunk line at Kakahi. This line would tap a great area of totara couritryl

Manunui, four miles from Taumarunui, is the site of Messrs. Ellia and Burnand's mill, which is the best equipped in the district. This enterprising firm put in its own bridge across the Wanganui River to reach its bushes, which lie on the eastern side of that river, and the whole plant would bear eomparlaoiv with any other mill in the island. At thle mill a specialty is made of kahikatea boxes for packing butter, cheese, etc., and the machinery for this purpose is of the most complete and up-to-date nature. Close to the railway station a settler has purchased ten acres, of land for a fruit farm, and the result of his experiments will be watched with interest. That the country is well adapted for some classes of fruit, is proved beyond doubt by "the manner in which cherries, quinces, etc., planted by the old missionaries have thrived, but nothing has. yet been done An a systemtic plan in the fruits which would find a ready sale in the market.

A novel scheme; is being inaugurated in this.' district by.the Presbyterian Church for the fitting, Of the coming Maori generation iti his struggle; for existence with the white man. Between Matapuna and Manunui a block- of land over 200 acres in extent has been, acquired for a residential agricultural college, where young Maoris will be trained to use the land intelligently, and be better fitted.to ad- . yance, side by side with Europeans. Every year the Maori ia becoming a minor percentage, of the population, and the Church (whjch for several years has had a Mission in these parts under the Rev. Mr. Ward) Kaa come to the conclusion, that the establishment of ti&i* college is the httf thfci* ih*t cm *« &c» Jte ibt im 4

'J. he students will not only be taught to till the land and plant intelligently, but they will also be instructed in, the commercial side, and taught to keep books of account so that tuey may see the work is systematically and profitably carried on. The scheme is only in its initial stages. 'J. here has been no nourish of trumpets, and very few people are aware that it nag been launched. The Rev. J. I. Monfries, who is at present working in Taumarunui with Mr. Ward, is to be in charge of the college. The natives have taken, readily to the idea, and already the authorities have received promises from a number of them to send their youths to the institution.