DEEPENING THE WAIKATO.

Auckland Star, Volume XLI, Issue 142, 17 June 1910, Page 6

DEEPENING THE WAIKATO.

AN IMPORTANT SCHEME. At the conference of delegates to the conference of )oca! bodies within the Manukau County Council, held yesterday at the Auckland Chamber of Commerce Buildings, Mr. E. Alien, whq presided, moved, and it was agreed, to urge the (deepening of the Waikajkp River frpm Mercer, to the se.a, iij the interests of both drainage apd navigation. Mr. W. F. Massey, M.P., explained that last session, at liis request, the Government had appointed Mr. W. Breakell-' to inquire into this question! Mr. Massey said he had seen a synopsis of this report, and the engineer was of opinion that it was possible to deepen the river. - He was of opinion that the bad of the river had silted up considerably in the last 50 years. The deepening could he accomplished by groins, and confining the stream- to a width of, say, three chains. There was lots of swamp land along the Waikato, and if it were possible to thus dj-ain them, they would, instead of being worth five shillings an acre, fetch as many pounds. Then, of course, navigation would -be improved, and the much-talked of canal from the Waikato and the Manukau also had a bearing on the question.