WHANGAREI-BAY OF ISLANDS RAILWAY.

Auckland Star, Volume XLI, Issue 170, 20 July 1910, Page 5

WHANGAREI-BAY OF ISLANDS RAILWAY.

LINKING IJP: THE' RAIL-HEADS. ' (Fxoin-Our, Own, : r , : ' ' WHANGAREI, this-dayT : '' Ah 1 event of : very Wnsiderable- importance -occurred last 1 week in tte linking tip of the rail-heads of the Whangarei afld Bay of Islands a line-wliioK will; when connected;'be as -a. Main-Trunk lineto' the'"far northprh- district.' iepresentative, oh "interviewing' R. Alflertori, who is most familiar with this district, furnished some interesting: information'regarding the work. ..': '■-•- '. ' "The'completion "of-'-this line," said Mr Alderton, "will have a very' far-reac)iing effect in developiiiig the northern district; In the first place, dt opens up ..two new coal ports ait which ocean-goingisteam-ers'can load feoal. 'Hitherto, large steam-, ers "wereUnable't-o 16adat-'Whangar<;i,- ;,- owing'to the shallow depth of water .at the Whangarei- Railway ■ wharf.; This difficulty has been, overcome- by. : extends

ing the line down' to^'deep':water at Grahamtown, and this section is to be opened ~■ concurrently' >vith, the.northern end, completing, the'link and Kawakawa. '■ The-lost r pile -in ihe Grahamtown wharf was al^O'driven laii week,'and it is rumoured' the.Government are preparing the ; 'timetable for. the ■ through • line for' October.'v It : was not expected that the line would be opened till but: thie Government haye kept their promise, afld pushed - this line'on- with the utmost : speed. I , There as already.a deep-water wharf at'Opua,'Bay. of Islands, and, ,with the -of the through'liney coal canithen beidrawn , from the Hikurangi coal field' out .to : the ; Bay of Islands. r The". extra railage out by ,Opua' will/ hot'". l lfe;' prohibitive,' add some' vessels' will prefer going there Jor coal, such as Island steamers, etc., as it

is orithfeir route; ihe providing of de-jp water.facilities at both ends of the railway for ocean Bteainer3 : to load "coal is in'itself a 'matter of very -great importr ance, tending to help thecoal companies interested, arid the railway is getting,an increased output. :But:the coal question is only a small' matter , compared with the'general opening, up of the country this line r will effect; , < Hitherto the Whangarei only- ran -to Hukerenuij and, quite recently/to To.wai, leaving the country befnveen it-and Kawakawa.. practically impassable in winter. It was possiWe"to get through this , way, Dut-.no one took it : bn- : if ; ; 'at could be avoided, i. In other ■words, it blocked all settlement in that direction, and visitors simply .turned back, and would-not .even consider settling where ■ the mean's of: accessv-were so , appalling. ■'■ The completion, of .the line does away iwith. this; igreat obstacle to northern settlement,■ as,.fitrange to ,say, the -further-north you go, the better the; roads, and-this line taps a. system of /fine metalled roads at ; Putatahi. At;«this point the line-taps the main:north. road; which from here branches away in all directions to' Wh'angaroa aiid 'Mongonui -injtthe Far North, to Ohaeawai,;; \Vaimate l -Sortli J Kaikohe and Taheke, in another, and to" CHcaihau, -Horeke,: 'Jiohukohu,-.anil K;ir wene in. another. The fact ; of- this,line striking a country where -road imetal'ia. plentiful and-the roads-;are all. metalled means that all that country, is. immedi; ately, , brought..dn on to. tlie railway.system, and made : Up to now the whole of this.'■ northern trade, was ;car_ried by the s.s. Clansman, thence wagons and mail i coaches had :to do the, rest. Freights have - been • against settlement, and the trip-by the Clansman round Cape Brett has rnever been popular, with any class of. travellers. The Cape also been a great drawback to: the shipping,,pf cattle and. stock,;. , and has greatly ..retarded the .settlement of the .district; With this line through to Whangafei, an easy, means, of reaching Aiickland is provided, besides which, Whangarei itself 13 one of the largest stock-markets in the province, and freezing works' are "shortly to .be erected there.'-'Practically,.this line now taps' and : brings l into Whangareiihewhole; country lying to the north, from Hokianga right down, and it Will bring a' lot more country .into , : dairying.-; The •whole '-of- the- fine' volcanic country..at Pakaraka will be»ableto ship -, cream at Putatahi down to the central factory at HikurangL ;: ' ! '*" ■':•:■:<■ .... ' ; . *■ Andther/branch!.of;the railway A is':how being pushed forward to ■■ Kaikohe, and tMs, : within, two- yiears, .should: tap 1 the Hokianga waters, and:then f this .nprthern; system; will' connect-: the ithree*, ;great ■ northern -harbours;', of "Whangarei, .ißay of Islands and HokSanga. -In-three.years' at the most should see this system- complete, 'and it' must reyplutibnise'; settlement up there; particularly as: the magnificent Kaikohe > native .lands;:will shortly be available for . These epnsis<?.of^OjOOO'acres.of l probably.the richest volcanic land in the Dominion; at any; rate as much aa> £2.per:-acre rent jsrhow being paid for" a portion rpf.it.; 1-or miles and miles, through the Pakaraka, Ohacawai and Omapexe .country, which 'is now taped by the railway, one sees ally the same volcanic ' land as Jics ,between Auckland and Onehunga.:; It is ail in Mgh.cultiyatidn,.and is ideal dairying, land, and that, the "railway<will • cause great' changes"to-take - place -iiere-goes without eayirig:. ;The carrying, -out:, of this system of." railways -north of ' VPhangarei must iiltimately; weigh.... with the, Goyernmeht in-deciding.the route of ;the ; N6rth> Auckland trunk-line. ; Whether ■the central /line goes feast .'or', west .of. the' Tangihua Mountains, obvious tha.t. a- branch wiir swing into..Whangarei "to ' connect' with the r system: already esta b- . dished -there. And /that will -form the initial main trunk-through to: Hokianga.'' For. this reason, .Whangare'i.'and people further north are not. bothering:.about the battle of the With. tlie\ opening of the Whangarei-Bay of Islands railway, it is -understood, the Nprihern S.S. Co. will run an express steamer Jrpm Grahamtown ~to Auckland, . connoting with the through ferry like .the Maori runs . ;between .Wellington; and. Christchurch. By this combined service.: a r ;person-leaying. Auckiand in .thai. Kerning should reach,Ohaeawai saaie evening, , and vice versa, leaving in : thei morning should - reach" Auckland • samo , evening." ..... ..■...• .:..,"•■ , ■. . • ■