EAST COAST RAILWAY

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 71, 24 March 1928, Page 10

EAST COAST RAILWAY

SOME HISTORICAL FACTS.

FROM THE TEAR 1905 TO 192:

WORKS OF GREAT MAGNITUDE

(No. VI.)

On November 9, 1905, Richard John Seddon, Prime Minister of New Zealand, stood on the railway station platform at Waihi and formally declared the Paeroa-Waihi section of the East Coast Main Trunk line open. On that occasion one of the three engines conveying the Premier and about 1000 excursionists ran off the line just after passing through Karangahake tunnel. An unsuccessful attempt was made to get it ? n ,t h e line, and after an hour and ahalfs delay Mr. Seddon went ahead on the first engine.

i During the course of his remarks the Prime Minister said the line they had opened that day would further the advancement of ;the district by bringing them into closer touch with larger centres of population. The extension of the line to Katikati, and eventually to Tauranga, had been under consideration. The people had something to look forward to and something to hope for. The Government should provide for the wants of the districts by giving improved means of communication, thereby lessening the cost of production and of living. The then Minister of Mines (the Hon Jas McGowan) said that 30 years ago he had advocated the construction of a railway from Thames to Paeroa, Waihi Katikati and Tauranga and thence' J? Gisborne. He also mentioned the fact that the Waihi Goldmining Company [gave £75,000 towards the cost of the Paeroa-Waihi section.

Advocated'Fifty-Three Years Ago. L?t WUI t ßee r from the remarks of speakers that the East Coast Main Trunk line was advocated 53 years aco and the words of the late Mr. William nZ n^7 b ? Wa ® me mber for the Bay of Plenty, and who was later Minister for Railways, were prophetic. He said after Mr. Seddon had finished speaking, I am glad the extension of the rail.way to the East Coast is to be kept steadUy in view, because irr my opinion ft line will be one of the best paying lines in the colonv I am surprised that the people of Auckland are so short-sighted as not to push forward the question of this line more, mother 1 shall live to see the work oompletedornot remains to be seen, but I dont thmk l shall be alive when the line is officially opened to Tauranga." j How true were those words, and how interesting they read in the light of what < wiU take place at Tauranga at 11.30 a.m 1 on Wednesday next when two Miniatera' of the Grown will give the new line its j

blessing. It was 23 years ago that the Tauranga Chamber of Commerce requested the then Prime Minister that the line should be extended from Waihi t< Tauranga. Seven years later, however when the Hon. William Fraser wa* Minister of Public Works the WaihigAthenree section, nine miles in length was authorised, and construction work commenced on March 11, 1912. There was some heavy rock work undertaken and for a number of years operations were suspended, the official explanation reading: "As it is not likely to be revenue-producing for qi.ite a consider 1 able period." How opinions differ where - Governments are concerned. Connecting np the Sast Coast. Lu In J 912 it<was also reported that on D the Maunganui-Te Puke section the per ™ anent way had been laid up to Te , Puke station. Considerable trouble was . experienced with swamps in the vicinity r Formation work was also being pushed - ahead between Te Puke and Paengaroa. ' Surveys had also been made to ascertain whether a route from Pongakaw'a ' via Lake Rotoma to Te Tekof would be more favourable for the main line i than the route along the coast. A trial [survey was also made between Rotoma and Paengaroa, via Okere, with a view ; to selecting a route for a line to connect the East Coast Railway with the existing terminus at Rotoma, and it i was reported that a suitable route with fair grades had been located. Now the line goes to Taneatua and whether it will be extended, or in which direction is up to the present not known. The present Minister of Public Works (Hon K. S. Williams) said recently that the Government s intentions were to find the best route to Gisborne. So perhaps another 53 years will have gone before the line is again declared officially opened. Facts and Figures. In view of the historic nature of next Wednesday s function at Tauranga it is interesting to note that the AucklandMercer section of railway was opened on May 20, 1875; Mercer to Newcastle on August 13, 1877; Newcastle to Hamilton on December 19, 1877, and Hamilton to Morrinsville on October 1, 1884. The Ruakura-Cambridge branch was opened eight days later. It was on March 1, 1886, that the line was opened between Morrinsville and Te Aroha, and December 20, 1895, saw it completed to Paeroa. Three years later (December 19, 1898), the official opening f the Paeroa-Thames section was held and, as stated previously, it was on' November 9, 1905, that Waihi was permanently linked up. It was only on Ma? 1, last year, that the Railway Department took over the Waihi-Tahawai section, and on Wednesday thev will take over the remainder of the line from the contractors, Sir Armstrong Whitworth, Ltd., and the Public Works Department. The contractor's 181 miles of line beween Tahawai and Te Puna cost in toe vicinity of £500,000 to construct, rhw section was the most difficult to make from an engineering point of view.

The first sod was turned by the Hon. J. G. Coates on November 8, 1924, at Te Puna. Many obstacles had to lie overcome by the firm during constnwtion, the main cause being the uncertain and changeable nature of the country passed through. In some cases filling! containing 60,000 to 70,000 cubic yards, and nearing completion had sunk 20ft in a few minutes, thus involving very heavy expense in material and time. Fifteen bridges have been constructed, and in nearly every case the foundation have given cause for much anxiety. In the case of the Wainui bridge for instance, the subsidence at the abutments so crippled the piers that it was neeessary to rebuild the whole bridge. Most Difficult Section. On earthworks both steam-shoreb and hand labour gangs have been used. Day and^night shifts have been worked where necessary. Apart from minor differences then has been very little labour trouble and many of the workers are just now he* ginning to realise that they have had what might be termed a "good job." The contract has not paid the company, but the construction price has, in the opinion of experts, been a win for the Dominion. In one particular place a, deviation of 70 chains had to be put in on account of the nature of the swampy ground. During the whole of the work there has been only one fatal accident. When the ribbon is across the railway jon the Strand at Tauranga at 11.30 aA on Wednesday, March 28, another link ln the _ Bay of Plenty's interesting hi®* jtory will have been forged. (Concluded.)