KATIKATI JOTTINGS.

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume XLVI, Issue 6969, 30 January 1918, Page 4

KATIKATI JOTTINGS.

(From Out Correspondent.)

East Coast Railway

At the raonthls mectics of thi llnad Bond in the Board room on Saturday. the 19th inst., and also at a meeting of the A. and 11.I 1. Association held in the Hall on the came day, tfce follow irq resolution was unanimously adopted: "That with a view to taking advantage of the great facilities offered by the various navigable rivers flowing into Tauranga Harbour in the Katiksti district and to meet the convenience of intending workers urder the co-operative contract system, the Katikati Road Board respectfully suggests to the District Engineer, Bar Hannah, the advisability of letting emill contracts for earthwork construction commencing at the Uretara River in sub localities as may be approved of bj him." In referring to the above resolution it may be pointed out that it has a far greater reaching effect thnn what ap pears on the surface. The railway policy of the Road Board baa been to urge on Sir W. Fraser to complete the section from vVaihi to Katikati and pimultaneously acd energetically to push on the construction of the line from Tauranga to Katikati. Ihe Waibi-Katiketi section would provide an immediate paying section of the line as the Tauranga-Te Fuke and East Coast produce could bo conveyed by ferry boat direct from the Mount tcKatikati for the Weihi and Goldfield* markets, a better market than Auckland. But unfortunately far ua the Wellington authorities remained steadfast in not extending the line pro tern beyond Atbenree, a policy which would neither confer the slightest benefit on Katikati or give aiiv financial return 11 tbe Department. But viewing tbe matter from the point of cost of construction, the Department, is fuggejted, establish a base for supp'iea at Katikat', by direct water carriage in tews from Auckland for cement and other requirements for foundations of bridges over rivers end save the enormous ''cst of carriage by waggons from their Wuihi basa to Athenree, cutting up our County main road, of wfcich we had tuch a painful experience n the past, which, however, has been remedied by the practical, a?d finally removed by the honourable actiou of Mr Hannah in havirg comphe 1, tSroush his report with the verbal arrangement m«de. by the Tsuranga County Council with tb« Department, with the result that t^e entire length uf tfce road known 89 tie Long Hill or Cutting" ar:d the old "Glue Pot* of 20 years agu will be permanently re-metalled Before the next winter overtakes \n. Extension of tbe Kaitkati Settlement. Some few years ago, but to be accurate, on July 29tb,1914, Mr Knight, representing the Waihi Sawmilling Co. at Woodlands, Katiketi, wrote to the Tauranga County Council complaining that (he then owner of the Woodlands property was practically levying blackmail on all users of the road to the mill through bis property, and stating that be would have to close hia mill.—The letter wds referred by the County Council to »h»» Katikati Read Board and on August, 17tb, 1914, the fallowing resolution was forwarded to the Hon. Mr Fraaer, through tbe Hon. Mr Herries and Mr H Poland, M.P. "That the Katikati Road Board strongly urges on the Hon. Minister of Public WotUe to adopt Buch steps ss may be necessary to extend the road from Katikati through Woodlands to Waimata " In forwarding the resolution ths Road Board fuggested to tbe Minister to submit the matter to th<* local District Ruad Engineer (Mr Burd) for his report. To make a long Btory abort, the Minister complied with tbe suggestion, and Mr Burd forwarded hi? report. Mr Atkinson wus instructed to. lay off the road by sutvey, ca requested, to purchase the private road through Woodlands to the legal width which has been gazetted as a public road. The road, as surveyed by Mr Atkinson, affords a splendid grade from Woodlands to the Waimata Road, which meets the Waihi-Taura-nga Main Road near the Waihi Cemetery and will eventually afford another road to Waini. It intersects in addition to a large area of unsurveypd country a 3000 acre block of splendid bush, which it will be our duty to fcave opened up for settlement and no time will be lost in the matter. But with the additions already made through the County Council end Road Board on Thompson's Track neighbourhood, as surveyed by Mr Duanage tnd also by Mr Atkinson on the north, with the further additional area connected with tne Woodlanda road we may regard a final addition of over 100,000 acres to tbe former Katikati settlements as certain in theimmediate future. There is, rowever, one missing link in the chain of progress, which can be easily welded. I bad a most interesting interview with Mr

Atkinson % few days ago on tbe subject. -The present obsiacls is the ecCfsa to the existing Woodlands Riad from Katikati. At prea«r.t you fcave to reacb the summit of the Tahawai deviation from the Tahawai bridge —abou*. ure mile—then back again on tha old ioad nnd by a diatrict ropd with a wretched gtade over 3 miles additional. Tbere is, however, a Goverrment gazetted road on the mapnot formed —starting from a few chains on t::e Tautanga aids the Tabawai bridge right through to the Woodlands road, which Mr Atkinson informed me is. perf-ctly level as be walked over it in compliance with a request I conveyed officially to him. Therefore, by opsj.int? up tbia road %n additional means of access to reacb Waihi will be secured over a comparatively level and much shorter road, but with this far more important advantage, that it will be the means of opening up an extensive urea of land for Bettlemeat. Katikati North School District. I have just been informed officially tiiat an assistant has been appointed to No. 2 School, in the pefson cf Miss Mobinson, of Waikino, where ehe has been engaged in that capacity. We are progressing at Katikati in the number of our school children, which must be regarded as evidence of general progress.