KAIAPOI ISLAND.

Press, Volume IX, Issue 1036, 5 March 1866, Page 3

KAIAPOI ISLAND.

TO THE EDITOR OF XllS " FaESS." SiE, —As the season is approaching when, if anything can be done to prevent a repetition of the mischief caused by the overflow of the river on Kaiapoi Island, it ought to be done at once ; for, as a rule, we may only expect one more heavy fresh before the winter sets in, and after that the river will fall low during the three winter months; and as I said in a former letter that I believed the island could be protected by embankments, I shall go on to show how, in my opinion, it can be done at a cost not exceeding £1000, providing the owners or occupiers of the land on which the embankments are built offer no objection to. the work. The river, as most people are aware, has three bad sets into Kaiapoi Island ; one at Mason's corner, one at Englebrecht, and one at the old Cemetery near Sneyd's town ; and any mischief caused by the water overflowing the Island arises from the water breaking over at one or all oi these places. I i shall begin first with Mason's corner, and give reasons why it ought to be protected by an embankment similar to those constructed at different time during the last three years. Firstly, by stopping the overflow at Mason* corner, you make the upper portion of the island perfectly safe for cultivation, and stop that constant scour in Mr. Cou'ts's mill-race, which, if allowed to go on, will cause an expense for bridges three times aB much in one year as will build the embankment at Mason's corner. And the bridges must be built, for there is a large amount of valuable land in cultivation, and a great many settlers whose only communication with Kuiapoi or Christchurch is over the bridge at Mr. Coutts's millrace. It would also be the means of keeping the road across the island open for traffic, and confer a great boon on tho island settlers, by saving them some five or six miles in their journey to Chrktchurch. Next downwards, the set is at Engltbrecht's corner. The river at this point takes a straight run from Mr. Dixon's farm, on the north side of the river, to a piece of low land on Mr. Englebrecht's farm, and comes with such force that the embankments put up to resist it have not been able to stand the pressure ; the water then spreads over the land, taking an easterly direction, to the culverts on the North road. Now, I would suggest that at this point the river should be led across the island by strong embankments some ten chains apart in the same direction as nature points out, the lower embankment beginning at Mr. Charles Brown's farm, and ending where the culverts mass together on the North road; the upper embankment, ten chains higher up the island, at an equal distance across the island. I do not think there would be any fear of the embankment giving way, for, from my experience of the river, there has been no difficulty in constructing embankments to Btop the overflow of the water when you build them with the set of the water. It is only when you try to resist the set of the river that you have some difficulty, though not a difficulty but might be overcome if you had the £s. d. By allowing the river to flow across the island at this point it would relieve Kaiapoi to such an extent that the money voted for that place, if judiciously spent, would place it entirely out of danger, and stop the immense quantity of water that flows past the town of Kaiapoi, for as least ono-third of tho water that comes down the north branch would find its way across the island at Englebrecht's corner, and so lessen the power of the water to move the shingle to Kaiapoi. With regard to the embankment across the road up the island, they might be so rounded over by making approaches so as to offer no obstacle to the traffic ; and the river canuot by any chance make the road between the embankments worse than what it is at present. By allowing the river to cross the Island at this point, you have fewer interests to deal with than in any scheme that has been brought forward, for the land on which the embankments should be built is in the hands of four persons, and I cannot see what difficulty they can offer. With regard to the lower set near Kaiapoi, as the money is voted for its protection, it would be useless to suggest any plan, as most likely an engineer has reported on it. My object in writing this letter is to invite discussion on the subject, so that if there is a chance of the Government doing this or any other work for the protection of the Island, they will do it this winter, and so put an end to this dreadful uncertainty and anxiety j so that we may know whether the Garden of Canterbury is to be saved or destroyed. Allow mc to remain, Yours Ac, OSB OF TH£ SCFFBtKBS.