THE WEST COAST

Press, Volume LVIII, Issue 17414, 27 March 1922, Page 6

THE WEST COAST

HON. J. 0. COATES'S TOUR. "I have had an interesting time," said the Hon. J. G. Coates, Minister of Public Works, when asked on "Saturday regarding his tour of the West Coast, and thence to the east coast via the Haast Pass. "I have been away from railways, roads and bridges, and hare completed the round trip without making a promise—not even of a 'fiver'! But I have made a lot of useful notes." The object of the Minister's tour was to get into direct touch with the people in the different localities, and to see, at first hand, what the requirements of each district are. It is, lie remarked to the reporter, one thing to Bit down to prepare estimates of expenditure when one has seen the localities where expenditure is asked for, and quite a different thing to sit down to do so without having seen the localities.

Mr CoaWs tour may be said to have started at Collingwood, in the Nelson district. From Heaphy Head the party walked round the beach to Karamea, and thence went to Brighton. Barrytown, Greyrnouth and on south as far as Okura. "We did not go to Jackson's Bay," remarked Sir Coates, "there are no people there, and we weren't tourists. The road connexion between Barrytown and Greyrnouth has* been completed and the Minister motored aver it. There is now a demand for the continuation from Barrytown to Brighton and Mr Coates thinks there is some justification for this work, although the time is not yet rip© to put it in hand. The Minister was not able to visit the country north of Greyrnouth made more accessible for settlement by the completion of the road connexion with Barrytown, but he was much impressed with the country he saw south of Hokitika and Ross, where dairying is making good headway. To a North Islander the swamps in this district seem rather puzzling, and Mr Coates thinks it would be interesting and, possibly, valuable, to see what the effect of drainage would be.