“The Press” In 1866

Press, Volume CV, Issue 31016, 23 March 1966, Page 18

“The Press” In 1866

March 23

ROAD TO COAST.—The opening of the road from Christchurch to Hokitika is a fact in the history of Canterbury which deserves more than a passing notice. When we recall what the West Coast was only little more than a year ago, and the great length of the journey, rarely less than ten days, and that over the most impracticable country, it does seem a feat of which Canterbury, and the present Government of Canterbury, may be somewhat proud, that at this moment we can take our places in a comfortable four-horse coach, and be landed in Hokitika on the evening of the second day, having slept at a tolerably comfortable hotel one night on the road.

The total length of the road may be now put down at 170 or 180 miles, the half-way house being at the mouth of the Bealey river, about 95 miles from Christchurch. The obstacles in the way of making this road have been of no ordinary kind. During the long months of the past winter the rain was so heavy and so incessant that a very few days’ work could be got out of each month. In one month, we believe, the men were able to work on three days. The Otira gorge, which may be called the gap, by which the road passes through the central ranges, is a gorge of such character that the first surveyor who visited it pronounced any road through it impassable.