PIERCING CATLINS BUSH.

Clutha Leader, Volume XXXIX, Issue 52, 11 February 1913, Page 5

PIERCING CATLINS BUSH.

i WITH THE RAILWAY LEAGUE TO * TAHAKOPA VALLEY. , (By Our Special Reporter.) In the luxurious comfort of a commodious first-class reserved the visitors had a pleasant run to Houipapa. As mentioned in the last issue the personi nel of the party was:—Messrs Mark Cohen (vice-president), J. B. Waters (secretary), W. B. M. Fea and 1). M,. Fea (members of the League), Dr Truby King, Councillor .1, McDonald and Mr W. M. R. McCurdy (city engineer), representing Dunediu, Messrs Scott, Lee, Statham and Malcolm, M 's.P., Kiernan, ,1. E. Thompson and R. R. Stewart (Balclutha), together with three reporters. Waters, junr. (Dunedin), son of Mr J. B. Waters, was also in the party, and Mr Tubniau (Balclutha) also accompanied us as far as Caberfeidh. Those who have not been down the line for a number of years express surprise at the progress of Owalca, while others, making the trip for the first time, are in raptures at the beautiful scenery, as each bend in the line changes view of lake to woodland dale and glen, gushing streanfs racing through clearings to hide in forest, and ffo the man with more eye for £ s d than for Nature's beauties there is gratification in the prosaic stacks of milled timber standing at the sawmill sidings waiting to be trucked and whirled away to all parts of Otago and Canterbury and even further afield. From tli.e mi 11$. there arise the screeches of the mighty pines and birches as they yield up their .hearts on the altar of industry to the rip-rip-rip of the greedy saws.

At Houipapa, where the Railway Department gives place to Public Works, red tape compels us to relinguish luxury, and wo accept with good grace the fall from the dignity of travelling in a state car to an unpretentious open ballast truck, which, at anyrate, has the virtue of being able to give us the opportunity of sampling plenty of "new.air," as one man called it. But such things do not matter with the sun shining and all Nature smiling. As is known, the line is completed to Caberfeidh, slightly over ten miles past Houipapa, but as the quarry and crusher from which the ballast for the works is supplied are at the latter station the Public Works Department will not hand over the line to the Railway Department till other arrangements can be made for the supply of metal; consequently passengers and goods are carried on the ballast trucks, the only discrimination being that freight and a-half is charged for the goods, while passengers arc carried gratis at their own risk.

It is a steady climb of over 500 feet for the next seven miles, along a serpentine track which wends through almost virgin forest of red and silver birch, red, black and white pine, totara, impenetrable scrub and undergrowth, waitiug for the time when it will be called upon to render up its prolific, wealth to man. Then, green and brownclad, Table Hill, with its fifty or sixty feet of timber coating'from base to summit,, reaching to KilO feet, looms above us, showing "all clear" to I'uketiro. Here we meet a committee of settlers, composed of Messrs ,1. Stirling, las. Christie, John Miller, J. McCulloch, 6. Xaumann, T. Bumard, Onibler and P. Goodsir. After the welcomes and lun.cheoii "order" is called to allow a deputation to speak. THE FKONTIEESMAN'S APPEAL. Mr Stirling said he and the other settlers had been on Block 14, Rimu, for three years. Their trouble was that 'hey had no access to their holdings, and 1 hoy wanted a 101't road for two and ahalf miles from I'uketiro station to mebt the road on the other side of the McLennan river. They thought it an opportune time to mention this, as some of the visiting gentlemen might be able to bring pressure on the powers that be, <o that something might, be done. In ill £750 had been voted by the Government for reading on this block, and although the bush on the road line to their sections, known as the Aurora road, had been fallen and logged, the county council had not done anything else, with the result that it was almost impossible to get a packhorse through. The last time sheep were taken along it seven lambs were knocked up and died, while there was another case of a settler who bought a cow for £7 10s and saw it die on the track on the way home. Mr Malcolm thought the Government could not be blamed, as it had treated the settlers on Block 14 very well by voting £750. Mr Stirling said they were not blaming their member or the Government; it was the county engineer who was to blame.

Mr Malcolm said he recognised the difliculties of the settlers and would do all he could for them, but he could not promise much more help this year. Mr O. Naumann said the county engineer was running a 16ft road on to a 10ft main road, lie questioned the wisdom of this, and it was unjust as well. A 16ft road would not go far enough with the money available, thus preventing some settlers from getting access to their holdings, while if a 10ft road was made the money would be sufficient to allow the Puketiro settlers to have a road to their homes.

Warming to the subject, Mr Naumann went on in an earnest voice to say that over £ISOO worth of property was lying idle for want of access. Not even the "thirds" and "fourths" had been spent. They were all poor men—they would not be there if they were rich. The railway station' was useless to them under existing conditions, a.s they could taks hardly anything to or from the line through the bush. They had to get their womenfolk to help them carry the grass seed along the- track. Was that a fair thingf Mr Malcolm: Has Mr Young got access to his place yet? Mr Naumann: No, he has thrown it up in disgust. We don't want to throw up our homes. We didn't come here to

| speculate;, we oaqio to make .homes for • our families. 'Plenty other men before us have gone under or got out of it, but we want to stay here and see it through. Our, womenfolk are always crying to get out in the open, and we promise that soon something will be done, and we wait and hope, but nothing has been done yet to let us out. • Mr Malcolm said the whole trouble was the abominablo system of granting money for roads. He was in favor of the Government starting and finishing the reading of settlements. He would never allow settlement anywhere till the district was roaded. Mr Naumatut said that settlers would be pleased if tha&Government took over . the roading. Mr Malcolm said that the trouble was that first of all the settlers hail said they were dissatisfied with the Government doing the roading, and now they wished the work taken out of the hands of the county council," Mr Naumann evoked general sympathy by his earnest appeal as he pleaded that their people should be released from the imprisonment of the bush and for an opportunity to dispose of the fruits of their toil.

Mr D. M. Fea expressed sympathy with the settlers in their appeal for a road. On behalf of the League he thanked the local committee for providing the luncheon, and called for three cheers for them, 'which were lustily given.

And the dignified city men and the members of Parliament took off their hate and sang that these brave frontiersmen were 'Molly Good Fellows." BY RAIL, FOOT, RIVER AND CART. We resume our journey along the line which always follows where the white man treads. Three o'clock has come and gone, and Papatowai is to be made, by above-mentioned motive power, by five o'clock. The sky has become overcast, and rain is threatening. Passing through the steep and long Matai cuttings piercing solid rock exclamations are heard at the stupendous and expensive task of laying the way for the iron horse. And the almost unscarred forest, stretching far out of vision, whispers back on the breeze, "I will repay." ft will give up its roots, and trunks and towering hearts, and reward man's pluck and enterprise with timber for the country and city, and fertilising ash to encourage the grass which will fatten the herds. A brief stop at Caberfeidh, and on again till the rich valley of Kahuika, with its many clearings and tall green grass, lies beneath us. Just above Kahuika school is the railhead—,'! 4 miles 27 chains from Balclutha. We walk down the almost completed formation or construction, through big cuttings, over large culverts, to the McLennan river. Here we take the boats, and an enjoyable row follows along the beautiful river stretch, which has few equals in the province. We see the navvies working across the river at Papatowai station site, which is not far from the junction of the McLennan and the. Tahaltopa livers. The formation extends one mile 23 chains past the railheads, and ceases just as it enters Tahakopa Valley, along which all will be easy running, being level or undulating country to McLennan's homestead—the hoped-for terminus of the line. Just on five o'clock we pull up on the beach in front of Mrs Scott's boardinghouse at Papatowai, with the smell of the briny and roar of the breakers assailing us. We have hardly alighted when a procession of milk-carts—which run supreme out there—sweeps round the corner, and we are introduced to our respective hosts, and then dismissed till 1.30 next day, free to do what we liked in the meantime. We jolt along to Wharuarinin, the post office of which settlement is seven miles up the valley, and have keen appetites before we finally sit down to' tlie hospitality of our hosts. The settlers who so kindly drove to Papatowai and billeted us are Messrs J. McLennan, John Andrews, D. Neil, A. Skey, J. Punlop, A. Stoddart, G. Martin, Wm. Wilson and Mrs Galbraith. It is pleasant after tea to hear the

" tnockies," t.uis and hosts of other native biri'ls break the silence of the evening as they sing good-night; the hungry, ineessanfc-cry for "more pork" ami the dirge-like call of the browntailed cuckoo or "wet binl," prophesying rain, trouble us little. Deep and thick along valley, hills and gullies cluster the giants of the forest, mostly red pine here, whieh will in the near future put many mills humming. In fact, several of the settlers have already sold milling rights on their properties, and they hope to have the mills in their midst in two years' time.

A EAINY DAY. The "more ports" and "wet birds" are right.; early 011 Friday morning, while we are still abed, the rain commences to fall heavily, and keeps at it all day. The programme was to meet at Stoddart's corner at I..'JD and drive along to the proponed site of the Tahakopa railway, after which there was to be an hour's boating down the Tahakopa river. The, settlers don't mind a drop or two of rain, so some of ns bravely kept the appointment, but evidently it is only country fellows who cannot be frightened by Jupiter Plnvius and his damp vplleys, for all that assemble are the Balcluthaites in full force, Messrs Scott, Lee and Malcolm, one city man (Mr McDonald), and our hosts. So after a short chat we squelch home again through the mud and rain.

THE PUBLIC MEETING. At 7.:ifl we all assembled at. the school, Wharua,rimu, for the public, meeting. Mr G. Martin, president of the subleague, occupied the chair, and there , were over 00 people preseut, some coming from as far as Kahuika settlement. There were three ladies present, despite the wet night. The chairman briefly welcomed the visitors, and spoke of the good results of the League's interestedness in the railway and district. Mr Mark Cohen replying said that n£ one who came to the district to-day

would be bold enough, to say that tho railway had not just Hied its existence. He was sorry to see that the bridge works in connection with tho railway had not progressed in keeping with the line itself, but that was a matter that could be remedied by renewed activity on the part of the authorities. —(Applause.)

Mr Malcolm said ho had considered it his duty all along to support the Railway League as much as possible. Ho had been satisfied from the first that the railway would pay, and he had been led to believe that the line was paying now from every point up to the present completion. To him it was quite apparent that it must be among the very best, if not the best,.paying branch line in Otago. It had been fully expected and intended that the line would be finished in the early part of the year, but land slips at Caberfeidh and the strike at Home had hindered that. There was every reason to believe that the line would be completed to Papatowai at lease this year.—(Applause.) Messrs Statham, Scott and Lee, M's.P,. gave it as their opinion that from what they say of the potentialities of the district that tho Government had been justified in constructing the line. Mr Scott believed that when the set- ' tiers had the necessary facilities this district would rival any other in New Zealand as a dairying district.—(Hear, hear.) Several others spoke, and Mr McDonald, on behajf of the visitors, thanked Mr Martin and the other settlers for their bountiful hospitality. HOMEWARD BOUND. At 9.30 on Saturday morning we started out on the homeward journey, via Mouat's Saddle to Caberfeidh. There was again much to see and admire. At Stewart's corner Mr Malcolm was '' held up" by a deputation. Mr Jas. Riddell, on behalf of the settlers in that vicinity, asked that a siding be put on the line at Stewart's corner. Mr Malcolm said he would cons': ler the matter and make representations. We arrived at Caberfeidh at 11 o'clock, and had an hour's wait till the ballast train was ready to run to Houipapa. While waiting we were regaled by soft drinks and biscuits kindly supplied by Mes-rs McLachlan Bros., whose thoughtfulness was most highly appreciated, as we would not be able to get a meal till we reached Balclutha at 11.30. On leaving we cheered the settlers who had shown us such great hospitality, and promised to return and rejoice with them at the completion of the line. The party reached Balclutha at 3.30, and the northern members proceeded to Dunedin by the 5.5 p.m. express, all pleased with their trip to the Catlins forest.