THE EAST COAST RAILWAY ROUTE.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 657, 6 November 1909, Page 13

THE EAST COAST RAILWAY ROUTE.

■y'.-;.-:!>-- : - ; -,:,.-■'■. ■..»,( ;:.' --."■'■■■ ■;-.('" '-. TO TUTIRA.V ( ■;'.; '.FamTSOTINQ !AT ;PETANB. (■:■ J3": SPLENDID PASTOBAL COUNTEY. ': ; [Br JLucotsr Boss, F.E.G.S.]'•:. ■/' ; -: : '■ ' 'i '^■■ ; :''So. i- V '■;■;■ ; ;((To anyone, who has travolledthe length ant breadth of New Zealand it is evident that tin people in one half of the!.country do not knbn what the other half, of it is like And yet Non Zealanders ate.' great; travellers. ' But ■ thej travel;' mainly; along the routes of railways and, until,tho;different districts become linkec lip by.-these means cf.oommunication'thore will continue'to. be; a'great deal of ignorance it regard to large' tracts of country, and also ii regard to<the ideas and aspirations of.the peo pie inhabiting them/ Such ignorance is t brake on (the;general progress of a countrj along sound economic lines;, but, in a' new colony, it is.no doubt, ,to a large extent, in evitable. ■ The harrow paroohialismof theAuck lander, for.instance,,is,' probably, mainly, at tributabUvto his past isolation.'The openmj of : the Northern Main Trunk railway shoulc bVondeh his horizon.aid make him less enyioui of his neighbour. Auckland-is undoubtedly t fine city; but there arfl hills; beyond Pentlanc and firths beyond Forth, and, m New. Zealand there is room for many ; cities. This ignorano in regard to certain portions of the Dominion to' which -(I have referred, applies more r par ticularly to the undeveloped lands of the-Nortl Island, and probably ; to .none, more than, ti that extensive'..tract of 'country that,. lymf between (Hawke's Bay on the-one- hand,, anc the Bay, of Plenty oh the;'othor, extends inlanc to the mountain ranges'that form- the. back bone of the .North -Island. Between . .thesi boundaries lies :an area' of .country,about^two thirds tho size' of \ Scotland,- unserved ■_■ by i railway! ilt is true,that, : ;owing -to the brpkei nature of : the. country, the East Cpast.ralwa! would be':a: costly one to make; but bad tn< fertile : pastoral'lands' that it would ■ serve beei 'under the purview of the persistent Aucklande: in- the north;'■ the 'energetic Scotsman m_th south, or - thei6lamorous..denizen,of, the Wea Coast I make''' bold - to say 'that, long before this time,' su'oh a line would'have, been: com inenced both atthe'-Napier, and at the Gis bornevend.„At-,the > very;least the.line woult have been .^.:.;:, .v; ! '; .-; VEeportson the. suggests line were o subnutte< to- both Houses, of Parliament in-1886, and 11 1898 Mr. J. J.- Hay, assistant structed to examine four probable, routes Hon Napier to -Wairoa. ' ;He reported in favour o an inland, 'deviation.;of >-Mr;= Knorpp 6- coas route 'as' suggested by Mr. Rochfort, both o whom had made a flying survey of the.eountr: between ( Napier. and' Gisborne. - . This, rout would tap.the/pastoral:countryWwwn.Napie and Wairoa,' and .proceed, up,that vai ley- to the ,vioinity of Frasertown-a distanO i of 61 mile's, :rrom that,ppmt, two alternativ routes are suggested,. ono,via' ( the Jlangapoifc -Valley aoross a saddle into Te Aral Valley, ani I thence' to Gisborne I the : other, ; f anther inland up: tho Valley of. the. Wairoa, and thence int the :Ha'ng.aroa- Country, and so on--to;:3om tb Gisborne-Motu} ; line, at-present under .construe '.It'was'''the'Vlatter line of .route that >L'-fol lowed,'.at.'the, invitation - of, the .East . t Coas Railway league, with-a>iew to. writing a-de Bcriptioh'of :the eharaoter and-resources otm country that such a line would;sorve, I stipv lated at the outset that'.li.was.tp have a fro hand in regard to.anything I, might wrue,am also' in regard :t6'.the '.expression of- any oon elusions' I migHt arrive: at irommy own- ot nervation,- and -from J , information gained' e: route.-To" this the'league offered no objection ,ind I'started on .my;journey..from theNapie end. v : .-.;'■:>;'.:!■:<':■'• ::.';■■'■ ".:;,'■'., '.'!' \. -The splendid.'resources of'the Napier^'dis -trict,-from;a, 'pastoral .and a fruit-growin 'point' : of (view,'-are/already ',so' well known :u to seed no'further-description..l,shall thew fore.in: this'series iof- articles. concern- myßel only with' the.'.vast-extent of:country.-lying .b( 'tween' Napier--ahd'/Gisborne. '-■ The cdmraenw nient' of ; the.,-iburney:{.was-'easy-iand'. i.pleasanl Mr. Thomas -Clark- motored, me 'out:, to. hi 'beau.tiful.-bomestead; along the Petane Koat whioh .the ;line'.blosely'follows. "There ;is-.sorri very 'rich'land ..iff the Petane Valley,, and o: 'the .w'ay' : vra.'Btoppe'd't6"6ee : horticulturist-^)ne , ;: Vincent doing-with. Certainly : makin :the"■: wilderhessfljldssoln'? ds is every evidchce.that, before he. i^ I ,Mu<M J Tis ■middle'.ag6'he''willbe'able.'to'retite on i.Cbm ; 'peteiiee'gained-ironi ]i\ acres, that;, a' few 'year 'ago, 'was? feeding'.as-.many., cows.as'theiie-ar acres. ■:This';result:':wili;, of: course, -.viiot;--hav 'been.; achieved .:with'out ;brains;and.-knoiyledgt 'And an amount of industry quite:f6reign-.t: the: ; 6ight-hours-a-day colonial-unionist.-'>?;Th soil "is a'black'..alluvial .loam, mixed with sea shells; : "-'-Vincent. Cacbio'ppoli, of Sorento, nea Naples) learnt a great deal about fruit-grow irig in his native Italy, and he has applied hi •knowledge: with;,splendid, results to :.the,.Nei Zealand... sbil..:V;Vine3/,peaches;-.apricots,:;-: : an othei'-.-fruit vtr'ees,looked .'as; healthy : asj; th good-looking,'bronzed young Italian, whoshoweus his :effortsv,with',a considerable degree:.o pride. •; The only been: planted jthre years; and already he had obtained, two iorop from'theni. rAp'ricots.ihe told : .us,,.grew,-botte than' they: did at Hastings, and .peaches: -alsi did welli but Vincent pinned his faith;to;th apricotl, "Apricotß the best," ,he ; said; "good ,t pay..".Last -year,. I : getta the--very good- : price ..In:somo \plao you: Bet-d'.the ripe all-a round—one jrea'r, but :aext year (only, the'on. side ripe. cHere you get-a the; good qualateeal the-time.":.'-Vincent, started:-in'-.here with,'; capital ofL'only:, ißsd,. ; ; but he worked night, ani dayi' digging .his little -farin' with the ..spade and how he fi making a good living, and is abl to take things more .easily. The average colonic you,th'would: not have .put half :,the.'.work inti it in the '.time;'; He (would. have, been too busj attending'-football.matohes..and race meetings Similar land (extends (for five': (or.isix -mile alongithe; Petane, to .have' ah sorbed(the...energies :of, the. whole(of ; the Wei lington "unemployed \during. the past ' wipter but all (the rest of .this, beautifully rich-lam was (-grazing cattle,, and is (still • awaiting ;;th : day of a(more:'intehse( ; cultivatipn.' We couli do cibppoli. tvpe.': ;As : ;we left' .him I" hazarded tin opinion- (that ;• he-:wbhld -make'his.fortune, am return to livb('in sunny Italy i- but he appre ciates(thevjiberty(and: the rich soil and mil( climate,of,'his/adopted(country, so,-to use.hi own; words: ('-When; 1- go Italy I go only. fo: treep,;' th oh come (back: to New - Zealand." Late on, ('after ii (had;seen of. the' fertile val leys of, the Eist',Coa3t, l;,cdme to the'cohclu sion that -,tho ..potentialities. in((regard( to (fruit growing werb j simplyv'enormoiis.■ .'But'.of ; tha more :ahoh.';-:The:,r'ailway.'line; "as .'-surveyed would -prdbeetV-from' Napier':-up to the heado the Petane Vitlley,-and. then-go through closely settled'coUntr^tar .'about sixteen/miles.'/ : (After( accepbhg :,the', hospitality -of :the Clarl family; for-the''night, ,1 proceeded on horse back ;-up -the Avalley.,'of the- Esk.-; Mr..'Clark' homestead(is situated in the centre of a beau Kf ul pastotal; region (which is; being - farmed t up the coast oi the right is tho'Tohgoio Estate, recently, ac quired by., the.(Government; (at too high, i price .the settlers say) and adjoining it is th Troutbeck'Estate,:'now understood to bo unde offer -to' the' government. ■ Settlers •; on botl theso(properties would be greatly benefited b; tho proposed Up to this point th railway would.'be( easily made. Thence,, or ward,' the. country ip more broken,'and th formation;.-generallyispeaking, would be;costlj I followed its course,up the Esk Biver. Ther was no road,'and I crossed the river twenty three times in a few miles before arriving o the - Kaiwaka Station.".The railway .route. wil run with many curves and cuttings, • elong; th left bank.of .the river (the right bank goin up), and, ,though( the .earth work would ,b heavy,'it would not:bo difficult, for the coin try-is "soft" with little or no hard.rock i it. It is '.limestone country—full of shellsand 1 has, evidently, during a period of man yeaTS, been grddually lifted up from tho be of tho' sea; On the tops of tne highest hill one finds-oyster 'shells in a stato of.. almos perfect preservation.: It issplendid.sheep cour try.;-. The' sheep—a Lincoln-Komney crosslooked particularly healthy, and there ha been a -wbhderiol - lambing, many twins, an even a few triplets, .going to swell ,the pel centage. Our- horses(pantod up a steep ahee track to the summit of hills that I judged wor about 1600 i'eet high.' On the summit ridge were great blocks of .limestone rock frowmn down on'us like the'ruina of anoient castlei There was splendid- shelter ir. the bosky delli and everywhero :wcre( stream.? hurrying (low to join tho .rivers on either side of the.dividi Oh this one station were eomo forty thousan acres of Maori - lands leased to i, Europeai The lcasohas only sii'yoarsto run, and, natui ally, tho land ;i3 not being improved aslt cei tair.lv would be were lt.a freohold, or held o a more satisfactory lease. Thus quite close ( Naiiier wo' arc faco;.to face with the flaw land problem,'and for-hundreds of miles alon tho coast,- fastward.tovtho.'Eea, and wostwan far-inland, that problem is ever obtruding itse 'Tfom 'the shmrhits:'of th'o Kaiwaka.hiils or Beta a splendid: view -of the surrounding coui "rv' Far-ahead in the northeast, we: can s( the Mahi'a; Peninsula, pointing it? long..fingt southward ,inte the.bluosea toward the littl island of- -upon rwhich, - at' nigh time, the Portland light flashes ltN warning i the coastwise .ships..' SouthwMd, ,the:eye .noti ■Nn»ier;no3tUng;,at-;,thß:..foctUof.,.the:..Anurj:

■ Bluff, and .beyond that again is Cape Kidnappers, the scene of one of. Captain Cook's adventures many years ago. Between the two points, the coasthno of Hawko Bay curves in a grand sweep for over a hundred miles, and there is much • magnificent country that , one.; day mnst carry a largo population that will , help to feed tho lino of railway that must bemadeand will assist in making Napier and Gisborne cities worthy of their names. Inland the view is bounded by the Te Walsa and Maungftharuru ranges, beyond the three and four thousand-feet summits of which lio tho . middle waterß of the .Mohaka Eiver. Northward. not many miles away, Tutira Lake, my destination after the first, day's ride, lies Serched among its hills of green and'brown. iown a steop hillside we lead our horses, and, unbarring a gate, find ourselves upon tho inland NapierAVairoa Boad at a point where it winds down a' long hill to cross the Waikoau Eiver. "A ride of several miles lands me at Tutira Station, beautifully situated' on the shores of the little willow-fringeu lake.-' .