PUKUWEKA SAWMILLS

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1088, 29 March 1911, Page 15

PUKUWEKA SAWMILLS

LIMITED.

OXK OK TIIK SAWMILL ARMIF.S OK TilK .MAIN TIU'NK. Of the ninny sawmill industries which arc marching 'ikr armies through the forests of the .Main Trunk, one of the most important is that of the l'ukuwcka Sawmills, Ltd.. at Matapuna, a mile out of Tnumarnnui; and at I'irial;a, a rising to"'" miles from Wellington. Large bush interests have been acquired by the edmpany at Matapnna, where they have acquired the cutting rights over 5000 acres of totarn, inatai, and white pine, an area expected to keep the mill going for about twenty years. The company also possesses the cutting rights over 1600 acres of totara.. matai, and rimu bush at l'iriaka. Previous to the great fire of a few . years ago, the totara forest at l'iriaka was regarded as one of the linest in the Dominion. The lire destroyed a large section of the totara, but the remaining, portion is of very line quality, while' the partially burnt logs are being turned into very good account by the manufacture of totara fencing posts, in which the company does a. very extensive trade. The Jlatapuna area includes the famous I'ukuweka Block

(five miles from Matapuna), the disputed Native ownership of which has been agitating the Native Land Courts' for the past twenty years. The Pukuweka totara is a fine timber, and portions of it are being utilised with rinra, also from the company's mills, in the construction of the new bridge over tho Ongaruc Hirer, near Taunianmui. At the present time only rimu timber is being cut at Piriaka, and it is interesting to note that the rimu forests seem to stop at the Wanganui Hivcr, and only a stray tree is seen until one reaches TaTingamutu, then at Mangapcehi, and again near Te Kuiti. How tho Bush is Colng. It has been said that the march of the sawmills through the .Main Trunk is like the inarch of an army, ruthless and destroying. What is virgin forest ony month, the'next is a broken and shattered skeleton jof its former greatness. The twin circular saws and tho pacific benches absolutely eat up the logs, and like the giants of olden times they are never satislicd. Take, for example, some of the sawmill cutting work which will be performed by this company. They have a mill at Piriaka, another at Matnpuna, where still another is'being erected. This now miil will have a cutting capacity of 300,1X10 feet per month, or approximately 4,000,000 feet per year. The present mill at Matapuna cuts from '275,000 to 3C0,000 foot per month, while the one at Piriaka puts out something between 200.000 and 225,000 feet. Approximately, this company will cut between

0,000,000 and 10.000,000 feet per annum. There me some mills which will out considerably more than 4,000,000 feet per annum, and if we assess the number, of mills operating on the Main Trunk at sixty we can safely say that the forests are being out down at tiio rate of 100,00(1,000 leet- per annum. Expenss of Milling. The Pulunvelia mills afford some idea of the money which has to be spent by millers in developing the industry. The company has six miles of steel tramways at Jlatapuna. . The rails alone cost £700 per mile, and if the country is at all lullv the total cost of laying down tlu« line with maintenance charges must run into between £2000 and i'.'illliO per mile. The company lias miles «f tramway also at. I'iriaka, and at one lime the development ol the whole must have cost between £20,000 and £30,00(1. There arc several mills on the .Main Trunk with twenty miles ol steel. tramway, and there is one- in sonio rpniote part ol Hotorua district which is said to possess over fitty of tramway. Notwithstanding such expenscr., only initial, it is a* fact that few tawmillerb ever become wealthy, men.

To move the timber about the place and from the mills to' the railway siding, the Pukuwoka Company possesses two locomotives, and altogether they employ about 7o hauds daily, the wages shoot running into something over I'M,OOO per annum. The cost of belting is one of the very heavy items, when- one considers the present pricc of timber. Full Orders. The company are at present taxed to their utmost to fulfil orders. They arc catering chiefly for heart of totara and matai, dressed and undressed, and owing to the extraordinarily rapid clearances are carrying comparatively little storks. Tile timber is being sent all over New Zealand, but chiefly to Hawke's Hay, Auckland, and Waikato in that order. Run on Fsnoing Posts. Development in the way of settlement in Hawke's Pay and tho Gisbprne district is indicated by tho num- : ber of totara fencing posts which are j now being dispatched to those localities by the company. The output is quito 10,000 per month, and.if.they coukl.bc cut quite double that number could bo sold. All these posts are heart of totara, perfectly sound, and are cut from the broken logs, and fallen timber which arc not worth bringing in to tho mill. The totara posts from l'iriaka have a great name for quality. Tho work of cutting these posts is all (\one by contract, and gives 'labour to a large number of men, all of whom make excellent wages.

Planing Mills. In addition to the sawmills, the company lias planing mills both at Piriaka and Matapuna, The output comprises rusticated boards and flooring, which is run through tho machines at tho rate of from 7000 to 10.000 feet per day. The work is well done, and the excellent manner in which the timber fs turned r .ont!,,is. evideuced by tho./.fact that the company has never received--a complaint 011 that score. Daylight Saving. Like all the other mills 011 the Main Trunk line, tho company recognises tho value of daylight saving, and put the clock back accordingly. Work commences at 7.30 a.m. by the mill clock, but the time is then really 7, and finishes at. 0, by the mill clock, when tho correct- Greenwich time is 4.30. This sort of thing is absolutely necessary for several reasons, the principal of which aro that darkness comes early in tho bush, aud work amongst the saws becomes exceedingly dangerous in a bad light. Tliijs is especially so in the winter time. Well Provltiad For. The men working at the mills are very well provided for. They have, a boarding and cook house, and board may hp obtained for about 16s. per week. The manager of tho Pukuweka Company is Mr. AV. T. Combes, with Mr. A\. Paul as overseer at Piriaka.