EAST COAST TOUR

Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 126, 21 February 1921, Page 6

EAST COAST TOUR

AN INTERESTING TRIP ‘ : FINE STRETCHES OF GRASSY COUNTRY By Telegraph.—Special Correepondent. f . Ruatorea, February 19. The - Parliamentary party left G;sj'f borne this morning, and in the evening arrived at Ruatorea. 88 miles north. No day-of the tour has bron so interesting, for practically nome of the visitors had seen the region before. No one seemed to have dreamed that north of Gisborne lay such a vast expanse of grassy [hill and valley. Everyone may see statistics and figures, but neither figures nor the written word can convey an accurate idea of ita immense ext.' parieo, or of its wonderful pasturage. ( The rainfall of the region is generous, and there has been rains, the latest only last night, which have refreshed the pastures, but even with generous rain one was hardly prepared to see mites, and scores of miles, of country clothed in the fresh green growth which is as- / sociated with spring l . For one hundred miles and more this country, which ’ stretches up to 50 miles, can carry a sheep. and a half to aae acre, besides a bullock to every tight acres. Soon after leaving Gisborne, the visitors were viewing station country, and, with few exceptions, tmily stations were passed as far as Tolaga Bay. i Beyond Tolaga Bay more stations of size were seen, Cl but ths bulk of the land is native-own- • -ed here andl as a rule, bsinj' farmed well by Natives, and for Native syndicate?;, .but in some instances—and those involved huge areas—lands which formerly /had been held under lease by Europeans, and which had returned to Native occupation, had begun to go back, in some cases seriously. The Takapau, the lease of which station terminated five or six years ago, is. a Q case in point. Sections of the road are " metalled, but, as a whole; the road is bad, and as a main arterial road ! through such country, it is tragic. Un- ' til last Christmas, part of the route north was along the beach, and until three or four years ago the whole of . the route was along the beach, rocky ;. patches where bluffs had to be rounded, - making coach traffic difficult and sometimes dangerous. Now, a new road strikes inland seven miles from Gisborne, and parte are now being metalled. ' Unfortunately, the rock is rather soft, but a prospect of the whole district has failed to discover any really. j; , good stone. Tar-Sealing the Roads. f The midday stop was at Tolaga Bay, where Mr. E. B. Boland, chairman of ■ thb Uawa County Council, informed the visitors that the county had raised a loan of £140,000 for metalling and tars sealing the nelw Toad, a distance of 20 miles, and tar-sealing established roads. < As a further instance of self-reliance, he stated that the local harbour board was about to ask authority to raise a loan of £70,000 to build a jetty from the cliff on the south J side of the bay, jat which 20ft. 1 of. water could 'be obtained at low tide. Good metal was met with over the boundary of the Uawa find Waiapu counties, but the road. leads up a valley and is continually being damaged by flood waters. At tho crest of a. long ascent lies Tepuia, where there is a* tiny spa near the spruce little Waiapi Hospital. Here, incidentally, has been found natural gas, which one station-holder uses Mr light- - ing and heating. The final stretch of the run was down, the bed cf the Kopuroa etream. Once, there was a good road here, with half-a-dozen bridges. All the bridges were washed away in the 1916 flood, and the stream has now to be forded, but every month sees a new track./ A Memorable Sight. At last, Ruatorea was reached. It was a memorable .sight. The sun was setting behind the peak of Mount Hikurangi, 5600 ft. high. “ To the right was the peak of Honokawa, near the battlemented Wharekea, and below lay grassy slopes and terraces. Then there was the flat through which the Waiapu River, a fine, broad etream, wound its way eastward.

At the reception in the evening 1 , Mr. K. S. Williams, M.P., said that during the run he had heard some members saying that the land suffered from lack of homee and lack of people, and now they wondered where the people came from. He mads no apology for the lack of settlers. If the visitors had been there, in the flood years of 1914-IG, they might have wondered that any homes were left. The visitors had had, and would have, further opportunity of seeing the Maori farming his own land. The question of the Native land, and the farming of it, was exceedingly important. He did not pretend to claim that every Maori would make a farmer, but the Maoris, who were sometimes called children, had reached the stage when they should be given an opportunity of farming their own.' land. If the Maoris got the opportunity they would in many cases make good, and if the Natives got the opportunity they must recognise their responsibilities ■ to the . country. Addresses by Maoris. Mrs. John Reedy, a Maori chieftaincy, made an address of welcome, and said that the reason why the Native lands were not as well forward as those under pakeha occupation was the difficulty in respect of titles. Hatai Pakaroa, a. chief, in an j ‘ of welcome, suggested that the.'Maoris of the district might Ire put on a footing of equality with the pakeha in respect to "waipiro,” and added, amidst laughter, that th© pound recently erected was a most evil thing. THE TOUR CONTINUED SOLDIERS’ SETTLEMENT VISITED. (By Telci'ranh— Special Correspondent.) Sunday. To-day, the touring members of Parliament travelled further north. They crossed the river by boat, forded many streams, passed over roads which are reads only in dlry weather, and last, but not least, enjoyed the hospitality of the Ngatfporou tribo at Waiomata- . — tini, and of.thei people at Te Araroa. Early, the care assembled from the various homesteads where the visitors were billeted, an<J after having breakfast with the Hon. A. T. Ngata’s people set off. The first event - was the crossing of the Waaapu River, part of the bridge of which was washed away in 1915. A new bridge is in the course of construction by the Public Works Department, but it is still a long way from completion. The river was not quite up to thq step-boards, but the ford is over large shingle and boulders, so it was deemed wise to send the cars over empty while the passengers went over in boats at a deeper part of the river. While the passage was being made rain began to fall, and showed every sign of continuing, and in half an hour the clay road# were very slippery, but the journey might have been continued without delay but for the ’’ danger of the river rising. It can rise 9ft. in two hours. A return was, therefore, made, but it wnz? arranged that some of the travellers should resume the journey in small local cars. This was done. . Thci 20 miles to the picturesque sea township of To Araroa took over two hours to accomplish owing do the; state of the Toad. Ten miles from Waiomatatrni no rain had fallen, but only slow going could be accomplished on this apology for a road, which wound up and down ridges and through river-beds. In these beds the Track is always changing, as well a-- the r.ito of the fords. The M.P.’s, therereceived a wry thorough, Unprea-,

sion of the reading neetb of a district which is isolated when floods come.

Mr. George Kirk, chairman of the Matakaoa County Council, welcomed the party at a 3 o’clock luncheon at Te Araroa, and expressed regret that, owing to the late arrival, it would be impossible to carry out the original plan of taking the visitors by horseback over the next six miles to Hicks Bay. He mentioneel that the new freezing works on this bay would start killing on March 1, and askeel for the support of members in Parliament when assistance for the building of la jetty was asked. The proposed jetty will 'have 10ft. of water at low tide. On the return run a number of the party visited the soldier settlement, a beautiful grassy valley some nine miles from Te Araroa. This is not a Government settlement, members of the Williams family having settled it themselves. The 4000 acres was divided into six sheep farms, ranging from 900 to 500 acres, and 50 men who had gone to the front from Waiapu balloted for them. As indicating the generosity of the gentlemen concerned, the men informed the visitors that only the 1914 valuation wiaw placed upon the land. All six men consider themselves most fortunate, although they need a road. The original road has been washed away by floods cutting, away tho banks, and at present the' riverbed is the road for some distance. Upon returning fio Waiomatatini, the members of the party were again the guests of the Ngatiporous, lavish hospitality being extended for the night. The travellers were billeted among the residents. Wiaiomatatini, some 90 miles north of Gisborne, is the headquarters of tho Ngatiporou Tribe. Few of the touring M.P.’s were prepared for tho surprise which met them when they reached tho eetjlement. From its appearance, no one would have dreamed that it was a Native community. All tho houses are neat and well ordered, 'and some of th p homos are of considerable size. All aro lit with electricity generated by an oil engine. Over the river is a large stock and station business run by Europeans for a Maori co-operative concern. The reason of all this is that hero tho lands of Maoris are being farmed as a syndicate, the moving spirit being the Hon. A. T. Ngata. Tho whole thing is unique in New Zealand, and it certainly proves the contention that under a strong enough personality, community Native lands can bo thoroughly well farmed. The settlement might; be the homestead and centre of a huge station run on up-to-date lines. The one indication of its nature is given by the meetinghouse, the interior of which is remarkable.