STEADY PROGRESS AT THE START. THE SET-BACK IN THE NINETIES.

Evening Post, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 151, 26 June 1912, Page 15

STEADY PROGRESS AT THE START. THE SET-BACK IN THE NINETIES.

Construction work at the north end under contract progressed steadily for the next three years. Contracts were let for fifteen miles in 1885. nearly twenty mijps moia in 1886. and in 1885 the Minister for Public Works (Hon. E. Vik-liavdson) announced that a tender had been accepted fur the long Purootarao tunnel, over three-iuiarteiß of a ii'iie loii'^. E\eiything looked piomis- ! in<: for tho caily completion of the lino ! ati'l the fnliilmi'-nt of the hopes of the Li'tiiuiiiabts of thtit en. EijihttAU miles oi coiuparath'isly < asy work by contract curied ihe suutbom terminal of the Jme from Marten to Raiigiitira, just beyond HtmtoiviUc. A contract had also been entered into for the Mangaonaho section, comprising nearly four miles of heavier work. At this rate ot progress tho lino would havo been completed in the 'nineties. ' instead of extending almost to the end of the first decado of tho tsventielh century. Then the "bad eld times" of tho 'nineties! came. Tho revenue of tho country fell off considerably, and retrenchment became tho ordor of tho day. The liniincial outlook was cloudy. One of the earliest consequences of tho result'kg dWeeaion >vaa tho diminution in ihg

structed. At that rate of progress tho line could have been finished before the end of the century. PUBLIC WORKS POLICY CRITICISED. It should be added that Mr. Fergus proposed that for the ensuing year the sum of £25,000 should be set down for the Marton-Te Awamutu railway construction, of which £10,000 Avas to be allocated to the north and £15,000 to the south end. Commenting editorially on the Public Works Policy, as revealed by such' items as this, the Evening Post next day said: — "Mr. Fergus proposes 'to cap and complete the whole discreditable record, by appropriating the greater portion" of the unexpended ' loan fund, and so winding up the borrowing policy in driblets distributed' all over the country, as if it were aid -to the indigent. . . . The House should insist .on the Public Works proposals being submitted to a Select Committee, and that conir ■mittee should be comjaosed. exclusively of members whose districts and interests are neither directly' nor indirectly . connected, with any work proposed, or district to be' benefited by Mr. Fergus's scheme. That committee should take the ! fullest evidence, and .the standard of its i decision on each item should be 'will it pay!' Let each work stand on its merits, and let us have no more political jobbery." FURTHER DISAPPOINTMENT. "The Government considers that it would, be folly to construct the North Island Main Trunk much further," begins a passage in the statement by the Minister for Public Works (Hon. R. Sea- ] don) for the next year, 1891, "until arrangements have been made with the natives for the purchase of their lands." He mentions that at the north end of tho line there was a section between the portion already completed aud the Poro-o- i tarao tunnel, on which nothing had been done. This was eleven miles nine chains in length. This would be undertaken as soon as arrangemente had been come to with the natives. With a view to saving time, it v/as also proposed to let a contract for the Makohine viaduct at the southern end of tho line, as that work would take a considerable time to construct, and if not put in hand soon would retard tho prosecution of the works, when the native land difficulty was removed. This is interesting in view of tha fact that the Makohine Viaduct was not completed until over ton years later. CO-OPERATIVE CONSTRUCTION. The system of to-operative works, is also explained by Mr. Seddon f nln.ivs one of 'its stiiuiichest .supporter.-. 11« gives particulars of the way in which co-operative contracts -were managed on the Wcstport-Ngakawau line. He says there was a little friction at first, as the strong and able-bodied men did not altogether like to work for tho aged and feeble, but after classifying both the men and the work, and giving the lighter work to fcho aged and less capable men and ihe heavier work to those best fitted for it, tho earnings as ti whole proved j satisfactory. " The experience gained _in this instance indicated the coarse which { it would ).«e advisable to puisue in the ■ future. With suitable clarification the system would, in the opinion, of Mr. 1 l&ddoxu .vorkt on. ihfl wh.olo A admirably,

tion of the railway, and as regarded the Makohine viaduct settlement was going on rapidly on the other side of the gorge, and any moneys spent on the viaduct would be well spent. The same was true of the Mokau tunnel, provided a road connected it. If the Government came down with a proposal to borrow to complete the line, it would be attacked. DISSENT AND PROTEST. This statement was received with cries of dissent. Sir Robert Stout said that the money which had been spent out of the Main Trunk railway loan in roadmaking and in the purchasing of ' Native lands should be returned to it. The Premier asked where they would get the money to return. Sir Robert said from the Consolidated Fand, on which they were now drawing for public works. The money used for roads should "be refunded at the rate of £25,000 to £50,000 a year, and expended on. the railway, and the money derived from the lands purchased out of the loans should be paid into tie loan account. It would be unfair and dishonest to .do otherwise. The Central route was the route. Dr. Newman thought if Auckland and Wellington pulled together they would get tho railv/ay through in. a couple of years. Mr. (Thompson considered that the wholo responsibility for tho delay lay with the citizens of Auckland, who were always bickering over tho rival routes. The question, states The Post's report of that date, presently fizzled out. It was a way. the Main Trunk question had of doing in those days. MONEY ALL GONE. The Public Worka Statement for 1895 announced that tho _ Mokau section ul eleven miles nino chains up to "the Poro-o-tarao tunnel was now completed and platelaying was in hand. Tho line would probably bo opened through the tunnel in the following July (1896). At tho south oud works wero in progress between Mangaonoho station twenty - two and a-htilf miles from Marton and a distance of eleven miles further on. Tho plans of tho Makohine viaduct were being lithographed, and tenders for its construction would bo invited, as soon as that was finished. Practically the whole of tho original loan for tho construction of the railway was now absorbed. RAILWAY CONSTRUCTION DEAD. By tho 3rd October. 1896. when tho Minuter for Public Woiks (Mr. \V. I liall-Jonc«) delivered the iu\t annual Statement tho position v.as practically I unaltered. He said thtit the M<>kau soition of the North Island .Main Trunk iiiihvay would soon l»o open for tiafhe. Tho Minister, in view ot the slowness of progress in the construction of railways, thought it would have been better" if some of the railways in sparholysettlod districts had been constructed on a narrow gauge. Ho noted that Now I Zealand's expenditure on railways \\a* ! tho lowest per head of population ot any of the colonies. MEANDERING ALONG. The Statement for 1898 recoids proj grcss with tho Ohincmoa section south I of the Poro-o-tarao tunnel., and delay I in the construction of the Makohine [ viaduct* boy_oud .which tka lino, .was

ready almost to Mangaweka. The estimate of time for the completion of the | Makohine viaduct was two years. The following passage is important :— "In both Auckland and Taranaki the agitation for the deviation to Stratford | continues, and adds to the difficulty of I the situation." In 1899 the Minister . stated that the northern end of the line, so far as construction works wore concerned, had reached tho Ongarue Valley, a distance of fifty-four miles from Te Awamutu and 154 from Auckland, and the line to tho junction with Eabtroad at Kawakawa, should bo completed in two years. At tho southern end the grading extended to Taihape, twenty-two miles from Mangaonoho. Examination of the Ngaire, Waitara, and Awakino routes was being made. During the last y 4 ear three shifts worked in workshops at Mangaonoho for the preparation of tho steel work for the Makohine viaduct, and a start would shortly be made in the erection. THINGS BEGIN TO MOVE. IN 1900. In 1900 things began to move a little. The Minister estimated if the work were carried on vigorously at each end there would be nothing to prevent the rails being connected between Wellington and Auckland 'within four year* The construction works then were approaching Kawakawa (Ongarue) in the north, with 350 men employed. At the 1 southern end the grading extended to Paengaroa, 28 miles beyond Mungaonoho, and the work for the Turangarere section was to be taken in hand. .At the Makohine viaduct the work of preparing the iron and steel was now drawing towards completion. The longer of the two main piers was already erected. THE MINISTER OPTIMISTIC. By October 1901, according to the Public Works Statement, the line at tho northern end was open for regular traffic as far as the Poro-o-tarao tunnel and from that point to Ongarue rails were already laid. Construction Work ex> tended as far as the Wanganui river, fot a bridge over which a contract had been let. At the southern end of the line earthworks extended nearly to Turangarere, 39 miles from the terminus of the opened line at Mangaonoho, and 61 miles from Marton. Tho Makohine viaduct was nearing completion and the Minister expected to have engines running over it by 31st March, 1902. Out of a total length of 210 miles between Marton and Te Awamutu, 69£ miles were opened to traffic, and 138 miles in all either finished or in progress. The cost had been £871,667;' and £986,000 was the estimated cost of the work remaining to be done. "I informed Parliament last session," proceeded the Minister (Mr. Hall- Jones), "that, if ways and means were provided from time to time as required, this railway could be completed and opened for traffic within about four years after the end of laet session. I see no reason to suppose that that expectation is not still capable of realisation." CONSTRUCTION METHODS CONDEMNED. Severe criticism of the methods of making the line were levelled by critics on all v sides at this time. The Makohine viaduct was the chief object of at-

tack. In April, 1902, Mr. John Duthie, at the Wellington Chamber of Commerce annual meeting, stated that tenders had been called for the viaduct in Februaiy, 1896, the structure to be completed within two and a^half years. The lowest tender was under £48,000, but this was declined. The Government decided- to carry out the work on wages. The work had now taken over six years and the lowest estimate of cost was £110,000. The Gokteck viaduct in Bmniah, of greater height, with 2260 feet of -roadway in the place of 650 in the Makohine viaduct and more than twiue as much stsel, had been erected by an American company within the contract time of twenty months. Mr. D. J. Nathan, at the same meeting, said the way in which the work was conducted was disgraceful. ,If it went on as theretofore the line- might be completed in 30' or 300 years. MAKOHINE VIADUCT OPENED ' ' -AT LA'Sl\ ■ . Tho opening of the Makohine 'viaduct on 17th June, 1902, eleven years after Mr. Seddon 'talked of letting the work by contract, removed an obstacle to immediate progress At the same time; according to the. Public Works Stale ment in September 'of the -same -yi-a! 1 , tho lino at the 'north 'end ' was still open no further than'tlie Poro-o-tarao tunnel. The Poet, commenting on the situation, said: "The North' lsland Main Trunk railway is a colonial' wtfrk of the greatest importance, and one in which' all parts of New Zealand are interested. Its completion will mean the tapping of vast and valuable, forests and the opening up for settlement of immense areas of country wliich will yield an enormous revenue to the State and increase th" volume of 'our products to an extent which can scarcely be calculated. One would have imagined that a Government which -had the • true interests of ! the country ..at jieartajyoiild,, use /every effort llMM^ii witM#w#lW^onfitruc^ tion of such a line at a pace which, without unduly increasing tho cost, would ensure its being finished in a very few years v and enable the country to reap the benefit of through communication by rail between Wellington 'and Auckland. Instead there are indications that the. Government, t while professing .an anxiety -to satisfy the demands of, "the colony in' this respect, 'pursues a jiolicy not exactly of inaction 1 but of 'delay of' the most vexatious description, which constitutes as bitter a satire on their fair promises as could well bo imagined." ACCELERATING THE PACE. Progress from now went on with accelerated pace, though by no means quickly enough .to justify., the optimistic , forecasts of ,/tho • Minister > for • Public Works in 1900.; Thy Main Trunk railway was not completed by 1904, but it was opened before • the end of 1902 to* Mangaweka and by, 1904 to Taihape on. the south, and at tho" north' end' in 1903 the Ohgarue'', section 'ac far as. Taumaru-* nui. The.. bridge ,over v the. .Wanganui wae completed in 1903J and by that time earthworks had ■ been; constructed ■on to Piriaka, where the Jjne [enters the real, Waimarino. , At the south end^the adr vanco guard was at 'work on the'Mataroa tunnel and through the heavy country to Turangarere. Henceforward there 'was no cessation. It was ae- though in the Poro-o-tarao tunnel in the north and

the Makohine at tho south the walls and moat of the central citadel of the King Country had been captured after long beleaguennent. Onoe they wene surmounted the rest of the way wae fairly, clear for the operation of ,the new_ spirib that now pervaded the construction of the railway; THE MIDDLE GAP TACKLED. Yet therp was very much etill to do— work intriiisically more ' difficult from, au engineering point of view than what had gone before. From Taihape, at the south, to Taumavunui, on the , north— the terminal point* of the railway open for traffic — there remained a gap of ninety-one miles to bo filled, a largo part of which had not even been touched,, This section eimply bristled with, engineering problems. There were' eeveral big viaducts, including Makatote, th« largest on the wholo line, several tunnek, including tytataroa, one of tho longest , on the ; lino, , though, then practically finished, awkward > k hills to surmount with a reasonable grade, and a forest to bo -pierced for miles, along. It was the new spirit abroad — the spirit of "get busy" and "get.it done" — that conquered the wilderness. Men and mouey wero poured, into the work* at either erid, Tho 1 middle waa tackled ajsp from Raetihi and . the Wanganui River. More resource was 'shown in the •overcoming of obstaclee/ and the line at 'last, after a 'dozen years' torpor, did go ahead. PUBLIC' INTEREST IN THE .LINE. The eyes of tho public were now keenly concentrated on the building of the railway, and the' newspapers'of the last six yeare of the Main Trunk were filled with interesting accounts of the progress of , the works. The writer went through' the country at the end of 1902.' when the line 'had been: opened just as far, as Mangaweka. The W and. fi)}s^v»^hib*iiknwnte for miles beyond tlie Makohine were as grass-grown as an- ancient deserted road, and in one place the rich papa, of a skeltered cutting was used to grow vegetables for a eettler handy by. The state of tho line at this stage is well shown in a couple of photographs taken in the vicinity of Mangaweka. They ■ speak for themselves . as •to the .Public Works methods of the 'nineties, and the i disastrous blunder. of the delay of Makohine Viaduct. It wae a humiliating spectacle for the. twentieth century. It impressed itself deeply on the writer. One would like to torget it, but it should be remembered as one more convincing argument . for ' the separation of public works from politics. How different things .were .in , th« Easter of 1906, when the .writer went through the country again along <. the route of the railway.' The terminus of ' the Southern portion of, the line wan i now,, at -.Taihape,' and > the , rails were through' .the Mataroa > Tunnel »to ' the country Ibeyond. Hundreds- ,of ;m«i were -buoy, in.-, the. deep papa cuttings up to Turangarere, and tnb whole Forest , rlung again - with, the . clink , and , thud of v picks v and' the blasting ' of -rock,- and the rumbling of .trucks T away to the tip* There was something then-intensely-ex-hilarating in, tho ecene: these men wero making a railway for the State, not tinkering and .trifling as they had done for ten years before. .The formation,

•ween the terminals of parts open for traffic on the Central route was then 140| miles, and the total distance between Wellington and Auckland wa6 426£ miles. The total cost of the Taranaki route wa6 estimated at £865;997, and of the Central route at £1,211,665. EARLY SURVEYORS. To return to tho beginning — in October, 18S4, detailed surveys were commenced at Te Awamutu by Messrs. R. W. Holmes, Jas. Blackett, and C. W. Hurslkouse, and later carried further by Mr. Holmes to Mokau. At tho Maiton «?nd Mr. D. Ross surveyed the line as far as Taihape. From this point Mr. Holmes again took charge, and completed the survey, with a little assistance from Mr. J. D. Louch, to its junction with hisprevious work at the north end. At the same time tho gieat pioneer work of, Mr. Johr Ruchfort, one of the best of the early surveyors, should not be forgotten. When thfc King Country was a trackless wilderness, practically untrodden by the white man, Rochfort opened up a rough track from Marton to Te Awamutu. He made camps here and there along the route, and one or two were over twenty years afterwards used by the engineers hurrying the line to completion. Rochfort's track has generally been followed by the railway, and elsewhere has been opened up for cart roads. TURNING THE FIRST SOD. To the advance of the line from Te Awamntu at the northern end the Maoris had for years offered strong opposition, but at length this was 'overcome, and on ISth April, 1885, the first sod of tho real Main Trunk line was turned. It wae a picturesque ceremony. The Premier of the colony (Sir Robef> Stout) was present, together with a re presentative party of officials, settlers, and citizens from Auckland, The Maoris were represented by the famous chiefs Wahanui and Rewi Maniapoto, the hero of the Orakau stockade, where, twenty years earlier, he had, with a mere handful of Natives, held at bay 600 British •oldiers for three days, and, when called on to surrender at the end, jumped on the parapet and defied his enemies with the immortal worde that fighting would go on — "Ake. ake. ake" — for ever and ever and ever. AN HISTORIC CEREMONY. In all about 1500 people were present, including many Maoris. A brass band enlivened the proceedings at intervals. The spot selected for the ceremony

expenditure on public works. Tho idea of carrying the Main Trunk lin« to completion in. a few years seems to have been utterly abandoned at tins stage as a chimera of tho Vogel epoch. It becamo evident, too, that the early estimates of cost would be considerably exceeded and, perhaps, in tho face ot such discouraging circumstances, it is not surprising that tho work of construction received a decided check. For some time progress ceased. Tho position then — in 1889 — was that the line had been completed to the Mokau Valley, Lhirty-fonr miles south of Te Awamutu, and the contract on the Poro-o-tarao tunnel was being slowly carried out at a distance ten miles further south. At the other end the terminus was at Raugatira, with a contract in progress for the formation of the line four miles further on to Mangaonoho. STATE OF THINGS IN 1890. The Public Works Statement for 1890 notes that the annual expenditure on public works has decreased from £1,409,000 in 1883 to £410,700. The cash balance on the North Island Main Trunk Railway Fund was £386,985, against which there was a sum of £97,744 set aside for " the purchase of Native lands. For the extension of the railway £239.491 was left. "It is proposed, ' said the Minister (Mr. Fergus), "this year to proceed with the section of the railway between Rangatira and Makohine, five and three-quarter miles. There is a considerable extent of good land and a valuable totara forest round Makohino; consequently, it would, under any circumstances, be desirable to continue the railway to this point. It is also intended to run fresh lines on gradients of 1 in 50 instead of 1 in 70, to see whether the heavy work cannot be materially reduced. Under the proposals now submitted it is intended to carry out a complete system of roads in connection with the North Island Main Trunk railway. Looking to the long time that must elapse before through communication can be established by railway from Rangatira. to Mokau (the present termini of the railway), it is deemed advisable to provide roads, which, though not following the railway line, will afford a means of direct travel between Wellington and Auckland." How different does this read from tho confident assurances of Sir Julius Vogel seven years before. Since the turning of the first sod at Te Awamutu in 1885 over fifty miles of railway had been con-.

He had no hesitation in saying that it would ere long be recognised as the proper system under which the public works of New Zealand should be constructed. QUARRELLING OVER THE ROUTES. This was in 1891, so it has taken, instead of nine years, nearly twice as long. The quarrel between Auckland and Wellington over the routes' had much to do with the delay in proceeding with the work. Members representing the two cities in Parliament disputed bo vehemently that Mr. Fish, of Dunedin, a great Parliamentary wit of those days, suggested facetiously that to meet the difficulty the £200,000 left out of the North Island Main Trunk railway loan should be devoted to the completion of the Otago Central line, and in the meantime the northern members could be considering the bebt route for their railway. The Post, in a comment next day (27th July, 1892), pointed out that a railway via Taranaki would never meet the requirements of a through trunk line. It was perfectly mad for Auckland and Wellington to struggle over this question, and postpone the question of completion till Doomsday. Both lines should be made as soon ac circumstances permitted. That was the patriotic and statesmanlike course to pursue. LIGHT ON THE SITUATION. | The year 1893 was almost eventless so far as the Main Trunk was concerned. In the tanglo and wrangle of politics, as they then were, it was ignored almost absolutely for ostensibly more important things, such a 6 the South Island and West Coast schemes. In October, 1894. however, some littlo light was thrown on the situation of the line by a debate in Parliament, which drew forth an amazing statement from the Premier (Mr. Seddon). In answer to a question by Mr. La-wry, the Premier stated that only £100,000 wae left of the original loan, and more than -half of this would bo required for the work already in view. There was no need, he continued, to discuss the question of route. More than half the money now available would be taken for the Makohine viaduct, and the tunnel at Mokau (Poro-o-tarao) would require more than the other half, so they need not trouble about the completion of the route. To make railways before settlement could possibly take place was a mistake, particularly when there were settlements without roads. Making a good road from the Mokau tunnel to the Stratford-road would be of more importance to Auckla-ud than the comple-