CENTRAL OTAGO'S NEED

Evening Star, Issue 17925, 22 March 1922, Page 7

CENTRAL OTAGO'S NEED

IRRIGATION. , MANUHERIKIA UNDERTAKING COMPLETED. [From Oor Ctvns Correspondent.] In formally turning on the water yesterday in the Manuherikia irrigation race the Minister of Public Works performed a ceremony of great importance to Alexandra and tho immediate district. It is generally considered to be tho dawning of a new era of prosperity for Central Otago. Irrigation —the need of water to make the land fruitful and: productive — is a tremendous undertaking, and the trouble has been the excessive cost. Provision for eome 11,000 acres has to bo made, involving in interest alone £II,OOO per annum.

Cr Ritchie (chairman of the Vincent County Council), who presided at the official function to mark the turning on of the water in connection with the Manuherikia scheme, remarked that some criticism had been levelled against this scheme, hut if the critics had been present that day to witness the fine solid job which had been made of the race they would be silenced for ever. He congratulated tho Minister and his officers — Messrs Furkert, Campbell, and Markson the completion of tho scheme. Mr Coates should -bo proud of his officers, and he was sure that the people of that district realised that they wore doing tho best in the interests of the province and the Dominion as a whole. Mr Horn, member for tho district, felt sure that this scheme would do for the districts served what the Manorbum scheme had done for Ida Valley. The effect of such schemes was that where it formerly took four acres to feed a sheep they could now have eight sheep to an acre. By that means they wore going to produce not only for the whole of the province, but for oilier parts of the Dominion as well. Throughout the whole district there was a general desire for the completion of the irrigation schemes at present under construction, and for the starting of others, so that the whole placemight have water as soon as possible. (Applause.) Mr Furkert said he was a very proud man that day. because this work had been one of the dreams or his life, and now' ho saw it completed. He had long ago recognised that water was tho only hope for Central Otago, and he had taken a trip abroad at his own expense and made a study of the whole subject. The Minister firstly apologised for the absence of Sir William Fraser, who had really set the schema on foot, because he had made the first authorisation for the work. In the next place he paid a tnbut to those men in the district who had forwarded tho interests of the scheme in season and out of season, and who now had the satisfaction of seeing it brought to a satisfactory conclusion. In 1920-21 the sum of £40,000 had been voted on the Public Works Estimates for Central Otago irrigation, but instead of sticking to the £40,000 they had spent £55,000. This year they had £85,000 provided for, but up to February 28 no less than £75,000. had been spent,- and he was afraid, that the Estimates were again going to be exceeded. This scheme had cost £163,000 to date, and the total cost would be over £IBO,OOO. There was a quarter of a mile of tunnel, two and a-half miles of concrete race, nineteen mite of race in earth and flnmee, and there were fourteen miles cf subsidiary races. The capacity at the start was 100 cubic feet per second, which was reduced as it went along, and it would irrigate 11,000 acres of land. The rates charged for water would be Is per acre for the first year, 2s for the second, 4s for the third, 8e for tho fourth, and then at the end of the fifth year the price would have to be 16s. Mr Coates went on to say that his policy in respect to the irrigation scheme was that as soon as it was assured that a proposed scheme would pay it was gone on with ana completed, and then the next scheme was taken up. So far as this scheme was concerned, there was no doubt that they would get interest and sinking fund, and that its value would increase as time went on. Wo wanted the population of New Zealand doubled, and for that reason these schemes wore not a local matter, but were of supreme importance to the prosperity of the Dominion as a whole. The work of irrigation in Central Otago would bs steadily gone on with, and all the productive areas would one day, he hoped, have a supply of water that would enormously increase the prosperity of tho whole district. (Applause and cheers.) Tho Minister then turned on the water amid further cheers. The Minister of Works received a couple of deputations at Omakau yesterday on the subject of irigation. Mosers John Wilson (Lauder) and William Alexander, on behalf of 3CO settlers, representing 47,000 acres, asked the Minister to put in hand tho Upper Manuherikia and Dunstan Creel; scheme; while another body, through Cr Ritchie, asked tho Minister to seriously consider the construction of a dam in' Thompson's Gorge, which he understood would increase the flow of water available under the small scheme (which the council had recently purchased)_ from ten heads to twenty-five. Tho Minister said the whole question was one of finance, and he would have the scheme investigated to see whether the amount of water to be conserved would warrant the expenditure. Mr Weaver next placed before the Minister the question of bringing into use eighteen heads of water from the Last Chance race, which was already partly constructed, as it had been used formerly for mining purposes. This water, he pointed out, would serve Fruitlands (1,200 acres), and also a block of 7,0C0 acres of Crown land, which had been set aside for settlement purposes. For the past eleven years tho water had been running to waste, but it could be brought in at a small cost for the construction of races. Mr Horn, M.P., said it was a pity that a valuable water right like this should bo going to waste. Tho Minister promised to inspect tho place on the following day, and to later obtain a report from his departmental officers. In the evening the Minister was entertained at a social, tho Mayor of Alexandra (Mr Black) presiding. At 8.50 this morning ho left for Roxburgh.