VISIT OF MR. COATES

Gisborne Times, Volume LIV, Issue 6078, 13 May 1921, Page 5

VISIT OF MR. COATES

AN OUTING IN THE RAIN. , NGATAPA RAILWAY WORKS INSPECTED. INTERESTING TOUR OP HANG 1ROA VALLEY. f -\ s “ i ° ht bo expected, the weather tvesterday was not Weal for the visit (of the Munster of Public Works, the Hon J. G. Coates, io Hangaroa and Kgatapa. The adversity 0 f the elemejits was not, however,- entirely without a good effect as it served to prove to the members of the party that the Munster was, indeed, a practical man and also to prove to the Minister that roads are badly affected by a few showers of ram and that the many requests from local bodies were not un warranted. P arfc y> which consisted of the Mmister and Messrs K. S. 'Williams, ! M.P., Chas.. Matthews, chairman of ! the Cook County Council, H. Bowen i and J- Barn s-G rah am, members of the Cook County Council, J. J. Keane and C. Perry, engineer and clerk to the County Council, C. E. Armstrong District Engineer, D. Whyte, East Coast Railway and Development League, and T. Corson, president of the Chamber of Commerce, left shortly after 8 o'clock for Ngatapa, it having been arranged that this place should be visited first, as the weather would not permit of the trip, as previously arranged, being carried out in its entirety.

Shortly after starting, heavy ram commenced to fall and continued until Ngatapa was reached. The party proceeded to Mr. Kells’ property—the old Ngatapa homestead—arriving at 10.45 a.m. From here an inspection was made of the railway construction works, a largo cutting being made at this point. This cutting, which is a particularly large one, is being speedily pushed ahead and will, it is expected, be completed, in about six weeks. From here the Minister was shown the Totangi road on which were a number of settlers, and which, it was stated, would appear on the estimates for next year.

The party then returned to Ngatapa station, where the Public Works train was waiting, and it was conveyed as far as the railhead and back to the waiting cars. The Minister evinced a keen interest in the work and particularly to that of the steam navvy. This machine was not working yesterday, as certain repairs to the,boilers have been necessitated. Mr. Armstrong stated that this machine had been doing excellent work and they were not hampered, as in other districts, by a shortage of trucks. The machine, he said, moved as much as 295 yards of earth each day. The maximum amount it was capable of moving was 300. and the foreman was determined that before long he would move that amount. The Minister expressed his pleasure at the high degree of efficiency which had been reached, and remarked that the » steam navvies had proved a great success. ' Leaving Ngatapa, the party proceeded over the Wharekopae hill and down the valley to where the summit tunnel will enter the hill. This tunnel, it was stated, would be the largest on the Gishome-Napier line, being one and a-quarter miles long. A considerable amount of formation work has been done between Ngatapa and the tunnel, but, before this work can be j commenced, it will be necessary to j construct three small tunnels in be- ! tween. ■

The party then proceeded along the Patutahi Valley and climbed the Gentle Annie Hi 11.." The trip so far had been wet, but not really bad, but over the hill itself there was inches of mud and the climb was consequently very slow. The rain, at this time, had . eased off somewhat and a good view ■ of the scenery in the valley was obtained. The long winding road up the hill was traversed at a slow speed, . the many turns and steady grade making fast travelling impossible. The ' Waerenga-a-hika Hotel w'as reached at . about 12.30, and here the travellers j partook of a very welcome luncheon, I the journye.' subsequently, being re-i surned to' Hangaroa, the terminus being Mr J. Harris’ homestead. _ j This was, perhaps, the most' inter- J esting point of the whole trip, the j party climbing up a hill about 1700 or j 1800 feet above sen level. An expan- j eive view of the district was obtain- ! cd from this point. On one side lay j the old Parakanapa Road and far be- j vond it the Whakapunaki ranges, j which were covered with snow. On , the other side was the Te Aroha Val- j ley leading down to the Hangaroa ; Valley and township, some seven miles j distall.t In the background were the j ranges near TVaikaremoana, but owing j to the mist, these were only just die- j eernible. A noticeable feature of the j view from this point was that, al- • though thousands upon thousands of j acres of fine hilly country was visible? < only one homestead was in sight. _ } Various points of interest were mr >, dicated to the Minister. It was stated ] that the railway would pass down the < valleys below them and the exit- of the ; summit tunnel was shown. The am- J ount of country which would be opened up by the advent of the railway was j apparent, and it was stated, that a. large block of the Harris Estate, on , the opposite side of the valley, v-as j being held' for soldier settlement. The , railway wonld travel down the valleys j indicated past Hangaroa to ” ai ?’ oa * s The railway from this .point to Wairoa j would, it was stated, travel over easy | country and when the tunnel was com- ; pleted, the rest of the construction j work would be easy. The advantages . of the Hangaroa road in preference to i Tiniroto for through traffic to Wairoa and Napier were impressed upon the i Minister. The highest point m this ; road, it was stated, was 1500 or 1600 , feet, compared with 2000 feet reached . on the present'route. The Hangaroa road was also much shorter and the grades on the hills much easier.' This road would also provide access to Waikaremoana and would carry the wiling in connection with the hydro-elec-tric scheme. On the return Journey the party went sonic distance down the Te Ar road and stopped at the Waerenga- - Kuri Hotel for afternoon tea. The Journey back to town was more pleasant than the outward trip, the weather having temporarily cleared and the sun shining. The aspect of the country was naturally much improved ami the, trip along the Waerenga-a-kuri „ <n -r- P to the top of the lull afforded a splendid view. From the top of the hill and at intervals down Gentle -Vnnie hill, a fine panoramic view of Gisborne and the Bay was obtained, and the Flats in the surrounding district were also seen to advantage The nartv arrived in town shortly befoie G o’clock, after a very full day, during which a great deal of country was

evinced the keenest min every matter to which hs tention was called and expressed his surprise and appreciation of the ras area of good land adjacent to Gmborne and said he could readily apprecia e the amount of country which would be opened np if served by the raikay. Notwithstanding hcavj eondition of the roads Messrs Wilkinsons care negotiated the tour without difficulty and with every comfort ™ blow-outs occurred to one of the c but, on the first occasion, a sP a *® wheel was affixed while the pwrfy 7* on the railway and no delay resulted. Anticipating the possibility of moxe tyre trouble, Mr. Wilkinson telephoned to town for another spare wheel to be brought out to the party en route and the second blow-out occurred just before this was picked up, so that, with the exception of the feu minutes taken to change wheels the ’ ear proceeded without loss of time.