Omahu District.

Hastings Standard, Issue 117, 10 September 1896, Page 3

Omahu District.

GEE AT DAMAGE BY BAIN

[FHOM (); B O*VS CORRESPONDENT.'

At last a decided change in the weather for t!;«- hitter ! •' If is never too late to mend " is an old savin/, bat I really think if the inclemency of the weather had continued it could not have done much more damage than it has already done in this district, where the signs are so plainly to Let us take a bird's eye view of some of the damages and losses that have befallen us of the Omaha District, and I am feel certain I will not be far -wrong when I say it will take ■ years of labor to get some of the places damaged and the losses sustained into the same .state as they were before the last rains. It is only natural for everyone to think hi.s own loss the heaviest, but I expect it would take your clever and talented " hand," " head." and " face-reader." Professor Hoffman, all his time to find out who is the heaviest loser out here. Heavy land slips have taken place on. ail the runs, covering acre upon acre of valuable f>-. d, as well destroying the land and making a death trap lor any unlucky animal that may venture on to it. To-day I came across in my rat ibles a valuable looking horse, stone dead, only part of hi; body to be seen sticking hard and fa-t in one of the slips. I expect his owner will have many a day's hunting after him. Bogged sheep are to be met with in every direction. The garden and orchard of Mr Broughtou, Ngapuke, th.it was one of the finest and best, in the district, is now a thing of thf past, being almost totally covered by a large slip. Y\ hat was not destroyed by the slip was finished by the volume of water that raged down through the gully on the upper side of the garden. A few of the residents of Napier and Hastings will miss their tomatoes and quinces this season from Ngapuke. The country round about is perfectly strewn with dead lambs, and a great many of the older sheep have passed out through the inclemency of the last few days. The shepherds are having a busy time of it at present skinning dead sheep. It is a thousand pities sheep owners should meet with such losses, and what with the low prices for wool and mutton they will not be able or willing to make any improvements, and that means employing no labor—a dark look out for the poor swagger. The roads have been in a bad state lately, but the Chairman of the County Council takes some stopping. He has made things hum the last few days. Our respected and energetic road overseer, Mr Tracey, the well-known " Italian " from Tipperary. had a large long-handled shovel brigade on the Omahu-Okawa road last Sunday to open inland communication. He does not give the brigade much time to straighten their backs when he is about, and he is never very far away from the scene of action. Last Sunday it was an impossibility for a goat to go up to Tunanui and keep on the main road. As I now write (Tuesday night) you can easily drive a six-horse coach all the way without an impediment. The willow plantation al the Hast ings end of the Omahu bridge has stood the brunt of the recent flood waters This goes far to prove the perfectnesss of the workmanship of Mr Brady. It is an authenticated fact that the willows saved the corner of the hill to which the bridge is attached, as before the willows were placed in position that part of the hill was gradually washing away. Something must be done or some plan devised to keep the rivers of Hawke's Bay in some proper channel before it is too late, or we will have the half, if not more, of this province a vast shingle river-bed. To prove the assertion one has only to look at the bed of the Ngaruroro river above the Omahu bridge, and I feel assured that the greatest sceptic will be convinced. I am sorry to think that mostly all the grain-crop that has been sown will have to be re-sown, the seed having rotted in the ground owing to the amount of surface-water lying about. It will involve a great loss to most of the owners of the land as they have only the seed that was used. What they will do now I have not the least "idea. It is not only the loss of the seed, but also the loss of time, as it is now getting late for sowing. I had a look at your late fellow townsman, Mr Pepper,-the other day. He ho.;; thrown in his interests with us out here, and is going in for farming on a large scale. He thinks a lot of his new home. We want a few more of his stamp out this way, and then we might be able to develop the country a little more. The sports, social, and smoke conceit that were going to be held by the Messrs BosselTs employees had to be postponed last Saturday owing to the very bad weather. They will eventuate next Saturday, the 12th inst., at Fakeamomo. near Okawa, and should the day be fipe there should be a large gathering as the place is very " get-at-able," and a nice drive from Napier and Hastings. I stand corrected, Mr Editor, for naming the city of the "Breakwater" before that of the "Plains." Anyway let us hope, in exclusion, that the "Breakwater" may stand, and that the day may be propitious. I fed quite assured that the city of the "Big Drain" is not going to stand but is going to go ahead and flourish.