HAWKE'S BAY-GISBORNE RAILWAY.

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume II, Issue 48, 9 February 1912, Page 3

HAWKE'S BAY-GISBORNE RAILWAY.

WORK AT THE GISBORNE END. “FIRST SOD" CEREMONY TO-MORROW. THE SELECTED ROUTE. The intimation contained in a telegram from Sir James Carroll in our last issue, says the “Poverty Bay Herald." announcing that a start aas to be made with the construction of tile Gisborne Napier railway from the Gisborne end. was received with general satisfaction throughout the entire district, .and it is to be hoped now the matter has been settled there will be no further delay ia tb.e expenditure of the £15.00(1 voted by Parliament last session foi the work. HANGAROA v. MANGAPOIKE. The adoption of the Ilangaroa route, in preterenee to the Mangapoike line, was not a matter of much surprise, as it had previously been stated in these columns tiiat this decision was a foregone conclusion.

I'iom an engineering point of view the Mangapoike lino is quite practicable, but the commercial advantages of the Ilangaroa route emild not be overlooked. The ?dangapoike line, on the eno Land, it substantially shorter than the rival ro'.it'“. but it must be a' knowh d.eei taat after entering the big tunnel at the head of the Arai Valhy, and mi til emerg.ng through the gorge on t< the flats at Frasertown. about 2 miles further south, that line would S'’rvo the confuted valley of the Man gapo.ke and practically nothing else. The Hangaroa route, on the othci hand, will not only derive consider able traffic from the Ngntapa. Wharekopae. and Tahora districts but it will serve the Hangaroa Valley and the extensive Ruakituri Vai ley. giving access to Waikaremoana From a construction point of viev the Hangaroa line will be about, ter miles longer, but the constructior work will be of a lighter character The watershed over which the lin: will pass from the Patutahi Valley to tb.e Hangaroa Valley is a particularly easy one. and it has been found that the tunnelling of a projecting hill near Mr. St. Ledger’s, at Tini roto, will take the line out of some broken country from thence to Tc Reinga. The line .adopted will therefore pass through the Patntahi township close to the Ngatapa settlement through the Hangaroa township. Il is also interesting to record that the suggested deviation through Tinirotc township was found impracticable and that the line will follow down the Hangaroa. passing about four mile: from the township, the nearest point to which will be about the suspension bridge on the Bushy Knoll road. THE JUNCTION QUESTION. The point at which the line should junction with the Gisborne-Motu sec tion has also been the subject of some rivalry. Waikohu representa tires have sought to put forward the claims of a possible junction at Wai kohn (M’illow Crossing), contending that that would give a straighte; line from a main trunk point of view Gisborne interests, on the othei hand, have demanded a junction nearer town. The question was ap parentiy decided upon the ruling principle that such railways shoulc converge to the shipping port, this axiom having been laid down in fix ing the starting point at tb.e Napiei end. It therefore became a questioi of selecting the best line across tc the railway nearer town, and the general feeling was that it would run out near the Makaraka station.

The subject was exhaustively gone into by the Engineer-in Chief, Mr. R. W. Holmes, and the locality was carefully inspected with the local engineers. From what can be gathered. the matter resolved itself int< a question between Makaraka and King's road, anil the latter point has been decided upon. It is at King’s road, therefore, whore the ceremony r>t turning the first sod by his Ex cellencv the Governor will take place. WHERE THE LINE WILL GO. King's road is situated at a point about six miles from the Gisborns railwav station, or about two miles further along the line than Maka raka. The railway at this point, it will be noted, is about a. quarter of a mile to the eastward of the main Waerer,ga-a-hika road, where it i: intersected by King's road that conn’c r " v. ii.li tho Ormoml-Whal aupoko road, passing Ly tho Maka-uri school, lx mg s road forms the station for a large’ section of the Makauri fiats, and takes its name, no doubt, from the late -Mr. William King, whose resilience ’stood at the mam road jnni’t ion.

Then comes the question as to how the Gisborne-Napier line is to junction at this j oint. From an examination of tiie locality, it appears that th? railway, after emerging through the Hangaroa. v-ib como down the Mangatoitoi Valley until the la! ter junctions somewhere near the Ngntapa boarding-house. Then the ]>ne follows down th-’ M aikakariki stream, almost parallel to too Xgata-pa-Patutahi Vttllex road. The line will here pass along the river flat, the country being easy going. After passing the Patntahi quarry, the line will turn into the long straight towards the Patntahi township. The

railway will no doubt run along par- ' allel to this road, past Robb's corner, and near the foot of the conical hill bv ti e Catholic Church will strike through tho southern eorner of the Patntahi township. A glam e at the man shows that if a straight line were drawn down tiris Patntahi Valley road from the corner mentioned across the river and through the Pouparae settlement on the Makauri i* would strike the present railwav line exactly at King " r<>a<). and it is m> doubt that fact which was ■ <-f tl o detormiiiimu f.n ior" in s<’1 1--. •_ ;i>q Kii\"’~ t -ad a- tie j;nr.ti<>n.

Mr. Thorpe's parry is now pegging our. the now line to King’s road, and the necessary preliminaries to issuing tire proclamation should occupy about a month, when an actual start can be expected to be made with construction.