EAST COAST RAILWAY.

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume II, Issue 261, 8 October 1912, Page 5

EAST COAST RAILWAY.

QUESTION OF ROUTE. At the request of a petition from residents of Hastings the Mayor has called a public meeting for Monday next to consider the question of Railway Extension and Harbour Construction in Hawke’s Bay. The following suggested resolutions will be put before the meeting: (1) That while expressing hearty approval of the Government’s action in stopping the ’‘political jobbery” called ‘‘construction of the East Coast Railway from the Napier end,” this meeting desires to gravely warn the Government that there is urgent need for the construction of the line in such a manner and in such direction that it may have the solid support and backing, not only of those directly interested in Hie distribution of wages or the increased value of their land, but of the whole of the people’s representatives in Parliament without which general support no conspicuous progress can be made. (2) And this meeting is of the opinion that a route could be found from Napier which avoiding the cost (at least £40,000) and delay (three .years) of constructing the long embankment and bridge to the AVest Shore might serve to embody the Pukititiri tram line proposal, and while not increasing the distance to Gisborne from Napier would reduce the distance between Gisborne and Wellington. Constituting not only the first section of a railway to link up Napier with Auckland via Gisborne, but also the, first section of a system connecting Napier with Auckland via Taupo and Rotorua, and Napier with Kawhia on the AVest Coast via Taupo and To Kuiti, as recently suggested by the Te Kuiti Chamber of Commerce. In the opinion of this meeting such a line would pay good dividends from the very commencement. for not only would it develop and s<>rve the same country as the Petanc route which the advocates of that route say is so wonderfid. but it would, in addition, open up the wide extent of ploughable lam! on both sides of Hie Tutaekuri river where the Government lias recently purchased 25.<M)0 acres, tap the timber resources of both Ptiki titiri and Te Pointe and enable dairy ing to be carried ot> in those districts when' there is a good summer rainfall and. passing along the toot of the Mangahararua Range, it would serve 50.1 >OO acres of State lands on both sides of that range which the present route misses. Further, jt j would avoid the difficult country at: the head of the Esk river which the' present route has to negotiate and I it would pass near enough to \\ at j kaie to pick up any traffic oi lalne! to the present Petane route. (.'}) And this meeting is of the "pin-1 ion that the Inner Harbour pioposal: i; of such value that the Gov.-t mnent j contribution tow arris the cost of the, embankment is unnecessary, seeing j that the land reclaimed in course of) that harbour construction would pat j the whole co<t of construction. [