The Bay of Plenty.

Horowhenua Chronicle, 5 February 1918, Page 3

The Bay of Plenty.

1 ! ljy "i'eregL'iiie." i it was my goou lortune to visit ! this part o± jNbav Zuniand recently j anil to note the many evidences of ' growth winch lias followed the i L>reaiiiiig-up ol large estates for closer settlement. juoiu Mount Mongonui at Tuuranga s harbour entrance, to WhaKatane, sheltered beiimd its sand-bar,, many ' changes have taken place. What ! were sheep, cattle and wild horse pastures are now converted into diary i'arms with small sheep and cattle holdings. Small townships are springing up and some ox them promise to become fairly populous as the country lands fait into the liands of the pakeha and the rich hat lands are put under intense cultivation. At present tlie holdings are on the large size, much of it being held for specultive purposes. The railway from the Mount to Malata is still in the hands of the Public Works Department, but it is expected they will hand it over about March of this year. Owing to the war, materials for completing the bridge across tlie harbour at Ta.uranga are not obtainable. The people are living in hope, "but hope "deferred maketli the heart sick." Their hopes have been deferred so long that they take their present condition as a matter of course. The people take matters easy and time seems not to signify very much. Te Puke is a progressive town and is surrounded by a splendid agricultural area. The settlement here is much older than further eastward; consequently one .finds good Homesteads and well-estab-lished dairy farms, with cosv orchards and home gardens. They luive also large stretches of flax between tlieni and the sea. I rom there on to Paengaroa, about 10 miles, tlie country is settled and fast, coming into pasture. Hie past few years has transformed this part from a big cattle holding into a dairying community. Here one finds branches of two Banks, a schoolhouse, store, post office, blacksmith's shop and accommodation house. This is the changing place for coaches, one going east to Maltata, and the other returning to ltotorua, while the traveller wishing to go to Te Puke or Tauranga must hurry to catch the" train a mile and a. quarter distant and leaving in fifteen minutes. Visions of refreshments vanish and on enquiry at the station one is ■ informed he can get refreshment at Te Puke, 12 miles distant; on arrival at Te Puke one finds the train only waits five minutes, and tlie nearest hotel is a ouarter of a mile away. _, ? individual who is improvident enough to start off without any povender is doomed to disappointment, and 9' peculiar slackness under the waistband, as there is no chance of refreshment until nrrival at Taurang'a, about 4 p.m. Remembering the traveller had breakfasted at 0.15 a.m. at Rotorua and has travelled over hill and dale for six hours with only i cup of tea by the wayside, liis Eeelings are better imagined than described. There are great anticipations among the people of both Te Puke and Taurangn regarding a. find of gold between these two places. The find is claimed to be equal to anything at Wailii, ami some say is better. Should this turn out true, it will mean a large l increase of population and increased industries as well. But the permanant improvement and advancement of the Bay of Plenty rests not on gold discoveries so; much as in the occupation and development of tlie rich _ flats and pumice bills. Here lies untold wealth for men wlio have capital. enterprise, determination, and a willingness to work. It is wonderful to see what has been accomplished in tlie Ota.marakau district during the past four years. Land" lias been. fenced, fern and manuka cut out, aiul in the place thereof maize, turnips, and oats cultivated, liomesiteads erected, with flourishing vegetable gardens in evidence, fruit trees grow luxuriantly, especially peaches, lemons .and oranges, while figs and passion fruit thrive like weeds. But the great agricultural development will be in the AVhakatane direction, which lies in the great Ra.ngitaiki swamp comprising 80,0UU acres, which has been drained by the Government and is now coming into profit. I was informed that on that land a man could do well oil a farni of 10U to 2UO acres; it is well watered and the climate is ideal. A large freezing works has been erected capable of putting through a thousand head of sheep and a hundred head of cattle daily under present conditions, which output can be greatly increased when labour conditions become easier, Ike piesent intention is to lighter the meat on to ocean-going steamers, as the bar at the entrance is somewhat treacherous. The farmers witl:

whom I conversed had groat: failli in tlie future of the freezing works, the success of which means added prosperity to tlie disti'ict, providing as it does a market for their surplus sheep and cattle. With the completion of the rail from Opotiki to Matata and from Rotorua to the Coast will disappear the isolation of the present, and these lands will then receive the attention they deserve and will become a great factor in future before tlie Ray of Plenty, There is withoiit doubt a great •piißjKajj jo A'H.i.ids'oul <>i[i and its output of tlie staple products of this country will show its name to be no misnomer.