A NEW ZEALANDER ABROAD.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LXV, Issue LXV, 23 December 1913, Page 4

A NEW ZEALANDER ABROAD.

Mr 1< urkert, Inspecting" Engineer for • the Public W^k 8 Department, i»rH<y h&gr just returned from iahl extehclea tour abroad, m the course of an interview spoke of the International Roads Congress which'be attended. Bfe^is not■M the. !!8 ht of all he saw and heard: ' cUssatisiied with £heprogress made in. Mew Zealand. : The "general consensus of opimpn. completely.supported the.style of wood pavement we have here in Wellington, •rdp not know that there was antone there who appeared to know more a*bout wood-paving than was known bv-the. man who put, it down in Wellington. I do not know any wood payemeiit ter than that in Lambton ouiy:" Various shades of opinion on this little point and that little" point had to beconsidered, but he. dicf not thii*k they adduced anypoint rthat^Was 3not considered SfewZ^^ started on the work of making; a^first^eMss- road. This might bevsaid to apply to they asphait laid -down on Queen, street, Auckland. ■ -The subject of motor traction visarousing a good deal of consideration in the jpld. Country. 'The Imperial Motor Transport Congress?-was ptac- ; tically mn by commercial men. they were very, very anxious to know! all ar°K«- tbe Monies. The old attitude .or . We are making this kind of car. and you can take it or ileavent/? %as gone, and the commercial men interested m (the manufacture and sale bIT motors Were anxious to do all they could to meet the requirements conditions of the' overseas dominrons. Regarding the possibilities for mdtor A traction in. New Zealand, Mr Furkert^ stated that, motors were used to a large extent in Cahadaron far worse roads than existed in country districts in INew Zealand. Of course, the mud roads ! n aranaki wo«ld not carry mechanical 1 traffic. The practice of tar-spraymg: roads, was extending everywhere, and m this respe<^ Mr F. Basham, rfthe engineer for EJtham County^; Taran|ki, had shown what could be done. Round, about Eltham the land was tremehdpusly valuable, and. the tar-sprayed roads; had amply repaid the small outlay^ T ; aiTspraying \Wonld be equally efficacious wherever used. Country roads: in America were not any better than country roads in Newr Zealand, flndiMr lurkert believed that; there VwaV a bigger proportion of unmetalfed, and even unformed, roads than existed in; I\ew Zealand. This applied to thY Eastern States as well as the VVestern. -■ .■ ■ .- ■ ■ ■ V . ;- X \ ■. ■ ; I^ight railways, and all Mat pertains, to them, were extensively^ studied bjr. the inspector-engineer 'during his Sitay. in. Europe. He had to make" a report to the Ministeirsin New Zealand; on the subject, so was not prepared to say much as .to how, his opinions were likely to affect this country. jThe^; light railway problem had been, grappled with by Belgium as by np/oiher country, and he spent a-good ideal of time in the country, and wabble io interview all the prominent men, farmers, and engineers there on Ither subject. He was thus afforded att opportunity of looking at v it from ■ all sides. There was no doubt the lijght.: ,^ railways were a tremendous success, and Belgium had the most complete' system of railways of any country in Europe. The country was about the Size of Otago, and was simply honeycombed with different;-gauge railways. , Notwitnstandmg this^rf hundreds (i of miles of further linetf were being ilaid" down \every 'year.1 •'/;';.■ ■",- -J':,[■ '■ "- >: ■.'■ Althoiigli pot required to report oh the matter, iMr Furkert paid some attention to the scientilfjp^ajfforeßtatiott that v^a-s. being taken %p by all Eiii-p-Oean countries! Great progress had been made, especially, in Norway;' :The . ■ great Forest qf Ardennes" was;a,prac-. tical illustration pfi.What'/couldrvbe' donerin': timber preservtition.' ,'•■ i?There" ,weremore sawmills there .than were found round ,'%Ke Tauntariiriui district*, yet more trees werft being planted; than, were cut^ Guts./w^reV'b^iug:in[»de Af,roin';.' different points ,jeiit^yr^eir, aqd !forr . every tree taken^ anpithfer^^^jwj|sj:|>lant^d,f': so that the/./oir^B'f^Jwa^c', being;i majn^ . tamed ■a » a- great;, "iseserve. • ' v • ■■■"- •■'•:---:;f^» ■•..A:.:.---;■■■■■ , . , ; ' • ■ ■ - : - ' ' .. ■ V ■■■■■■■. ':-r ■• ••• -. - -.' ;