SOUTHWARD HO!

Hokitika Guardian, 24 January 1935, Page 2

SOUTHWARD HO!

AN AERIAL VOYAGE. ' iSo much to see, so little seen, might be idle adaptation of the well-worn , Rhodes phrase, to describe an aerial trip over Souther:! Westland. One rediscovers Westland, sees a new Westland, or so much new that the province . magnifies in one’s eyes, and by its very size and scope, impresses the more. ' Even if one has lived all one’s life in Westland, as has been the good fortune ■" of the writer, there is so much more to be seen from the air than lias ever been even dreamt of. Westland iis presented from a new and greaterangle. Its wonderful expanse of scenic treasure is revealed in all its greatness. Its resources at timber would confound the estimate of the most competent. calculator familiar with hush dimensions. And over the trackless portion of the district, what geological secrets remain hidden, time and investigation alone will tell. How scattered too are its settlements. What, room there is for closer settlement as the hush comes down and the grass grows up, but how slow moving are the authorities to reap the possible harvest from the treasure house. Time has •passed over the years, and still a great track of the country is roadless. ' A railway necessary for the vast •/ quantities of heavy traffic still to come out of tils district, stops at Ross, and

..v uneconomic-ally the roads are used by ,j. motor transport as far as they may T penetrate, to transport the producti’oti; All these thoughts crowd iivonjone ns ' | the aeroplane carries ils passengers t " south, fringing tile sea const and re- % venling es far as the clouds on the high f hills' will permit, a new and greater -’ vision of the Greater Westland that is t. to he, for the potency of the district '• in its great, natural resources has sti 1! to be developed to the fuller capabilities as the years go on. Soon after a mid-dav ascent from the Hokitika landing the plane takes altitude and the Westland panorama " begins to nevoal itself. There is unfortunately a cloudy day and so the majesty of the Southern Alps from the air, remains undisclosed. But to the foot hills and beyond to the highei wooded country, Westland is display, cd. The Tasman sea laps tli e fore- • shore, leaving a white strip of foam 'which is almost the line of flight for j the aerial voyager. The sea is trail v quil, blue stretching out to the distant i’. horizon. One yearns for a passing f. - ship to complete the picture, hut only l a bird on-wing, finds itself outpaced, and is soon left behind. Long ere these thoughts.form, the familiar country below has taken on a new setting.

There is Mahiimpua creek (Uvarfed helow. The railway line strikes on e for its directness, 'the roads appear like diminutive tracks. The great field or the Rimu dredge appears also to have shrunk, and then the hamlets of Manama and Jvuatapu detract from the broad waters of Lake Maliinapua. Our elevation is such now that Ross nestling in its quiet and secluded corner is visible, and is as peaceful as tbe Sabbath day investing it. Enter the Mikonui sector and we may consider ourselves at the beginning of th c southern district. ’Die valley of thc Mikonui is a pretty scenic'setting, as good as is to be seen on the whole route, and that memory lingers. The settlements of Fergusons and tjio Waitahas come, into view, and there is time to see the progress of the timber milling. In passing over Butler Bros’ country so much was to h (? seen at one time, that the true position could not he fully visualised. South of the Waitaha, Stuart and Chapman Ltd have taken out a square block which might be, and no doubt is. an impressive quantity of timber in figures, but from the air it is but a fraction of tbe whole, for still there are vast areas remaining, and we are just on the threshold of the timher-hearing country.

The expanse in forest grows as we voyage south, and the questions arises in the mind, is it too late to extend the railway south into the timber areas. We have just seen Lake lauthe, not so striking as on a motor drive, hut soon lost .to view in the timber lands of the Big Wanganui. We pass over the mouth of tin l river, and are interested in studying jits shipping which are likely to lie tested. The river waters are in flood and discoloured. They discharge into the sea guarded bv a friendly rock on the south side which probably contributes to a stable entrance.- Inside the river, hut near to the mouth, is a small natural table-land, which might serve as a wharf by generous nature. If the river depth is there, and soundings will answer any doubts, it appears a feasible shipping proposition, restricted only hv the available water way. And the .timber—that extends and extends, and is still with us all the way south as far as we oculd penetrate in two hours—which landed us at the Haast—probably not less than 150 miles from Ross. And all the time the or tendon of the railway remained in mind. There came hack from the folds of memory the thought of one James Maeandrew who, when Minister ol Public Works, enunciated a policy to put a girdle of iron round the South Island. “Mncandrews dream” it was called, but when a modern Minister of Public; Works, perhaps as yet un-

thought of, realises the assets within Westland, then Maeandnew’s dream will comp true. Another thought no-

curs: Why do not responsible Ministers of to-day, charged with the sound and economic government of New Zealand, see their country inside and outside. Time was when Ministers were often criticised for gallivanting about the country in motor cars! If they could he criticised for flying about the isolated places of New Zealand m a study of what they could do for national betterment, the Ministers ,could now easily justify their mission by works of national value. Heads ol departments interested in real development likewise should take to the auto study larger propositions making for the national weal. Something of this nature was done in iortunate Southland, and a voyaging Minister discovered the need for the road to Milford Sound. When will Westland he lucky enough to have a touring Minister of the Crown doing likewise over its lengthy territory! (T 0 be continued.)