OTOROHANGA.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VII, Issue 566, 10 May 1913, Page 5

OTOROHANGA.

WAITEWHENA RAILWAY

At the request of Mr O'Dwyer, chairman of the Waitewhena Railway League, a meeting was called in Turner's Hall, Otorohanea, on Wednesday last at 8 p.m. Punctually to timj. Mr P. Whyte, president of the Otorohanga Chamber of Commerce, took the chair. There was a very satisfactory attendance, including Messrs O'Dwyer and Elliott (Waitewhena Railway League), Riddle and Petrie (Aria Railway League), Hay lock (South Kawhia Railway League), Scholes and Grsgg (Waitomo County Council), Budden, Williamson and Lakeman (Honikiwi), Cumpston (Kio Kio), and several Otorohanga gentlemen. The chairman read the letter requesting the meeting and also the card calling the meeting. Apologies were received from Mesßrs J. Ormsby, J. Steel, and P. Hargreaves. . In his opening remarks the chair = man welcomed the delegates from other parts, and thought that their recognition of Otorohanga as a meeting place was justified by the wonderful advancement of the country surrounding Otorohanga. On the following day the Crown were to pay a great amount of money for land in the vicinity purchased from natives. The Premier had asserted tnat he wished exports from the Dominion to be £30,000,000 and one had only to have a knowledge of the country surrounding Otorohanga every inch of which is ploughable to know that this portion would very shortly be an exporting community and do their share towards this amount. He wished to see plenty of goods coming in but would prefer j to sea larger quantities going out and j with a view to providing facilities for the export of their produce and the opening up of further country to say nothing of minerals he would be delighted to see a railway from the Main Trunk in the King Country to the seaport harbour of Kawhia. As this was a meeting for the visiting delegates to express their views they would one and all be granted an opportunity and first of all called upon Mr O'Dwyer as the originator of the meeting. Mr O'Dwyer thanked the members for extending such a hearty welcome. He thought it a very practical step to gather delegates from all parts of the King Country to meet at Otorohanga and to exchange ideas. He himsßlf thought Otorohanga was the natural Main Trunk outlet for a line from Kawhia and the most advantageous He advocated a line from Kawhia to the Main Trunk and he thought Otorohanga or thereabouts would be i the point and also a line through Aria and the Waitewhena valley. They had in years gone by advocated this valley route, but the Ohura deputations had gained the day by having the Taranaki railway to connect with the Main Trunk at Te Koura. They now advocated a line from say Aria to tap a very large area of country and to connect with a line from Kawhia to the Main Trunk. He did not wish to advocate any particular routes, but wanted to coi.nect with a line as above stated. Sir Joseph Ward had stated that they badly wanted a railway and even went further, and promised a railway. Mr Elliott was then called upon and after returning thanks for the hospitality extended, said that he advocated a railway to connect Taranaki, Auckland and Kawhia. Their object in , attending the meeting was that it was advisable to meet as many as possible of interested parties and to talk over the matter. There was an immense area of country which Was not touched by a railway and the farms were becoming more and more productive and the need for a railway would increase in the same proportion. If their was a railway handy people would produce more. He then quoted figures showing that about 4763 tons of goods had been carted from Te Kuiti to Pio Pio during six months, and the nrice paid for that carting was close on £IO,OOO. Their only exports at present were butter and wool, but if they had proper facilities they would be exporting more and varied produce. Mr Riddell, from the Aria Railway League, also returned thanks, and wished for the people interested to be unanmious in advocating the railway to open up the country. Mr Petrie, Aria Railway League, endorsed the remarks of the previous speakers, particularly in the matter of not advocating any one particular route. If a line were run through Waitomo, Aria and Waitewhena it would open up a great area of land. He was living 25 miles from a railway, and it had cost him £7 odd for cartage of an engine and milking plant weighing locwt. from the railway to his place, and a neighbour had been called upon to pay rather more, and the cartage outwards of their produce was a very heavy item. Thav could produce much more general produce, but on account of the heavy cost of cartage it did not pay them and was a distinct loss to the exports of the colony. He had spoken to the Premier about the matter and Was in formed that it waß a plank in of the Reform Party to either build short lines or to allow private enterprise to erect those lines. Mr Haylock, Marokopa, had been advocating a railway from Kawhia harbour to the Main Trunk for many

years. He did not advocate any one route, but would like the termini fixed so that they could the better make arrangements for the fixing of their local saleyards and public buildings. He was satisfied this railway would I pay right from the start, and he intended to keep on agitating until the railway was made. Mr Budden, Honikiwi, was in favour of constructing railways to open up the country. He could sympathise with the backblock settler whose produce was eaten up with transit charges. He advocated the Government buying up all the unoccupied native lands before expending public money and enhancing the unimproved value of the land. In Auckland they were complaining of the railway not being able to cope with the increasing

traffic, and he thought a railway to Kawhia on the coast would ease the congestion and enable the settlers to produce more farm produce. Mr Scholes was satisfied that there was a great area that would be much benefited by a railway, but they must see that it went through country that would pay. He did not think a line running parallel with the Main Trunk and only a few miles off would be a Drofitable venture. He advocated a line from a seaport to the Main Trunk with possibly light lines to other parts. He was more in sympathy with the present Minister for Public Works when he advocated roads before railways, and even if railways are put in it will be necessary to make roads to them.

Mr R. Gregg thought the district was progressing so rapidly that they required railways to relieve the traffic. He did not think some of the roads would stand the traffic. The farms are going to produce more, the better they are cultivated.

Mr J, A. Ormsby also welcomed the visitors, and had listened with great interest to the various speakers. Otorohanga had already been advocating a trial survey, and the surveyor was now going over the country and he thought the matter of a route could be left to him. Mr Whyte thanked the visitors for the trouble they had gone to in coming to Otorohanga, and he had been greatly interested in their remarks. He was pleased they had not advocated any special route. He would have pleasure in reporting on the meeting at the next Chamber of Commerce. That body for some time had taken keen interest in a railway, but they were greatly in favour of a heavy guage line from Kawhia harbour to the Main Trunk by the shortest possible route, with a view to exporting as much produce as possible from the inland districts. They wore pleased that a surveyor was now making a trial survey from Otorohanga. They would no doubt do all they could to assist the delegates to get a light line to join on the Main Trunk li le and to open uo the Waitewhena valley and Aria, e*c. The following motion, proposed by Messrs O'Dwyer and Elliott, was carried •.-•"That this meeting of delegates, representing as it does the different parts of the King Country affected, urge upon the Government the desirability of placing upon the Statute Book of New Zealand, at the next session of Parliament, a Bill authorising the connecting of Kawhia harbour, the Main Trunk, and thn Ohura by railways." On tae motion of Mr O'Dwyer, a very hearty vote of thank* was carried bv acclamation to Mr Whyte and the Otorohanga Chamber of Commeice for convening the meeting. When the meeting closed all adjourned to Mr Whyte's private residence, and partook of supper, which the very cold night helped all to thoroughly appreciate.