ACCESS FOR SETTLERS

King Country Chronicle, Volume XXX, Issue 4873, 21 July 1936, Page 3

ACCESS FOR SETTLERS

MOKAU FARMERS’ REQUEST. COMPLETION OF METALLING. A request that representations be made to the Minister of Public Works for a complete metalled road through the Mokau Valley from Mokau to the Awakere Road was received yesterday by the North Taranaki provincial executive of the Farmers Union from the Mokau branch of the union. „ „ „ “The position briefly is as follows,” the secretary, Mr. D. W. Sutton, wrote: “There is a mile or more from Mokau now metalled, with which we are not concerned. Then there is a stretch of one and a quarter miles which is not metalled, and which is steadily getting worse. From there on two miles are unformed, this portion joining up with about four miles formed but not metalled. The county have applied for £I6OO for metalling some of this.

“We feel the Minister would be surprised to know that one settler has been on a returned soldiers’ section for 19 years and has absolutely no road access,” the letter continued. “He has had to rely on an irregular boat service which has now ceased. Other settlers are in a similar position, and are wondering just how they can get in manure and other stores for less than about £2 a ton.” It was felt that a statement into the amount of money spent on the Mokau end of the road, unemployment funds, under the supervision of the Waitomo County Council, would be interesting, and it-seemed unfair when farmers further up were so unfortunate. As had been pointed out before, most of those interested were on Crown sections and were having a hard enough struggle as it was, without access difficulties to fight with. '

The secretary of the provincial executive, Mr D. Le C. Morgan, reported that the request had been forwarded to the Minister,