KARERE REQUIREMENTS.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLI, Issue 9327, 29 October 1912, Page 5

KARERE REQUIREMENTS.

The residents of the district -served •iy Karere railway station liave' for some years suffered from the 'want .'of . proper railway facilities. Tales are rife is to the way goods, both inward and nitward. have disappeared' from tho irueks shunted off at the station by massing trains. .Another cause of annoyance has been in the regulation of supply of trucks for loading. A farmer 'laving produce to ship would order, a, truck and upon receiving advice that , it had been supplied would cart out 'his produce, only to. find tlmt tlie.tqick icft for him had been. commandeered by' some enterprising' flaxmiller and spirited away to Raugiotu or Foxton, laden with hemp. The farmer in this plight had '"the ghbice of carting his produce back to the farm or dumping ;j . it at the side of the railway in tho hope of getting another truck soon. Sometimes he was successful in doing this and sometimes he wasn't; in fact, - lie had to be up pretty early in the , morning to beat the "flaxie." Recently the trouble at the station has become acute, and the people interested took the matter up and : forwarded a petition to the Miiiister of Railways, through Mr D. Buick, 11, P., asking that the yard facilities should be increased at Karere and that an officer should be placed in charge. It. was pointed out in the petition that irrespective of the farm produce, potatoes, wool, grain, chaff apd hay. which is largely exported from' that district, there was a large traffic in connection with the flaxmilling industry. It-was estimated that the annual output ol fibre from the mills on Lockwood's estate amounted to 1(100 tons, tow to 200 tons, and that green leaf flax'exceeding 4000 tons per' annum was sent away. The inward traffic included 1000 tons of coal for the mills .and'consider- , able: quantities;^.••-timber, r stores. Mr H. -C: 'who MVas instrumental in getting.up" tho petition, has now received a reply from the Minister notifying that the matters.men-, tioned in the petition will receive prompt attention and consideration, As theMassev 'Government are establishing a reputation for promptitude and despatch it' is felt that the 'present congestion at Ivarere may bo relieved in the near future.