DOMINION TIMBER LAND.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVII, Issue 154, 1 June 1937, Page 4

DOMINION TIMBER LAND.

DIFFICULTIES OF SADVMILLERS. Some'•years ago it was a familiar sight to see a sawmill in operation and to hear the tear of the hungry circular saw, the clatter of the planing machine, the chug of the steam engine, and the “sizz” of the escaping steam from the safety valve. To children the huge heaps of sawdust were irresistible. Feilding had its share of sawmills earlier in its history, the timber industry having flourished in this district for many years, due to the heavily timbered condition of the land, which is now almost completely denuded of its virgin appearance. With the exception of the Aorangi mill on Cameron’s Line, not one remains to-day, and even the logs which feed the saws at Aorangi have to be transported many miles from the back . country before they are converted into timber for commercial purposes. As the land has been cleared the mills have gone, some of them being dismantled and the machinery sold, while others have followed up the ever receding bushland until to-day many of the mills are situated in almost inaccessible back country. Heavy log haulers have to he brought into continuous use (when weather conditions permit) in bringing the logs over liilly country lor long distances from where the trees are felled and trimmed, to the mill. A story is told of the difficulties of present day nulling by a snwmiller in the back country north of Feilding. The bush which it is proposed to divest of its stalwarts lies on the opposite side of a steep gorge in an almost inaccessible position. Good timber is there awaiting the relentless tear of the saws, but obstacles must be overcome to reach it. In order to do so, the log hauler, weighing eleven tons, is to he lowered into the gorge 200 feet deep and hauled up the other side by its own power. Huge wire ropes are to be used in the process and the hauler will be manned by an operator.