Wairua Settlers Consider lead Problems

Northern Advocate, 11 May 1939, Page 3

Wairua Settlers Consider lead Problems

j ifoacTing problems as they affect ratepayers of the Wairua Riding of the Whangarei County Council were considered at a meeting convened by the Ruatangata branch of the Farmers' Union and attended by Mr. J. A. S. Mac Kay, chairman of the county : council, and Mr. J. Norris, the engineer. I Mr Mac Kay stated that five years j ago £IOOO would go as far as £ISOO j required today in reading matters, j while the hospital contribution was 50 I per cent, higher than it was two years ago. This year the county contribution was £7791. Increased Maintenance Costs. For the year 1935-36 the cost of maintenance of roads in the Wairua riding was £9O per mile, for 1936-37 £55 and for the last year £l44 —and the road was in a worse state of repair today than for some time past. The council had four graders to serve 10 ridings and there were on order two more of the light type, costing about £BOO each. It was realised that frequent grading service was essential in connection with the upkeep of the roadways. A trial experiment with hard blue metal for surfacing purposes had proved disappointing. High speed and heavy lorry traffic he thought was mainly responsible for the bad condition of the road.

Mr Mac Kay did not favour the raising of loan money, nor the raising of the riding rate, but claimed that all counties should bo subsidised £1 for £ 1 from the benzine fund on all county rates paid, and suggested that all farmers’ organisations should get behind this principle and lend full support to the cause.

Mr Norris provided much useful information regarding road construction and maintenance. He recommended a flat surface to the old style of crowned road as a means to preventing so much of the surfacing metal being thrown to the side of the road —and also favoured a trial of scarifying and flattening of the road surface, together with a greater thickness of surfacing metal in this particular case. Decision of Meeting. Scarifying would cost about £6 per day and a roller £4, and from 10 to 20 chains per day could be dealt with. Much of the information given by Messrs McKay and Norris was in answer to questions.

Mr F. Yates moved, and Mr W. Hodge seconded, that the meeting recommend that Mr Mac Kay, for the Wairua riding, give the matter of scarifying in conjunction with surface metalling his consideration. The motion was carried unanimously. In reply, Mr. Mac Kay intimated that he would confer with the engineer and Mr Packwood, the Public Works Department engineer, and act according to their opinions. Dangerous points, such as the Ngararatanua Bridge, and growth on the bends of road corners, were also brought under the notice of the councillor for the riding. A vote of thanks was accorded Messrs Mac Kay and Norris.