THAMES COUNTY NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XVIII, Issue 6064, 25 April 1881, Page 5

THAMES COUNTY NEWS.

t [from out: own coiikkspondknt.] Op.aha.mstow'x, Saturday. S r The Engineer of the County Council has lost !S ' 110 time in preparing the surveys of the 'J' " works upon which the grant obtained from V 3 the Hon. Mr. Rolles ton is to bn expended. V r Tenders are now being called for the execul" tion of these works. Among the works • specified arc the extension and improvement " of the Tapn-Waikawau Road, extension of ' the Lucky Hit Road on the Karaka Creek, I making of the road from Puriri to the creek 11 ' landing, an f l t' lo forming of tlie AVaitetc fi 5 Road at Ohinemuri. The contract on the t ! Tapu Road will complete the Thames-Coro- a ! mandol Road as far as the boundary of the c Thames County, and will be another link in .. the chain by which direct communication f between the two places will be opened I up. The Coromandel County Council t have also received a special grant for i their portion of this road, so that t ere long it is probable the road will i be cotnnleted right through. The extension 1 of the Lucky Hit road is a very important 1 work and will materially assist in opening up what is believed to be a valuable tract ot ' gold-bearing country. The County Council ! have long been impressed with the import- 1 ance of opening up the district at the head of the Karaka Greek, but for want of the necessary funds their efforts in this direction have been somewhat limited. Very recently, however, the Karaka Creek road was improved and extended aa far as the Lucky Hit Gully. The new contract will be the means of extending this road a considerable distance further. In the early days of the field the head of the Karaka Creek was a favourite locality, and excellent prospects were obtained from some of the claims then taken up. From a variety of causes, however, not the least of which were the rich discoveries made about the Kur..nui and Caledonian spurs, the district was abandoned. The improvement in the means ot communication lias again attracted attention to this neighbourhood, and quite rcccntly a number of the okl claims have again been taken up, and the locality is assuming a lively appearance. The forming and making of the Puriri creek landing road will, prove quite a boon to the settlers of that district, and will supply a want which has long been a drawback to the progress ol the district. The formation of the Waitcte Road well materially assist the gold-mining industry on and about the Waihi. Here there is an abundance of quartz and quartz lodes, all of I which appear to carry gold in more or less ! miantiticsi and if, by the aid of a good roajl, ; these can be proved payable, mining in tlfce I locality will make rapid strides. The county authorities certainly deserve commendation for tUo expedition they have shown, in premring the necessary preliminaries for these work?, and if, when let, the contractors w 11 shovvpimilar despatch in the completion of them, they should all be finished before t: le winter Wits in. , I .. -