A FIELD FOR SETTLEMENT.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLII, Issue 12775, 27 January 1905, Page 7

A FIELD FOR SETTLEMENT.

; ";; : : '.," v '■>.**■ "v-v ~.....,■^<tew, . :.\ ,"ii ■■-~:.„....;! AUCKLAND'S GREAT NORTH-WEST. ! [l>V A ItEOEXT VISITOK.] take? «„' „ bsencc or a yc!,r l havc »8»' - » . ako„ a tour through ,ho North of aua--: nokl^ ISI "V "■?■ Wairoa and; S " Bn - ~ Rwchmft Helensville, 1 cmbarkecl on tie, s.s; Aotca, and went plunginl' ,v«on. -in; tho; ■•>•«"»!«»■ When will this , nmsh.p company yrake, up and run 18-' Uo bouts? Surely the traffic vanants it. ■ An old resident informed mo at many ears; ngo-hvcniy,- I think-ho •ad done.the (rip in the old Durham in six hours. We took nine. hi^i ,r " ,er "- Wni »' oa is a bustling place, mX «, • HV ?° ' /0 ,il,in '" the Wharves and ill* Wg.ng up in t!u> most unexpected ciw „,\,i h } w y, th '!»ff appeared to bo prosperu„ "' <'evelopnrg under the pushing en\vi ! of au active population. h land -i a >- v,n ß concern. tlm North, Auckll mr railway would ', l if it Were unshod river S l,ani a branch no n ,n across to-ilia ' Darfen.^ P ° SUe tho b »* * ver towns; - mS? hi? 'US B .° W " wonderfully. Twelve Mr tT° T d * « r * ai Ungear for the sanitarv it. 11 ;' T'"* some improved Kala. f™ to . me !t a roa,1 >' « J town- „,," appears to have seen its best days what c IP" TT- ? nd thi W wore some? ln (l dull • a Frenchman s ttbe near me valley vm,M* aid;t , h,,t th ,° rctl * oil of wL i IUI ■'Produce the finest grapes. will S knows ■ that ; i the white-gum land aUy n apples f perhaps K the y (lrand a fe *» b,0 »°» ■«*«*»& boTou«ll, 0 " t, MM r ° lwl1 ' the Maungutii" and Marlmost «-t«J 10 °• t,or ,* »PJ>cttrod to havo.nlmost given up , n despair. I saw cieht or a 1 fll eS r rted Houso 3 --their windowK > S«io • rS BWln *>W dismally in tho wind la d for ? shakedown. The old gentlemnn l),o ; shak^,? Wll ' The old gentlean who i, a military veteran, did his what «?r,T' £° .PPW««d ° bo. in somewhat straitened circumstances: vet. I null& tr - Vdle , rS sometime, use his place ■w'thput 1 aving the- courtesy to pay him for trouble. How he or any of the settler, nianaßo to pay any rent for their land is a el™"; lf - lht> , PoTCTuuiorit would only SS , ° mi ' su, U would be a wise S & pwrt««. rather than the sections snoulrt bo deserted. • lmrn seems to be almost .impossible to get a On. c!. fetation »so 'rank and moist One settler had cleared a good bit yet beliJLCO"kI ROt a "??«! 5 irraS the scrub inl. „n iV, P 7 am - I,e llns eIM it three fivefee! »$?. fern'and scrub are again about Hie teet high. The. few heroes who are still struggling & d get every encouragement. The soil looks really excellent, and the bush is magnificent. ° The beautiful Wail^ . llf >' being in the hands of mim-digging Maoris, "has a neglected appearance, growing really splendid blackberries, thus mcifcin'g this'rich" land almost worthless. Having reached Rawene, on the Hokianga Kiver. the scene alters. Oil-launches arc Slamming the beautiful stretch of water in even- direction. There are now tweniv-two of these on the harbour, and nil are "busv I'iyo -ears ago there was only one small launch. This : indicates nrogress it that time there was only one sawmill; now' there are five either at work or in course of construction. There are two flaxtnills. a cheese, factory, fish factory, andfruit-canning factory—all busv. Several settlors are doing well drying apples: others are cither making excellent wine or planting with that object in view. One enterprising individual is making really hue raisins. There is a small canning, factory at Rawene. but .so small is it that the canning expert overlooked it altogether. .However, in a few vears it will not be so easily passed by. This factory is run on it true co-operative lines. It turns out really excellent goods, and already is unable to meet tho local demand. A stranger visiting this district would probably be disappointed. lie would steam up the harbour expecting to, see fruit groves, mills, factories, ote.. dotting (he banks on nil sides. They are not prominently visible, but they arc there all the same. They take a bit of looking for' when "they are scattered over several hundred miles of water frontage. . Oh. yes ! the North is leaping ahead—not booming, thank goodness, but moving steadily all the time. \ New blood is surely beginning'to tell. If only the Government would give the Maoris permission to sell their waste, lands which they do not require for their own use there would scon be a teeming population; turning the tea-tree wilderness into a smiling garden. They can -grow the. fruit ;if they only try. Of course;-;" as a-general rule, at present more inferior fruit than good Still. I saw and measured Japanese plums nine inches in circumference, and peaches weighing three-quarters of a pound. I remember that some few years ago I saw a sack of aprtles, each; weighing a pound, grown by a Mr. Ward. I was talking to a. quiet little gentleman in Rawcnca man who evidently says little but docs much. He stated that he has for a good many years been slowly, but surely, working towards the development of the fruit industry. He has, it appears, been experimenting for canning purposes, and has come to the conclusion that Hokianga will eventually (urn out, the.finest canned pearlies on earth, bar none. Judging from what I tasted [ believe that he is correct. On my. return I passed through Katui. where, "at Mr. Fellow's place., J saw and sampled some of the finest gooseberries imaginable. ;.■ A final word to Aucklandors. Citizens: If you know what is good for your own pockets you will get that railway pushed to the deep water on tho Hcikianga. To call the North poor is simply folly. It is a rich North. The people are not poor. I saw no poverty; they were well dressed, well fed. healthy,, and prosperous... Every visitor who comes to Auckland for a holiday spends at least from £10 to £20. Where you get ten of these, people by boat you will get fifty by train. 1 actually met one woman who had not been to town for twenty-five years. She dreads the sea. and has been waiting for the railway which was promised. Poor soul. I'm afraid she will never get to town. It's no .use. asking the settlers to agitate. When a man has to go twenty miles each way to attend a meeting it knocks agitation ritrht out. They can only see mud before them., so they ask for roads. With (Tiis Government, being sure of their vote, the poor deluded creatures will only get roads made for a month before the election. Their only chance is an election every six months. If they had Hie railway they would be able to get to Auckland once in a while., (hough they rniidit not be able to get to a neighbour a few miles away. Yes, it's been a long time, but it's coming. The North will be the richest place in 'Saw Zealand. The cry " Poor North" will be. about as suitable as Poverty Bay. Everything has been against the North, more particularly the Government. " For instance, I was told by four people that they, with, others, have reneatedly apnlied to the Lands Office, for sections to build house* on in P.nwene. Some have been waiting for a satisfactory reply for several months, but cannot, get it. They could not buy or lease, and could get no reason why this was so. .