HOW POVERTY BAY IS CUT OFF FROM AUCKLAND.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLII, Issue 13029, 21 November 1905, Page 8

HOW POVERTY BAY IS CUT OFF FROM AUCKLAND.

Sir, —it is customary to look upon the Auckland province as one of the poorest in New Zealand from an agricultural and pastoral point of view. This is brought, about through the lack of good roads, and is altogether a wrong one, for wo haveXmudi of tho finest grazing land in ■ the 1 colony. Poverty Bay, a district surpassed by none from a pastoral point of view, is a good example. Unfortunately the communication between tho Bay and the remainder of the province is so bad and circuitous that few ever attempt to reach it by road. In fact the people of Poverty Bay have been cut off so long that they forgot they arc in tho Auckland province. They look upon themselves as Hawke's Bay people, and do most, of- their business there. The completion of tho trunk railway between Auckland and Wellington will, no doubt, bo a great convenience, but from a business point cf view will not be of so much importance to tho Auckland province as good road and railway communication between Auckland and Gisborno; for the latter has.no good port, and would soon look upon Auckland as its chief city, and do nearly all its business hero if it were accessible. I presume we need not hope for tho completion of a railway for some- time, but all <■ Auckland province should stand together and sec that this is tho next, big job that is done. In the meantime every candidate for Parliamentary honours should be pledged to do his utmost to get sufficient money placed on the Estimates next session to complete the coach road between Rotorua and Gisborne, via' Galatea. During the past winter I have seen a great deal about tho high price of meat in Auckland. There is an abundance of sheep in tho Gisborne district, if wo were able to avail ourselves of them. Now that tho Assets Board's and other large properties, which have been used almost exclusively for the raising of sheep, are being broken up, it is almost impossible for the small farmer to obtain a supply of owes to breed fat. lambs, and store sheep to fatten. With access to Poverty Bay this difficulty would be. to a large extent, got ov«s. \ good market for from 40,000 to 60,000 sheep would bo found annually, and great good would result to all parties. I hope that all tho papers in the province will give this matter their ardent support. This is a question that tho Trades and Labour Council snould support to their utmost, for thev have everything to gain by it, and nothing lo Ti°o c ' t ■ Joseph Barogh. ° *•». —In looking over one of the Government books, written for the Tourist Department eight years ago, 1 find it says: — "The Rotorua-Gisborne Road is being rapidly pushed ahead, and will soon be open for traffic." Since then, so far as I can learn. very little lias been done, and nothing will be done without forcible agitation. J.B.