THE MAIN TRUNK.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLV, Issue 13798, 10 July 1908, Page 6

THE MAIN TRUNK.

PROGRESS OF WAIMARINO, THE PUMICE "DESERT." VAST TIMBER INDUSTRY. [by our SrECI \T, COMMISSION iR ] No. VII. ' , . - ' As showing the great progress that has already been made along the rout* of the v railway, even before it has been made ' available for use for its whole distance, a few figures relating to the Waimarina County may lie. quoted. The capita! value of the county, when it was formed in 1902, was £568,277. At the valuation, made two years later the amount had increased to £720,000, and the last valuation, which has just been completed, places the total at £1,369,000, or nearly double that of four years ago. The entries on the ratepayers* roll when the ' county was formed numbered 1263, and last year the number was 1692. The population, which wis only 740 in 1903, had in 1906 increased almost fourfold, the cen- ' ' sus returns then showing 2787, whilst ! since that time there has been an even more rapid increase. In 1906 there were; 31,234 acres down in English grasses i in. the Waimarino Block, and the number - '' of sheep carried was 58,972. Last year the sheep had increased to 76,317, or. by .; about 30 per cent: It is estimated that ■ with the settlement of the Crown and native lands, there will, in the course;of four or five years, be half a million sheep ..-■ in this fertile but hitherto little known S. stretch of • country. . ,i

THE, PUMICE LANDS. Before leaving the question; of land settlement, something should be said regarding the oft-despised pumice country , along the route of the railway. The . term "desert" during -.the battle of the routes was often bestowed upon these lands. Even in recent years similar remarks have been made by politicians and . others. "The only blade of grass it ever produced is now pressed in a family Bible." said the present Minister for Labour (Hon. J. A. Millar) in the session of 1905, when as a private member he made an observation in Parliament regarding the railway and the pumice lands. The pumice. however, it has been proved, will grow very fair grass .and carry stock. It is not, of course, to- be compared with, say, the rich valleys of the Waimarino, but that it ; will piny its; part in the' great , work of feeding the newly constructed ! railway there is no reason to doubt. ' . The barren appearance of the Waimarino Plains and the plains at Waiouru have often been remarked upoui, but those who are in ' a position to judge express the opinion that this land, with proper treat- . .meat', will carry many thousands of sheep, and thus add in no small measure to the wool output of ' the Dominion. : On patches of the pumice; country, on .the east of the railway, on which ' camps have ' been located,* good grass i may be ! seen ;;. growing, and it is stated that oats have been known to grow in such places to a* height of . 2£ft.- . That the land will grow grass is shown by the evidence of many witnesses. One of these is the late manager of the Ruponga sawmill, at Marianui, who is also"a' ' practical agriculturist, and who ' has been . experimenting with different grass seeds during the past two years on pumice lands, , on which the bush has been felled. ? The results were very satisfactory, and. the Mini for Agriculture is now being urged by Mr. W. T. Jennings, M.P., to have an "investigation made into the possibilities of such lands for grass-growing fpurposes. It has been argued th.it th-?, cli- t _ mate ie too severe for shes!j),,but the tcsti- A . ", mony of those who speak from experience . f } of both islands is that it is no colder than much of the high 6heep country in Otago. THE SAWMILLING INDUSTRY.. In' the immediate future of the country ' served by the railway the timber industry is, of course, destined to play a, very, im? ..- port ant part, and for very many years to come 'it will be a great factor in .the progress of settlement. . Timber,, of course, is only ; a temporary: industry, but its uses as a contributor to the development of the more permanent forms of settlement are very great, whilst the value vof the timber itself will amount to a very considerable' sum. The Waimarino forest " J forms the great-bulk of the timber tapped by-, the ' line.: Various estimates, of :■ the extent of these great timber ':■ areas have been.... made. ; , One of these prices the total area- at 151,200 acres, "and the probable quantity of timber at 1,058,400,0013 superficial feet-. The royalties from 1 the timber alone; taken at Is per 100 ft. have been • computed at no I less than £8,000,000, or sufficient to pay for the construction of the Main Trunk % | line two or three times over. ? ; This forest has often been spoken ot as a totara forest, but the proportion of this, timber to the whole- of ; the bush is not so great as has often been ' supposed. \. A, very large - proI portion of the forest consists of excellent I matai. : * There is also a moderate quantity j of rimu and an abundance of kahikatea/ i The/totaras are very fine specimens, . with tall, straight - trunks, varying in thickness from 2ft to sft or 6ft, whilst the average height has been calculated at.about; 100 ft. The capital ; value ;of the timber in the forest has been assessed at about £200 uin acre. : A sawmilling < firm, which-: some ' I five or six years ago. had a contract for cutting 35.000 sleepers for the railway, paid i £1800 ■ for the right of cutting from 100 ';-; | acres of the forest. ■■.-.■■■-.;.. *

Already a largo number of sawmills' are at work without sight of-the line, al- ■ | though; as vet -the-- fringe of these great; •;■•■ timber resources has been barely touched.From Ougaroe to Kakahi there are . al- "" ready some nine or ten mills, ' and mora, ' are f: likely to be started. Again, at Oha- . ■ kuue and vicinity there are quite a number : ■ ? of mills, and others will soon be installed at various places; along the line, as' the' ' means of conveying the timber to - market' '■■ • ; is afforded by the opening :, of - the railway. - There is a mill at Ongarue, two at Tan- - marunui, one at Matapuna, three at Ma* nanui, one at Piriaka, and one at Kakahi; 1 ? i where three others are , also about -to*be ; erected; At Manama, the mills are. owned by the Ruponga Sawmill Company,Messrs. Ellis and Burnand, and the Mata- ; ; puna Sawmill Company. •

A STATE SAWMILL. ■ ' ' The : , mill at Kakabi, which -lias-been working for about four years, is. State property, /haying be4i erected by the Public Works Department, principally foi the purpose of cutting timber required, for public works and railway purposes. - A large number of sleepers and fencing posts are cut, and these have > been supplied to the Kaipara and other railways,' as : well ae the Main Trunk" line. A small quantity only, mostly waste timber, has been sold. Private enterprise is also busy in this locality, where the Tongariro Timber Company are putting in a • mill. A. line for a tramway to, tap timber areas lying further back towards Tokaanu is being surveyed, and there is every prospect of ; Kakahi becoming an important centre of'; the immense timber traffic that 'is going to so materially assist in keeping the ; railway employed. The; timber throughout all the forests through which the line passes consists of. many varieties, including . totara, riinu,. matai, and kahikatea.

At Ohakune,- a mill lately erected by Messrs.. Gammon and Co. is' estimated to " be capable of turning out 35,000 ft of timbfl per day, when in full- running. - The :' next year or two: should see a large addition to the number of mills in this great •timber country. A movement is on foot to get a brand) line of railway constructed *;' i from Raetihi to ;Ohakune, for • the ; purpose- ; of giving better access to the large forests in that district. Then, again,, there axe mills vat Raagitawa, „ immediately to the • ; * south'of-Obakune, and further south, after .' the Waiouru .Plains are crossed, betweenTurangarere and Taihape. , For the right of cutting timber off the land , a,great deal of which is native laud, prices, ranging from £6 to' £12 an wj* ate paid. , •"'•'■■■'': ■■■■.■■. "!■''■-.■ ■■■;' .-' ■' : . : '■- ■ '■■■• '■'•' "'■■■'■ ; ■ "-=««