THE HEART OF THE NORTH.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVI, Issue 14132, 6 August 1909, Page 7

THE HEART OF THE NORTH.

>■;.,! ■ ■." / ■;'... ■■■■ : | DEVELOPING THE MAIN TRUNK

A DAY SERVICE.-

UNEQUAL FACILITIES.

No. IV.

BY OUR SPECIAL COMMISSIONER. The manner in which the various townships within the district known as the King Country are affecting the'■'M».in Trunk line, and the manner in which this railway is affecting these townships, should form an interesting study for political students. Here we have a set of circumstances such as are not found in any other part of New Zealand, nor, for thai matter, in any other part of the British Empire. A costly railway has been built, at the expense of the State, through nearly 140 miles of Maori territory, and dozens of townships have sprung up alongside this railway, built on sections leased from Maori landowners. Both the railway and the townships owe their existence entirely to the white man's enterprise and capital. If the land for 10 or 20 miles on each side of the line had been secured by the Government befort the railway was built, and had been thrown open in moderate-sized areas under the optional system, and if all the townships had been laid out as Government property, and sections leased on much more liberal terms than are now demanded by the Maori owners, there can be no doubt that after deducting the purchase price of the land from the natives, and allowing a very good price, too, the State could have made a profit equal to the full cost of this section of the railway, and the land would now be producing enormous wealth yearly, the whole of the extensive territory would have been thickly populated; and the towns would have been a dozen times larger and more prosperous than they are at the present time. Whoever was responsible for constructing this railway through Maori territory without, making prevision for the purchase of the adjoining land did the State an enormous injury. If the Maoris had been offered a fair price for their land they would have been glad to accept it, and it is inconceivable that our statesmen should have been so blind to ifuture possibilities as to make no provision for securing a fair return to the State for the money expended on the railway, or a fair use of the land through which the railway runs. ,

TE KUITI AND TAUMARUNUI.

4 - Te Kuiti and Tauraarunui are striking examples of the townships on the Main * Trunk line under the Maori ownership blight. Te Kuiti is the centre of a very H>~ large area of exceedingly fertile country, and the junction of two or three very J-? important roads. It; has made wonderful ivh: progress even under the most cramping '-■„- disabilities, and there is little doubt that 5 if the Maori : ownership difficulty were r*w* overcome * and . the surrounding country < I thrown open to settlement under the op- ;; tional system, it would> soon become one J of the most thriving and prosperous towns ; in northern New Zealand. That a town : : with such great prospects ahead of it f should be built on land privately owned '*" ' by Maoris who contribute nothing to its ■ support, and pay no rates or taxes, is "*~ 'bad enough, and South Islanders ! would not tolerate such conditions in their midst 'M, for a day. That its sections should be ""'■ leased on short terms to the pakeha with practically little or no compensation 01 improvements, and with all the futun values going to the -j. non-contributinc 11:;,'; Maori landlord is almost unbelievable

$j and yet it is an accepted fact, and so far • as can.be seen, no member of the present Government seems inclined to make mat- | ters better, either for the sake of his own : fellow-citizens, or for the benefit of the i;•-> Main? Trunk Line, or for the good of l'£ :.tht» Stats. ■■',;

; BRANCH LINES. Thstre is every prospect of a branch i line going out to the westward from Te i* Kuiti, and if such a line were construct- .., ed, either to the south-west towards Awa- , kino, or due west, or north-west, it would •;; tap, not only huge areas of settleable -' country, but also great coalfields. • If New Zealand affairs are conducted in a

business-like manner, Te Kuiti cannot ... fail to become an important town, and t unless the Government take over all the town lands, all the immense increase in values made by, the pakeha will go to ; enrich Maori drones. h ; The same con- ,,' ditions as hamper TeKuili are found at Taumarunui and at all the numerous . , f( '.. townships. along the route of the Main %'■' Trunk which are built on Maori land.

,'-' . There is something of American enter- '.,' prise and dash to be found in these Main Trunk townships. Te Kuiti has it, ;? ( 2 Taumarunni has it, Ohakune shows it to , ' a marked degree. - A TOWN IN THE MAKING. 0-i - Ohakune is the next township of any 5 importance south of Taumarunui— i> a. new place. _ There is bush standing on •' the edge of its streets. and raw stumps ;, in every section there are canvas houses, Hf-y and calico houses, and tents intermingling v; with artistic brand-new villas, and newlyerected shops. It is a picturesque, place, '*"':'& beautiful stream winds through the ; borough, and bits- of virgin bush have been left for ornament. A few miles to £.;-'- the eastward of the town rises Ruapehu, ~ magnificent in its snows and its stately mj£ loneliness. The public domain, which is quite near to the town, even in its native H; state is one of the most novel and de- ||| lightful in New Zealand. A low spur llS covered with beautiful trees . curves M: :' through the centre of this recreation '*" ground, and on each side of this spur *~$ is a lovely little lake, bordered by cir>z cular flats, and fringed with forest. The "-* flat surrounding one of the lakes is to r| ■ • be turned into a racecourse, and will cer- ■■■ tainly beat any other in the country for J natural attractions. The low spur pro- ■"-'" vides an unrivalled grandstand, and Na- ""[' ture has supplied a great profusion of •" ,: ornamental trees. The land about Ohakune, though over 2000 ft above sea-level, '■"/is surprisingly level, and is of excellent H qualityit takes grass remarkably well, H and already considerable areas are under ? .pasture. Sheep-breeding and dairying are already well established, but the greatest "■'■' industry of the place is still timber-mil- '.;;. ling There is an immense supply of fine II limn and totara, and other good timbers, . H and it will be many years before the last \ of t:ie mills ceases running.

I;:; OHAKUNE TO TAIHAPE. '~,. Between Ohakune and Taihape the rail-'..«.-,";way payees through a considerable area of high, open tussock country, and at Waiy t $ ouru roaches an elevation of 2660 ft, _ the highest oint on the route, and the high- (, <.> est : of any line yet constructed in "New jj\i,- Zealand. It . is interesting country, and , v capable of considerable improvement, but ,Is K it is not until on© approaches Taihape liV's that one sees any considerable amount of }■~ settlement- '■ ■ Taihape is to Wellington what Te Awatuutu is to Auckland. The limit of closely- - occupied, productive-country, between the apt-yb-places stretches 166 miles, and suffers x from Governmental disinclination to open Crown lands under a popular.tenure, or any m tenure at all, and, 'from the presence of § immense areas of Maori-owned land, held W *till from any form of settlement. - ; South- . ward of Taihape man has had access to the land bordering i the line, \ and has ■-,-., turned it to splendid account. -Taihape, • like Te Awamutu, ie a striking; contrast to the Maori-owned townships. Its houses and it« public buildings have an = air* of permanency, and its municipal affairs seem prosperous and ; well ; managed. Stl^if^.>■":.■■.-■:. -.■:•:; :r:"-\, ;••;—/ ■■■..;-....-

I - went no further down the line than Taihape; my chief interest centred in the p-ssibilities of the country within reach of the Main Trunk between that place and Te _ Awamutu, and though my time was limited I saw quite enough to convince me that only two things are required to enormously increase the traffic on the railway and the wealth production of the Dominion. Those two things are the throwing ope" of all Crown and native lands now lying idle to bona-fide settlement, and the throwing open of these lands in medium-sized areas under the ' optional system, so that men can buy if they like; lease with the right to buy ;or lease only. If settlement is confined to lease only, the bulk of the land .will remain a wilderness for many years to comerightly or wrongly, the greater number of settlers want the privilege of the freehold, and if it is refused they will go elsewhere for land. I have contended for years that the cash price of land, or the lease rente, are a mere • bagatelle-'to the State compared with the wealth to the State raised by the industrious fanners. Only the crudest stamp of politician seeks to hamper land settlement by obnoxious tenures; the capable statesman is ready to Olive, the man w!»o will work the land the tenure which will encourage him to work the land for the best results. THE TRAIN SERVICE. There is another matter in connection with the Main Trunk lino which requires consideration, and that is the running of the trains. If the Government are determined to run the express through the most interesting part of the country in the dead of night they should at least provide a good day service. The main purpose of the North Island Main Trunk line is not just to carry mails and hurrying passengers between Wellington and Auckland, it is to encourage settlement all along its route, to aid all forms of industry and assist, in developing the natural resources of the country.

Under the present arrangement, trains are run from Wellington" to Taihape, and trains run back to the Empire city, but there is no similar service between Auckland and Taihape or between Auckland and Ohakune. If the daily train service were extended from Wellington to Ohakune, and a daily service inaugurated between Auckland and Ohakune there is no doubt that it would greatly convenience the settlers and business men. Such a 6ervice would be largely availed of by people who wish to see something of the country, and by those who find the through service too trying. Really, the only alteration required is a re-arrange-ment of the present trains, and a slight extension eo that there could be a daily service from each end of the line, that is, from Wellington and from Auckland to connect at some convenient place about midway. A NEW TIME-TABLE. I found that both the Taihape and the Ohakune people were quite eager to get as sjood, or nearly as good, daily communication with Auckland as they now have wit'i Wellington, and have already been in communication with the Minister for Railways, and with the Auckland Chamber of Commerce. The Ohakune people complained that they have not met with that support from the Auckland Chamber of Commerce •> regarding this train service which they naturally expected, and it might be worth while for the Auckland Chamber of Commerce to devote more attention to this matter than they have previously given to it. There is considerable talk over the trade rivalry between the city on Cook Strait and the city on the Waitemata, but at present Auckland is practically cut off from over fifty miles of good country because it has not the same railway service that has been given to Wellington, ft surely ought to be easy to run a day train from Auckland to Ohakune, a distance ;of 225 miles, and from Wellington to the same place, which is only ,202 miles, but if : there is any great desire to equalise the journeys a place like" Horopito could be selected, as the half-way station. ; • The time-table suggested, that would be of real service, is one starting from Wellington at 8 a.m. and . reaching Ohakune at* 7.30 p.m., leaving for "Auckland the following morning 'at 7 a.m., reaching Auckland at 6 p.m.; going south it could leave Auckland at 8 a.m. reaching Ohakune or Taihape the same evening, arriving in the Empire City the following evening. This would give a cheap, efficient service, avoid all night running, the double banking of the morning , trains, and suit the requirements of both ends and the great central district. - • •