THE YEAR'S PROGRESS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVII, Issue 14566, 31 December 1910, Page 5

THE YEAR'S PROGRESS.

TOWN AND COUNTRY BUSY.

A DAIRYING RECORD.

THE PREMIER BUTTER PROVINCE.

In chronicling the progress of Auckland during the year 1910—a period of great activity culminating in a record Christmas with a record purchasing powerfirst place must be given to dairying, which in Auckland has reached its high-water mark towards the close of the year. This port's record shipment for 1909 was shipped on December 1021,411 boxes. That record has been thrice beaten during the present season—firstly, by the A raw a, which took away 22,297 boxes of Auckland butter, equal to 559 tons; secondly, by the Runpehu, with 22,575 boxes, equal to 564 tons; thirdly, by the Tainui, with 24,500 boxes, equal to 602 tons lewt.

Last season Auckland wrested the title of premier butter-producing province from the justly-famed Taranaki. The butter exports (in values) of the three leading provinces were :— Auckland £615,911 Taranaki ... ... £539,100 Wellington £361.005 The whole of the South Island exported butter worth £174,965 This season's record shipments indicate that Auckland will assuredly increase her lead. At the present time Auckland possesses nearly 40,000 more dairy cows than Taranaki, While the 1908-09 stock statistics for New Zealand show a decrease of 8746 dairy cows, Auckland, for the same period, showed an increase of 8148.

SETTLERS FROM THE SOUTH. UNLOCKING NATIVE AND OTHER LANDS. Land settlement m general has gone steadily ahead during 1910. For the first time the Auckland Land Board has prepared figures for the calendar year, and, unfortunately, there are.no figures for the 1909 calendar year to compare with them. The number of sections opened during 1910 by the Auckland Land Board was 665, comprising an area of 110,461 acres. The number of application?, received was 7025, and the ballots and sales numbered 26. The selections approved o£ by the Board comprised 306, under the occupation "with right of purchase system; 182 under the renewable lease : 54 cash, (excluding auction sales); 58 pastoral runs, and 26 other tenures. The total area selected during the 12 months was 118,989 acres.

A feature of. ths year's work is that a large proportion, oi: the selectors continue to lie drawn from places outside the Auckland Land District, and from the South Island. Many of these Southern settlers have farming experience, especially in agricultural districts, and they are generally a fine type of settler-. In fact, the Southern settler is coming in not only through tho Land Board, but by his own initiative, and he often brings considerable capital with him. The Auckland Land Board has taken a firm stand with, regard to the rejection of those that are not landless, and the result is that latterly the great balk of applicants have been entirely landless.

A very important feature of land settlement during the year lias been the operations of the Maori Land Boards. The Northern lands are controlled by theTokero.ii Board, and the vast and important Waikato and King Country districts by the Waikato-Maniapoto Board. As a result of the latter body's operations, the following land has been brought into European occupation and actually available for settlement :—

Dealings. Acreage. Sales ... ... 170 35,000 Leases ... 70 35,000 Total ... 240 70,000 The figures are approximate. In addition, the machinery is in operation to deal with 30,000' to 40,000 acres of Native land under the procedures known as 'precedent consent" and "meetings of assembled owners," under recent legislation. Apart from these latter figures, the fact that one Boajd has extricated about 70,000 acres from, the barbed-wire entanglements of Native title is a, sufficient guarantee of progressive development. WATERSIDE IMPROVEMENTS. RECLAMATIONS AND WHARF WORKS. Nowhere has progress been more manifest during 1910 than at the waterside. The great harbour works scheme has advance several stages. The long arms of new electric cranes reach out from the Railway Wharf, and the new flashing light, of 300 candle power, visible for eight miles, will for the first time greet the dawning year. Those leviathan sheds on Queenstreet Wharf , with their electric hoists and conveyors are nearing completion. Day and: night we have dredgers at work tearing out tins oottom. of the harbour where we want depth, and just as ceaselessly the work goes on of filling in the inshore places where we want land. The contour of Nature, bay aad point, continues to alter, and Hobeon Bay is destined to be the playground of tlie teeming population of East Auckland what time the Remuera slopes are peopled like Parnell, and the outflowing spreads itself over Orakei. The commercial side of this reclamation work is not being lost sight of; at Freeman's Bay, where Auckland has seen gigantic changes, it is reported that the annual rental of leases auctioned is returning about 25 per cent, oh the cost of the work.

And then Auckland is to be the naval headquarters for the South Pacific! In anticipation, tenders have been called, for pumps of enormous capacity, which mil bo able to empty the dock from the level of water in 2£ hours. Right round the dock runs a railway, on which is a heavy carriage tliat can take a weight of 125 tons. As further impressing on Auckland the responsibility as well as the pride of naval

power, comes the announcement that the Government is arranging to buy land at Burton's. .Point, across the peninsula, which position, Lord Kitchener said, is the key of our defences. THE DRAINAGE SCHEME. OPENING UP THE SUBURBS. When the Harbour Board unsolved upon its scheme of works in 1904, the cost was estimated at about two millions. As a. spending body the Auckland City and Suburban Drainage Board ranks next, with, a. scheme estimated to cost one million. So far tenders aggregating over £150, have been let, some of which have been completed. It is estimated that before the end of March, 1911, the total contracts let will be increased to £190,000.

The main sower is perhaps the most interesting feature of the scheme. The contract is in progress with the Hobson Bay section, where some difficulty has been experienced in connection •with the foundations. - The sewer, which is Bft 6in high' by sffc Bin wide in its largest, portion, is capable of delivering about 60 million gallons of sewage every 24 hours. The fall in the sewer is only 1 in 3000, and. there is a fall of only Bft from Queen-street to the storage tanks at Orakei, which will have a total capacity of 7,700,000 gallons.

With drainage is linked the question of suburb-making, in that a fight was waged during 1910 with regard to the minimum size, of building sites in unsowered suburbs. It was not so much a question of what the actual minimum should bo as whether road boards administering important suburban areas should have power to prescribe a minimum. Most, people answered the latter question in the affirmative. having in mind tho importance, of avoiding in the expanding suburbs mistakes made years ago in the city, and recognising the special need to protect public health in undrained areas. The upshot was that the by-law powers of suburban local authorities as regard building site limits were reaffirmed by an Act passed during the session just closed.

CITY COUNCIL COMMITMENTS. ELECTRICITY AND WATER. The Auckland City Council's programme of works runs into well over half a million. The extension of electric lighting and power is responsible for a. loan of £225,000. The foundations for the new electric power station have been in hand for some time, and a contract has been let for the building itself, in which will be installed a vory elaborate modern electrical plant. Incidental matters like the Government hydroelectric plans (which may or may not be competitive), and a big claim for compensation in connection with lessee interests in the power-station site, have attracted attention, but the City Council hopes to adjust all difficulties. .

Another big work is the water supply scheme, a large instalment of which was completed when the contractors recently put the finishing touches on the dam at Waitakere, which holds, when full, about 2130,000,000 gallons. A further instalment of the schema which is projected is another large dam above. Nihotupu, which, it is calculated, will conserve about 900,000 gallons. When all the works are completed, the Council will, it is estimated, be able to meet the requirements of 250,000 people. Auckland and environs may bo taken now as containing 100,000, and the population grows rapidly.

The great defefct of the city continues to be its streets narrowness of some and the dustiness of all. The problem is to find a cheap way of street-making which will not involve the use in heavy traffic thoroughfares of soft volcanic stone that grinds to powder. A big streets' improvement loan is advocated.

A BIG BUILDING YEAR. SCARCITY OF LABOUR. Builders have been so busy in Auckland that for some time it has been difficult to get labour, and tendering timelimits have had to bo extended. Hero are a few of the big public buildings in hand or completed:—Town Hall, £121,; new Post Office, £100,000 ; new ferry buildings, £55,077 new electric power station, £51,000; new Technical College, £25,000; new Harbour Board sheds, £21,322 Sacred Heart Convent, Remuera, £16,000; Fuller's Theatre, Newton, £10,000. With some lesser additions to the list, the total is £390,000. Public buildings in contemplation include new University, £100,000; new railway station, £100, Hospital Board's building programme,' £57,700; new Dilworth Institute, Mount Hobson, £25,000; new bath buildings, Karangahape Read, £20,000; municipal depot, Freeman's Bay, £20,000; new coal stores, £16,000; new Magistrate's Courthouse, £12,000; total (including lesser buildings) about £321,000.

A rough list of big city premises (private) for which contracts have been let, or which have recently been completed, gives a total of about £200,000. It. is estimated that in the residential parts of the city and suburbs about 1000 houses, at a cost of about £500,000, have been erected during the year. And everything points to the 1910 figures being maintained, if not exceeded, in 1911.

THE GOLDFIELDS. RETURNS AND PROSPECTS. The Auckland goldfields, during 1910, have been actively developed in numerous directions, and with such gratifying residts that the output for the 12 months is likely. to prove the second highest on record during the past 27 years. Owing to the fact that the final clean-up for the year in the case of at least one big bul-lion-producing property, is not yet to hand, it is not possible to arrive at definite figures for the 1910 output. Calculating, however, upon the available figures to date, and estimating the returns to come upon the basis of those most recently announced, th<3 total for the past 12 months should be about £1,340,000, or some £28,000 in advance of the output for 1909, viz., £1,312,824 12s 7d. The past year's yield, therefore, will only be excelled by the record established in 1907, when bullion to the value of £1,421,216 was won from the gold mines in the Auckland district, and in comparing the two it mci.st not be forgotten that the 1907 total ivas largely enhanced by the phenomenal output from the Waiotahi mine daring that period of £149,820 12s, and that the Waiotahi patch was then worked out.

As do extensively rich patches have been discovered or worked during the past 12 months,. the fact that the output during 1910 should have iso nearly approached that of 1907, goes to show that the gold mining industry in the Auckland province has a gratifying permanence,' and that still greater yields may be looked for in the years to come. A significant fact in illustration of this is furnished in the circumstance that, although the output from the famous Waihi mine during the pas*, year has up to the present shown a falling-off compared with the' corresponding returns for 1909 (there is still one return from the mine for the 1910 year /come), the combined output from the whole of the mines in the Auckland district' yet discloses a substantial increase, this being principally brought about by the record outputs from the Waihi Grand Junction find Old Hauraki mines, the Kuaotunu mines, and the resumption of operations in the New Zealand Grown mines at Karangahake. The yield from, the Waihi Grand Junction property during the year (with one return to come) for instance, has shown an advance of £31,903 9s lid upon the returns for the corresponding period of 1909, while the returns from the Old Hauraki mine have gone up from ,£1455 12s 6cl i& 1909 i to £13,368. 16s in

1910, and the yield from the New Zealand Crown mines during the past year, excluding the December production, has been £13,600, whereas in 1909 the output was nil, no work being done in the mine. These increases are indeed encouraging, and are rendered all the more so when it is remembered that highly promising developments are taking place, not only in these, but also in other properties. Notwithstanding the circumstances that the returns from the Waihi mine have shrunk during the period under review, this famous bullion-producer has again proved the chief mainstay of the industry, the yield for the first 11 months of 1910 (corrected to July 9) having been £851,635. The falling away has been solely due to poorer values being met with in the ore bodies at No. 9 level, the immense ore reserves being worked in the upper level having continued to be as productive as ever. As the company is now opening up a No. 10 level, at a depth of 1150 ft from the surface or 150£t lower than No. 9, the operations at this depth will bo followed with keen interest throughout the year At an expenditure of something like £150,000, the company is also harnessing the Hora Hora Falls, and with the power thus developed will be able to work at a cheaper rate, and consequently with increased advantage to the shareholders.

The Waihi Grand Junction mine is now at. one of the most interesting stages of its history, and with the constantly increasing returns now coming to hand, due to better values coming in in the ore bodies intersected and the enlargement of the milling plant., enabling a large tonnage to be dealt with, should soon take its rank among the dividend payers. Advancing from £70,918 13s 9d in 1908, to £99,916 3s 8d in 1909, the output during the past year, with still another return to come, has reached £122,196 13s 9d. The Mary and other lodes in the mine having opened up well, the company i<> now increasing the milling plant from 40 to 100 stamps, and when the machinery has been installed will be able to treat between 9000 and 10,000 tons for the fourweekly periods. Simultaneously with the opening up of the Waihi mine at a depth of 1150 ft the Grand Junction Company lias also decided to exploit its mine at greater depth, and the preparations for this are already well advanced.

Important developments are also taking place in the Waihi Extended mine, and the Waihi Reefs Consolidated Company is pushing vigorously ahead with the work of sinking its shaft preparatory to opening out. At Karangahake the prospects are also brighter. With one return to come the output from the Talisman mine during the past year totals £196,490 15s 3d, exceeding that for the corresponding 11 months of 1909 by £2,029 7s 6d. Although the increase thus represented is comparatively slight, still greater advances may bo anticipated in the near future, as the company is now proceeding apace with vigorous development of its Woodstock property, believed to contain much favourable ore, and the existence of highly payable quartz has been proved in tho winzes sunk from No. 13 level, the best level yet explored in the mine. The Crown mine, too, in which operations were resumed during the year, is now being opened up on an extensive scale, and the returns recently reported demonstrate that there axe possibilities ahead, such as warrant the belief that tho mine will ere long take its former place, well up among the big bullion-producers of the district.

Operations on the Thames field during the past 12 months have been attended by more interest than usual, owing to the commencement, after many protracted delays, of the deep levels scheme. Commencing under auspicious circumstances, the cutting of gold-bearing quartz in opening out the chamber aE the bottom of the Queen •of Beauty shaft— deep level crosscut has now been driven l!2sft through the Government reserve into the May Queen ground, and will be continued for 2000 ft through to the Caledonian shaft, penetrating the May Queen, Saxon, Victoria, Waiotahi, and Kuranui-Cale-donian companies' respective properties. At the close of the year, when operations were suspended for the holidays, a considerable flow of water was started in the drive with every prospect of meeting with a reef a few feet ahead. Considerable energy has also been displayed by the May Queen Company in prospecting its property at the 1000 ft level, but up to the present no results of any importance have been thieved. Further up the field development work is being vigorously prosecuted at the Watchman mine with highly favourable results.

' Tho Coronxandcl and Kuaotunu fields have shown a considerable revival. As already stated, bullion to the value of £12,718 16s 4d has been won from the Old Haurabi mine during the year, and payable ore is still being obtained. From the neighbouring mine, the Hauraki Reefs, payable returns are now being announced, while in the Bremner's Freehold property specimen reefs have been intersected and are now being driven on. At Kuaotunu the Mountain King mine has yielded £4269 in bullion since June last, and the Wandsworth 'mine £1886 7s 9d, and at both these mines and in the new Waitaia as well, payable ore is still being worked.