NEW RAILWAYS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LI, Issue 15504, 10 January 1914, Page 8

NEW RAILWAYS.

EAST COAST DISTRICT. %§ CONNECTION WITH MAIN '3 SYSTEM. ■ I ROTORUA AND PAENGAROA. 5 NO SUPPORT IN AUCKLAND. 1 A sew railway route proposed t„ th. east coast of ,he Auckland pf*"* '' - with the Main TrnA ifnfjf *™ '3 of » letter from the irSry^-t Chamber of co mm :;; h ; "ft J letter brought under the notice of ri chamber the claims of the leap* J £ speedy construction of a line of '-, *■ connecting the East Coast with the 3' m system, via Rotorua and PaenST I It was pointed „, t that ewrtrSft ' rail-ay, though of mt benefit to cJi£ ' conferred far more direct advancess" . : " country population; therefore £ £ - considered that the great number % ' jsettlers scattered aver the district that ' : < t would be tapped by such a ot e «L untied to consideration. The league S -- : ;an executive body, composed of delegates I I from various local bodies and Jrf£ , | organisations. i"^W The settlers jrenftrallv in th* Bay M '' | Plenty and the Waikato were said to J i unanimous in advocating the Rotors " Paensaroa railway, for the fojlowfo, '? reasons.—Only 33 miles of railway would ~ l need to be constructed from Rotorua 4, ■' Paengaroa, the cost of which it wag M claimed would he about half that of t&j !' Wailii-Tauranga route; the grade was easy » and no engineering difficulties would hays! ' to be overcome; the country was fertile ■■ and good for either grazing or dairying; i : would tap the heart of the land instead & '■' buying the coast for a considerable % ' ' tanoe. In the opinion of Mr. G. L. Peacoeke, this really amounted to a pioppgj. ■"*';■ tion to compel every person who to reach the East Coast to go by way of' Rotorua. This was a purely national : : question, and he thought it was the duty of the chamber to support that ■ which would be of greater benefit to tils' community as a whole, and not as a geetion. The adoption of such a schema as this league championed would be oil V contrary to the interests of the farmers and would deprive them of 54 miles of : " : 1 level line from Paeroa to Tannings Rotorua seemed to think that the mas interests in New Zealand were the -.. terests attached to Rotorua. Other members were quite in agreement-"! with Mr. Peacocke's remarks, all coneidering that this line should cot tsJus precedence of the proposed Waibi-Tau-ranga line, which was comparatively a ~ '■ much more important one. The following motion by Mr. Peace:/.was carried unanimously —"That in tha opinion of this chamber it is inadvisable to press upon the Government the construction of a branch line between Pa<-nr-re*, and Rotorua until the Main TrunhEast Coast railway connecting Gisborns and the East Coast settlements with: Auckland and the general railway system,, via Waihi, lauranga, and Opotiki, ii much further advanced than at "present." -■■-■■■■< VIEWS 0? TEE MAYOR' J§| ■ ! 3 ■'■•'■ CONNECTION WITH PAEROA; ,-.'-> . •• i~ ■ 'The urgent necessity for a shorter connection by railway between the- Mais Trunk system and the fertile lands of U» Thames Valley and the East Coast district, was strongly impressed upon the' Mavdr of Auckland (Mr. C. J. Parr) during a motoring tour, from which he returned' yesterday. As president of the Auckland . Railways League, Mr. Parr made a can observation of the districts through which ; he passed. " Among the proposals consistently maintained' by the Auckland League is* that > railway about 40 miles in length should be constructed from the main line to Paeroa, reducing the distance by half. Mr. Parr said that he had returned'with &■- conviction that the Government should bs urged to give immediate attention to the '.' advisability of carrying out this project. The line would traverse a tract of fe'i, : - country that is not at present served by any railway,- and is lying ready for development. It would give & dire.t routs for the traffic of the East Coas:, svstem,:' and would obviate the duplication .oltj&sl railway so far as Frankton, an undertaking which would soon be .essential. He adder! that it was the manifest duty of the Parliamentary representatives of*the city and neighbouring districts to co-operate in urging the speedy construction of this , railway. " . ; ?iU' "The East Coast will be as valuable in : asset as the whole of the Waikato," "f. Parr continued. He travelled as far east" as Tauranga and Te Puke, and was convinced' that the character of the country ! lying beyond Waihi fully justified thevigorous prosecution of the railway; Settlement is advancing rapidly, *.j* development' in the Thames 'Valley being particularly notable. New areas are be'-..-brought into cultivation, and large holdings .;; are now being worked'in six or seven farms. The occupation-'of native lands is J>j also proceeding, and under the influence 'of the Government's new legislation, an increasing area of land that is now growing noxious weeds and pay no rates will o* brought into profitable use. mmmtmm i •■