RAILWAY CONSTRUCTION.
"FIRST SOD" CEREMONIES. "You need not take much notice of the ' first sod * operations," said Mr. J. W. Card, in his electioneering address at Carterton. "I can remember when I was a boy, in my 'teens, a ''first sod' of the Martinborough railway being turned. That was in 1887, and the Minister performing the cen;mony stated that he expected to see the job finished in five years. Nothing more was heard for years, until, in 1908, the ' first sod' was again turned with great ceremony, pomp, and enthusiasm. Asked when the line might be expected to reach completion, the then Minister reElied, 'In about five years.' That would ave brought the completion of the Mairtinborough railway in 1913. Here it is 1922, and not even another sod has been turned. It would foe infinitely better to hold ceremonies of jubilation over the driving of the ' last spike' rather than the turning of the ' first sod.' ".
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Bibliographic details
New Zealand Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 18218, 11 October 1922, Page 10
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157RAILWAY CONSTRUCTION. New Zealand Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 18218, 11 October 1922, Page 10
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