RANGITAIKI DRAINAGE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 18247, 14 November 1922, Page 8

RANGITAIKI DRAINAGE.

WORK NEARING COMPLETION. HIGHLY PRODUCTIVE AREA. The drainage operations on the Rangitaiki Plains, in the Bay ol H«*y,«j steadily drawing toward conclusion. Most of the more important works have been completed. The road construction, conirting of 106 miles, is practically fiwjed, and the general reclamation. work, which *mmenced about 1912, will pwW* at an end next year and something bk« 90,000 acres of highly-productive, land wiU have been added to th» fettling area Ol the Dominion. . The success of the drainage work on vne Rangaitaiki area ia undoubted, and it, together with the same class of work on the Hauraki Plains, has enormously enriched the Dominion. The total cost of draining and reading the Rangatjki c°mj _ try to g date is something over £316,T00, but the market vahmof the land to-day, including the work done by •ettlors, is fully £1,800,000, and when fc he whole area reaches anywhere near the average productive capacity of similar land it.should yield a gross total of fully £1,000,000 a far the whole scheme as mapped out by the Government drainage wjgW" been remarkably successful. »*£»■£ longer to complete than was at first contemplated, and has cost somewhat more than was 'anticipated, but this was largdy due to the state of things caused by tne great war, which made labour e* c ?P fclon : Illy B carce, and increased the values or necessary materials enormously. Complaints, too, have been made regarding conditions in that part of the drainage area between theold bed of the Rangitaiki River and the Tarawera River. Her! is an area privately owned of between 2000 and 3000 acres of very lowlying land near the coast which is said to be going back owing to the shift ing of the new* Tarawera outlet It is excellent grazing land through, the /reater part of the year, and dairying is being carried on; a number of " ler * are established there. Mr. H- Greig, a well-known Taranaki farmer, is mmang 105 cows on his holding of 350 acres which two years ago was in flax and raupo, and be has just landed[on this faran 110 yearling ****»?*%**%£?* Taranaki, said to be one of th«> finest lines of this breed that has ever left the great Ke to be undertaken to further improve this block by groynes at the Tarawera outlet and by erecting stopbanks, which are expected to do away with the present congestion in the drains. When it is considered that there is only a rise and fall of 34ft. in the Bay 0 f Plenty tideß, it will be realised that lowlying land near the coast offers difficulties in the way of complete drainage.