IN THE PUMICE COUNTRY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18584, 17 December 1923, Page 11

IN THE PUMICE COUNTRY.

taupo railway BOARD.

SCHEME FOR NEW LINE.

LEVY ON SAWN TIMBER.

No. T.

When the proposal that the Government should take some the Taupo Totara . Timber Company's railway received an adverse report from the Royal Commission which investigated, it was a considerable disappointment to numbers of ; settlers and landowners whose interests lie along the route. They had been depending on some alleviation of their present difficulties. '1 he suggestion of the RotoruaTaupo connection ■ was little comfort to them. It is not necessary to visit the country to realise why. A glance at the map will show that settlers along the line from Putaruru to Tokoroa and beyond would not provide much traffic for a railway down the Waiotapu Valley. They admit the benefit they receive from the company's line and the share it has had in making possible what development there has been. Still they maintain that better services are necessary. In particular they desire to see the need for a second handling of goods at Putaruru eliminated. What they want is "a line over which Government rolling stock will run. The trggestion was speedily made that a railway board should be formed so that the question of transport might be solved by the reople concerned themselves. This action has been taken. The board is in existence, and has already gone some distance in formulating plans. It claims to have a practicable scheme for a solution of ail the difficulties. On the financial side the promoters claim to be on *afe ground. The board has been given the right by legislation to levy one shilling per hundred feet of sawn timber taken out of its territory, to go toward the cost of the railway project. At _ the present stage of the business the timber stands well in the foreground as one of the most important factors in the whole business. Estimating the Timber. Much of the bush in the territory covered by the Railway Board is in private hands, though there is a certain amount on Crown land, and some that belongs definitely to one or other of the Government departments. The Railway Department, a heavy user of timber, has several holdings. The Railway Board has calculated closely what it may expect to have from the timber levy. On its behalf it has been stated that there are at least 1,400,000,000 feet of sawn timber to be taken out. The levy on this would yield £700.000. This is a great sum, which, the board declares, is more than sufficient to finance the scheme it has in mind. As to the acouracy of its estimates, this at least can be said there is one block of bush given as containing 400,000,000 feet. A surveyor has been into it, run lines through it, divided it into blocks, counted the trees in each block and estimated their timber content. The work could not have been done more thoroughly. Most of the timber in this country consists of totara and matai. Even the most casual glance at some close to the main roads shows mangificent trees. It is claimed that the extra height reached by the timber in this country compared withj say, the King Country, means a heavier yield to the acre than can be obtained elsewhere. There are some good blocks of rimu also to be worked. Railway Board's Bold Schema. With the timber possibilities and the settlement prospects the Railway Board advances a bold scheme. It proposes to secure the present line from Putaruru to the 19-mile peg. This is to be relaid so that it can take the Government rolling stock. Then the plan provides for a departure from ' the company's route, bringing the line to the course of the Waikato River and following the great bend which it makes towards Wairakei and Taupo. This, it is claimed, will make possible * the elimination of those grades and tortuous curves which distinguish the company's line. The river has to be crossed, but the Railway Board has two possible points. one of which is close to the r company's bridge between the 1 Waipapa Stream and the Ongaraho Stream. The other is further west, The route as at present plotted does J not provide for a line through to Taupo. The tentative terminus is near the Wairakei-Atiamuri road. It is contended, however, that if the line goes so far, and the carriage of millable timber begins, the further extension can be easily effected. The declared policy of the board in to have /standard rolling stock running over the whole of its line, so that rehandling at Putaruru will be unnecessary. The new route, it is claimed, will serve all the country west of the Waikato, which slopes down to its basin. The Railway Board naturally presents its own case ' with all the emphasis it can command. It has to be acknowledged, however, that the settlers along the present line and those aroumd_ the shores of Lake Taupo favour its project. The Government Position. Since . the Railway Board has been formed, and the necessary legislation has gone through, the Government no longer plays a leading part in what is done. Several of the requests placed before Mr. Coates were declared by him _to cover questions more naturally belonging to the board. He recommended that representations should be made to that body. Addressing the settlers at Tokoroa after they had urged the need for better railway services, Mr. Coates put the Government position simply and clearly. He explained that he and his officers were travelling to investigate the question for themselves. They wanted to hear both sides, and to find a way out which would leave things better than they had found them. With regard _to the company's line, he suggested that the development along its route would not be possible but for the service it had rendered. However, the settlers had their wishes, which it was his desire to satisfy. The Government had to see also that private rights were not pressed upon toe • hardly. His task was to do his best for the settlers, and try to reconcile their wishes, the plans of the Railway Board, and the private interests concerned. It was a matter for private discussion between the board, the Taupo Totara Timber Company, and himself and his officers. W'alotapu's Need Remains. At that stage the question of improved railway communication from Putaruru into the Taupo country may be said to rest. It is one which has been very much before the public in the past few years. Whether the settlers and the timber owners are to achieve their heart s desire will probably be known before very long. It is impossible not to admire the sturdy faith 'of those who advocate this line and this means of connection with the outer world. At the same time it can be contended that | if the Railway Board carries its project to a conclusion on the lines indicated, the Waiotapu and Kaingaroa section of the pumice country will remain bereft of the communications they need, and the State plantations will mature their timber to little purpose if nothing more is done. The provision of the line from Putaruru will not relieve; the _ Government of responsibility for making the other part of the territory accessible. It can then turn, disembarrassed, to the other poject which has received strong endorsement from independent tribunals, the line from Rotorua to Taupo via Waiotapu. The pumice country is vast and full of possibilities. One means of entry and exit does not necessarily remove the shadow of difficult and expensive transport and communications, which at present lies across its future.