NEW PROVINCE IN MAKING

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXV, Issue 20105, 16 November 1928, Page 10

NEW PROVINCE IN MAKING

A WONDERFUL VALLEY.

GREAT STRETCH! OF COUNTRY

THE KAINGAROA PLAINS.

AFFORESTATION OR FARMS.

[BY OT7B SPECIAL. COMMISSIONER.] No. X. From Reparoa to Taupo the TtotoruaTaupo railway will traverse the valley of the Waikato and run across country as level an the Canterbury Plains, In fact the route of the line all,the way from Waiotapu to Taupo is nearly as easy, so that for over 36 miles it should be inexpensive to build and cheap to run. From a settlement point of view I know no' more impressive valley in New Zealand than this stretch from Waiotapu to Taupo. For 36 miles it averages at least ten mile* in width and then its eastern boundary is only a great slope leading up to the Kaingaroa Plains. Many travellers traverse this valley yearly by the main road from Rotorua southward, hut this gives them no opportunity of seeing its character. They are generally not even aware that the country they travel over is an old terrace built by the Waikato and that river terraces are to be seen three miles to the westward of the main road.

There is at present no through road along the route of the line. Each time I have travelled through I have had to do the journey on horseback and had to take a Maori guide to show me the way through the wilderness of scrub which stretched unbroken from the "Broadland" paddocks down to Joshua's Spa. A New Botorua-Taupo Eoad. Quite recently a bridge has been erected over the Parariki creek and though the road is not formed motor-cars can run down to Wainui, a largo property owned by Mr. W. J. Macklow, where breaking in operations are now being carried out by means of motor tractor. Beyond the Wainui homestead it is less than a mile to the Pueta, the only stream requiring to bridged between there and Taupo. The other day I drove in a motor-car from Taupo northward to within half a mile of the Pueta and could see the Wainui buildings just across tfie Pueta fiats.

A bridge across the Pueta and the formation of a mile and a half of road would open up a new, a shorter, and a easy motor route between Rotorua and Taupo. As I have explained when dealing with the railway, it would run iior over 36 miles over almost dead level country, and it would closely skirt the eastern bank of the Waikato River and incidentally a great length of splendid fly fishing water. The main value of this road, however, is that besides offering a shorter and easier run between Rotorua and Taupo , and Hawke's Bay, it would open up large areas of land to small farm settlement, ( which must inevitably come if proper access is provided, and, of course, it would serve as a service road for the construction of the new railway. / Afforestation Activities. I should explain that I was enabled to motor from Taupo to the banks of tho Pueta because an afforestation company which is actively engaged in planting largo areas in timber forests,, has already made Qver four miles of excellent formation on this surveyed public highway, and intend to form during this summer a further two miles. It has powerful motor machinery and the manager assured me that road making by modern methods is remarkably easy and cheap in this class of country. So far the Stattf has only, dono a small amount of work on the Taupo end of this road, but as the road here traverses a portion of 25,000 acres of Crown lands no doubt it will do its part when the importance of tho new through roads is more widely recognised. I have explained that the North Island Central railway between Reparoa and Taupo will pass through a long broad valley, most of which is suitable for close settlement. It is true that a considerable proportion of the land adjacent to the route of the line here is privately owned, but the State has built most of its railways through privately-owned land, and here just outside the strip of privately-owned land the State possesses about 300,000 acres of the level Kaingaroa Plains. The Soils of the Kaingaroa.

There has been a good deal of controversy regarding the suitability ot the Kaingaroa Plains for farming purposes, but personally I am convinced that a large proportion of this country can be turned quickly and cheaply into use for all our main branches of agriculture and particularly for dairying and the fattening of stock. I have at various time had the opportunity of examining the soils, having ridden and tramped across thcni in various places. In most parts the soil is of a finer texture and deeper than those in the great valley just below, and j o many other parts where pumice soU* are being successfully worked. This opinion is borne ou'. by other people who have had the chance of comparing them. Their suitability for growing timber trees i» generally acknowledged, and experts have declared them to be the best treegrowing soils in the world. Although most of the Kaingaroa country has been handed over to the State Forestry Department for tree planting, I believe'the Government is going to have the plains scientifically surveyed by its (toil chemists and agricultural officials, who will define any areas suitable for farming purposes. It is to be hoped that they will first examine what has been done by settlers in the various districts which I have recontly described in the way of turning similar and, 'in some cases, more barren looking soils into pasture and cropping lands. Some objections have been made to settling the Kaingaroa Plains on account of scarcity* of water, but Maoris I have spoken to on the subject, and some of tne old settlers who know the country, declare that there are numerous springs and small creeks, and besides having a good rainfall there is the Waikato R'Y p r on one side of them and the Rangitaiki running through the whole length.