RAILWAY LINK

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 21325, 28 October 1932, Page 8

RAILWAY LINK

{TARANAKI TO AUCKLAND DELAYS IN CONSTRUCTION ''PLAYTHING OF POLITICIANS" .WHOLE PROVINCE ROUSED No. in. Although it was anticipated, when the first sod was turned at Stratford in 1901, that the railway would be completed to the Main Trunk in 10 years, the expiry of that time found it still some distance from Whangamomona, with a commencement just about to be made with construction from the eastern end. This was done, as previously pointed out, to give earlier access to the settlers in the Ohura Valley, but 15 years elapsed before the railway was opened to Ohura and that section of 19 miles is still under the control of the Public Works Department. The commencement, of construction from the Main Trunk end aroused a similar controversy to those of the past in regard to the point of junction. For many years the projected line had been officially described as the Stratford-Kawakawa (Ongarue) railway, but the point of junction was never definitely determined. For s considerable period Ongarue had been building hopes of a prosperous future ■upon the fact that it had at all times been regarded as the only possibility of a junction, and it was not until a short time before the first sod was actually turned that disillusionment came. The Junction Decision The activities of surveyors some miles South of Ongarue aroused the first suspicions, and it was learned that under a Railway Authorisation Act, passed in the dying hours of the 1911 session, the junction had been fixed at a point near Te Koura, seven miles south, mid-way between Ongarue and Taumarunui. The possibility of a change, however, had been mentioned in the House as early as 1908. Considerable indignation was expressed by Ongarue residents, but on November 22, 1911, a short while after the passing of the legislation, the Prime Minister, Sir Joseph Ward, turned the first sod, near Te Koura, the junction later becoming known as Okahukura, although there was no settlement there at the time, At the ceremony Sir Joseph Ward explained that different points of junction .were at various times under consideration. A junction north of Ongarue had been considered and the claims of Ongarue had been strongly suggested before Te Koura had been decided upon. ,The junction meant six miles less of construction and an estimated saving in cost, at the time, of £60,000. It also shortened the distance from Ohura to Tau- . marunui by 121 miles, while the distance from Ohura to Ongarue was increased by only half a mile. Up to that time £375,000 had been spent on the line, and it was estimated that the whole cost would be £600,000. Many Delays Occur Construction on this section commenced early in 1912 and progress at both ends continued fitfully. Scarcity of labour during the? war and economic conditions at various times affected the prosecution of the line, but neither of those factors nor the tremendous engineering difficulties involved was totally responsible for the long delay in completion. Only those who have worked on the job can tell how construction was accelerated or retarded in accordance with • the whims of the political party in power, the pressure exerted by constituents or by economic considera-. tions. It has been well designated "the plaything of political powers." Strong pressure from Auckland, chiefly through the Auckland Railway and Development League, resulted in the line being accelerated from this end through Matiere toward Ohura. Matiere, a distance of ten miles from Okahukura, was reached in 1922, the Hon. J. G. Coates, Minister of Public Works, performing the opening ceremony on May 23, when he assured settlers that the line would bo continued to Ohura to meet the development of the valuable lands in that valley, in which roading facilities were deplorable. Construction Cost Increases The cost of construction of the 'Matiere section' had risen to £33,000 a mile, but the importance of the railway as a trunk line was emphasised by Mr. Coates at the opening He referred to the opposition in Taranaki to the policy of advancing the railway from the east end, but defended his attitude on the grounds of the need of early access to the Ohura district. As far as railways and public expenditure were concerned, he said, politics? should be absolutely excluded. The railhead on the Stratford end had reached Tahora by 1920, when work was practically suspended. In fact, since 1912 only ten miles of iine had been completed .on the western eril. Thus it was that an agitation ,was commenced in Taranaki to draw attention to the neglected line. Several semi-political bodies sprang up, among the * earliest being- the Stratford Railway League and the Taranaki Progress League, which cooperated with the Stratford Chamber of Commerce in pressing strongly for work to be continued on the Stratford side as well as on the northern end. They also registered vigorous protests against the "wheel-barrow" methods of construction which the Government was employing and urged the adoption of more up-to-date plant and equipment. Greater Activities The spark fanned by these organisations developed to a flame, which quickly ignited public opinion throughout the ■whole province The advantages of rail connection with Auckland were pressed from every angle during the years from 1924 to 1926. A deputation representing every local body and every chamber of commerce in Taranaki waited upon the Rt. Hon. W F. Massey, Prime Minister, and the Hon. J. G. Coates, Minister of Public, Works, and urged the immediate completion of the line. As a result departmental activity became more apparent, and in 1925 a sum of £IOO,OOO for the continuation of work was placed on the Estimates. In April, 1926, following further representations, Mr. Coates announced that it was intended to give effect to proposals to accelerate construction, and work would be pushed on as vigorously as the natural difficulties would allow. In the meantime, construction on tho eastern end had reached Ohura, and tho line was opened in December, 1926. A gap of 24 miles remained, but to bridge it the railway had to pass a barrier of mountains traversed by deep gullies heavily clad with trackless bush. ' (To be continjed.)