ROTORUA TO NAPIER.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 18197, 18 March 1921, Page 7

ROTORUA TO NAPIER.

THE PARLIAMENTARY TOUR. IV.—AND THE RAIN CAME. By Our Special Representative. At several points of tho tour it was naively suggested that the settlers who have for years lived with the nightmare of bad roads had prayed for rain. They apparently iiad little laitli in the imaginative capacity of members of Parliament, and believed a more lasting impression would be made if the touring party could only see the roads when they were really bad. It was not enough that, when dry, the wheel tracks were in many places a foot deep, and the’ roads full ot <j oe !> ruts, telling plainly of the ploughing during the last rain. Possibly the party’s prayers were in conflict with those of the settlers, and though it would be extravagant to claim that they were more influential with tho clerk of the weather, they were wonderfully fortunate. But when, it did rain it was not half hearted. “A purely loca] and tropical rain,” said one of our hosts, who had nis eyes set on Waikaremoana, which was the objective of the following day. It may have been local, but it certainly, was not tropical, except in intensity, for it’was very cold.

The party loft Gisborne in early morning, after having been royally entertained and fully informed as to its past achievements and promising future. It was mainly from tho capital of the East Coast that the whole arrangements and organisation of the tour bad been, directed. And the organisation was perfect enough to serve as_ a model for any similar undertaking, especially when it is remembered that the long journey wasaccomplished by motor cars. Probably tho absence of railways has stimulated all the latent power of tho district m perfecting motor traction, but whether this be -so or not the fleet of motor cars and the men who dr'ove them were decidedly of a high class. The party travelled over many places which were called roads, but which certainly wore not roads in the literal sense of tho word And yet the Wilkinson Motor Company’s service cars carried the large party without a mishap of a serious nature —indeed, up till the last hours of tho trip without even a puncture. After another m&morable Maori breakfast —later I will toll readers some of the reasons why Maori breakfasts are memorable—at Manutuke the rain came on in earnest. The five-mile climb up the Wharerata Hill, the cars carrying heavy chains, was a sheer plug—a triumph of motive power to pull a heavy load over an abominably greasy surface. At times the cars swung dangerously close to precipitous gullies, and it was hot uncommon to see them axle-deep in mud. Most of them carried seven passengers, and almost the wjiole of the 20-mile run 1 on the hills was traversed under the most adverse conditions. Somebody’s prayers had evidently been answered. At Mbrere the party lunched, and its most intrepid members visited the magnificent native bush surrounding the batljs. It was not an ideal day to appreciate the beauties of the place, though the nikau palms and mammoth ferns were very , pleasing. Te Kooti, the Maori outlaw, travelled over some of this country after the Poverty Bay massacre, the scene of which was five miles from Gisborne. It must surely have been ideal country—to shelter a- fugitive from justice even in the . late sixties. “A good road,” wrote Richard Jefferies, master of English prose and _ champion ot the open-air life, “is recognised as the groundwork of civilisation.’’ Many parts of the dominion, judged by this standard, have something to achieve before complete civilisation is reached. Man is a wonderfully adaptable animal, but the handicap placed on producers almost throughout the Coast is an unfair one, and in the near future will surely be an unnecessary one. At times the party struck a piece of metalled road — an oasis in'many miles of mud. A detour was made at Nuhaka for the purpose of visiting the site of the Waikokopu Harbour, where Mr_ A. Slinger 'late engineer of the local Drainage Board) is in charge. It is an ambitious project on the site of an old whaling station. The visitors inspected it under the most adverse conditions, in the teeth of a gale and under torrential rain. The Pacific Ocean was in especially angry mood, but the sheltered corner of Waikokopu was comparatively calm. The scenes of'the whaling days have not wholly disappeared, but for some years, produce has been lightered on the site where whales were once tried out, and last year coal was landed hero at a critical hour for the Wairoa freezing works. Wairoa has a river harbour, but for weeks and even months at a time it is closed. Some folks still dream of a river harbour atf Wairoa, though one member of Parliament solemnly warned them that “the Almighty never intended harbours to bo built at tho mouths of rivers in Now Zealand.” The railway _ is fast approaching Waikokopu Harbour.' the chairman of the board declaring that "“the speed displayed was unique in the history of railway building in the dominion.” The harbour project has the benediction of experts, and the Wairoa district generally is very optimistic. ‘ Tho remainder of the day’s journey was uneventful, and in due time the parly arrived ?t the town, which stands on the bank of a beautiful river. Parts of tho district have' been settled for many years, a beautiful line of mature walnut trees being silent witness to the early presence of white settlers.' The evening_ at Wairoa was marked by a further evidence of the hospitality with which the party was at times almost overwhelmed. When the sun rose on the morrow even the mists had cleared, and the 40-mile drive to Waikaremoana was very pleasant. Tho scenery is in parts very fine, and old plantations by the way bear evidence of early occupancy by the white man. Some of the-, older trees were planted the military occupation of the district in the days of the Maori menace. In many places the roads bear signs of the improvement due to the coming development of hydro-eleotrio power at Waikaremoana, There are tracts of good land along the road, but oven such parts are not of the uniform quality of the East Coast lands covered in the earlier days of the tour. There are signs of on approaching the lake—roads are being formed in preparation for the great volume of power which will be distributed over a large part of the North, Island. This scheme taps a reserve of power which, according to” Mr Evan Parry, late Chief Electrical Engineer, is equalled by only one other source ot powdt in the world. It is an ideal place for the development of power,, presenting little difficulty in placing (he necessary machinery in position. _ As a project it is simple. Almost unlimited power exists there which can be harnessed in several places. The outlets of the lake, which is 2015 ft above sea-level, are underground. The lake and some of its history and mystery will be dealt with in a separate article.

Next day the party returned to Wairoa for lunch, and after {lidding adieu to three of the organisers (Messrs Eysnar, Williams, and Ngata, M.P.’s) the 80-mile run to Napier was undertaken. Considering the fact that part of the road to Napier is through land which has long been settled, a large portion of the road is truly wretched. The surface is bad—it would be impassable for motor cars in winter —and the grade is worse. It must have begun, like Topsy, and have just grown, for it was surely not surveyed with a view to the best possible grades. The Government is now spending a large amount of money on a, new road, which will shorten the distance and out down some of the worst of the hill. The day was very hot, and the first punctures-of the-trip were experienced. A serious collision was narrowly averted by the presence of mind of the drivers concerned, and the only damage affected some lugpjage trunks, which were badly smashed. Mfost of the land was disappointingly poor, and, the paucity of stock was accounted for by the long drought. Tho settlers do not app'ear to be as enterprising as their compatriots on the Coast. The bad old road is itself an evidence of the fact. As the party approached Napier the blackberry pest came prominently into sight. Some of the land is being ruined for the present. Part of this was once bush, and cost much money and labour to break in, but the blackberry presents almost an obstacle as formidable as the virgin bush. It has been suggested that herds of goats may be used to eat # down the young shoots, but to do this.will materially diminish the carrying capacity of the land., Certain it is that the settlers on the black-berry-infested lands are faced with a most serious problem, and it is rather remarkable that there is so little evidence of any sustained efforts to destroy the berry bushes. Hundreds ot people pick the berries in the season, and thousands of birds distribute the seed far and wide. The tour ended at Napier with a dinner and a civic reception, for which the Napier branch of the league was responsible. The whole tour was in every way successful, and will long be remembered as a pleasurable and profitable experience by those who took part in it.