TAIERI RIVER TRUST

Otago Daily Times, Issue 18856, 8 May 1923, Page 2

TAIERI RIVER TRUST

THE RECENT FLOODS. A meeting of the Taieri River Trust was held in the Mosgiel Coronation Hall yesterday. Mr R. T. Sadd, Commissioner of . Crown Lands, occupied the chair, and there were 1 also present Messrs J. Matheson, W. | Blackie, N. Reid, D. Ford, W. J. Mar- ; shall, jun., George M'Leod, L. B. Camp-j bell, and B. B. Conston (engineer to the : trust). ■ j The Chairman said that a deputation; from tht south end of the Taieri desired , to place its views before the trust regard- j ing the recent floods on the Taieri. i , Mr D. T. Shand said that a fairly large meeting had been held at Henley to dis- j cuss the question of the recent floods and \ to ask what tho trust was going to do in the matter The deputation was a result of that meeting. Mi* W. G. Reid said that they regretted very much that the bank of the Taien I should have broken at Bryant's. He de- | sired to know what the trust was going to do to repair the break, so that the farmers could get their crops in next season. The river had broken in the same place in 1917, j and he thought that they had three floods ; one after another, and as a result they could not get any crops put in that season, j They realised that the outlet boxes were exceedingly valuable, and although the river was itp tho previous day they were discharging very freely. Practically all the cuts round tho lake had been stopped discharging. There was, however, a large! bank at the top of Berkeley that was hold- I ing baok the water, and the high banks at | Bull’s Creek also stopped.it getting away, i They thought that the drains should be cleared , out The lake . from the Titiri bridge to Waipori was also in a bad state as regards gorso . Mr, A. iVloyiunan said that represented the centra! part of the plain. Ho that the banks had been neglected. If they were going to be saddled with a niat;tor, of £4GUO or .£SOOO every year it appeared ' to him that it was time something was done to remedy t)ie position. He was certain that if they were going to go on the same lines as before they would have the plain flooded again. He thought that the bank of the river should ■' be. shifted buck to the railway at Otokia. He was perfectly satisfied with the internal drains in a normal season. The contour channel would have been a success had; it been properly constructed. A' hovyover, had been made from tho engineer's design on a material point. lie. understood that the pumps were not workable. This was a very strange thing and should not-have occurred. . .

Mr W. G. Reid said that the Taieri was a great deal worse, off to-day than when they started. ' Mr A. Fleming said that the Railway Department would not allow them to put the bank at Otokia any. higher than at- present. He thought that a kind of spillwnv could ■be made at Otokia. • It would pay the trust ' to employ a man to go round uiO embankments. , . Mr A. Mcore said that the,.Taieri River was bottled up from Otokia to Henley. The only solution was to make the railway •line the'bank. He believed this would relievo East Taieri considerably. So far as the rabbit holes in the embankments were concerned, he thought that the, settlers should bo compelled l to keep down the rabbits. 1 Mr Brvanfc said that they should not blame the trust for the state of the bank near his place. They should blame themselves fog not attending to the bank better j in time of flood. This was the most dan-. gerous part, in the whole line of embankment in the Taieri River. The Chairman said that the reprosenta- 1 tions ol the deputation would receive care- 1 fid consideration by the members of the trust. Tnev would see if they could not get something done that would safeguard l the properties of the settlers in the Taieri • as far as possible. j The Chairman further added that he had 1 just received word from Mr J. M. , Dickson. M.P.. who had been in Wellington and, had interviewed the Minister of Works and i the Minister of Railways, .that the Govern- \ merit had agreed to go on with the length-' eiiiiig of the Otokia bridge, as recommended by the New Zealand Rivers Commission, and that it would pay the cost. The trust then went into committee.