LIFE UNDER CANVAS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22709, 23 October 1935, Page 5

LIFE UNDER CANVAS

MILFORD ROAD ENCAMPMENTS WIDELY SCATTERED SETTLEMENTS HIGH PRICE OF SUPPLIES Camp life on the Te Anau-Milford Sound road has gone through many staged in the past six years since the contract was begun on the shingly flats that skirt the edges of Lake Te Anau, but it is doubtful whether the settlements housing the men engaged on the work of construct "on have ever been more widely scattered than they are at present. When the bush.-, felling gang worked just ahead of the formation squads, who were always, more or less within sight of the gravelling and surfacing Jjangs, life on the road was far more centralised and the community of interest much greater than it is to-day. At the present time the ISO men are spread out in large or small encampments over a 1G mile stretch of country that extends from Cascade Creek, 47 miles from Te Anau, to the Homer. Saddle lunnel at about the o\3 mile peg. The disadvantages.of such an 3xif,teuce should be obvious. The Rugby football ground in the Eglinton Valley is now deserted and the goal posts sway and bend in the wind and do everything bin fall. The large boxing ring enclosed in a huge marquee where surplus energy was dissipated when the population of Lake .lunn and Lake Fergus was denser has disappeared, and so scattered are the caiips now that the Hollyford Talkies, whose prominent signpost still adorns a large beech tree just past Cascade Creek. Lave had to be closed up. Even in the backblocks of the Hollyford Valley the prospect of sound picture entertainment does not appeal if it involves a five, three or even two mile walk through: bush and boulders, over halfformed roads in almos; stygian darkness. Thus it is that life in the camps tends to become less communal, although the men look forward to the near future when most of the cwt v£ o»en>t ; ons will !>■• concentrated within a mile or two of Mount Talbot and the Homer Saddle tunnel. Notwithstanding the reported reluctance of unemployed men to look for work on the Milford road and in similar Public Works settlements, there are very few malcontents in the Hollyford Valley: The weather lately, with its compound of pouring rain and driving snow, has been a sore trial, and the work is undoubtedly hard, but the life has many compensations which the majority recognise, and as.a result most of the men one speaks to express themselves as satisfied without actually going into rhapsodies about the job. Under the co-opera-tive gang system of work, better money than ordinary relief rates has always been made on this work, so that for those who are prepared to work hard and make the most of their opportunities there has been some encouragement. There, is no place for disgruntled growlers and they stay a short time before they decide that the best thing for them is to go " down the road," which is the accepted term for dismissal or resignation. It is interesting to hear the comments of the men about the approach of Christmas. Everyone knows how many Sundays it is till Christinas, and if they do not the ill-informed are quickly told. AH expect a respite, with the lights of the city and normal amusements for a

brief. spell at least, and it is being anticipated with keen relish. But while the average man on the road does not seem to waste much pity on himself, it is impossible not to sympathise with the camp dwellers in the handicaps they have to overcome. For instance, now that the settlements are so scattered some of the men have to go several miles each week for their supplies, no matter what the weather, as it- is impossible for the vans or lorries purveying foodstuffs to make the journey. Actually the department recognises this difficulty and allows the men two hours off to do the weekly shopping. Then again there is the difficulty of water for consumption and the ordinary domestic requirements. It seems strange that such a problem should exist in a country i where water tumbles and splashes every- ! where, but it is a fact that water supply is a serious item in many camps. At the top end of the Hollyford Valley the men could use only melted snow water ror a long time until the. heavy rains of 10 days ago, which melted the snOw and converted the Homer River into a raging torrent. A few days before it had been as dry as desert sand. And a tew days hence it will have ceased to How altogether again. The casual visitor regarding the spectacle of the Homer River rushing madly over rocks and through miniature gorges on its way to join the Hollyford River might find it difficult to believe that a flow several times stronger and faster than the Leith could disappear complete almost in the twinkling of an eye. Yet such is the case in this strange country, where avalanches fall almost at one's back door and one goes to sleep each night with the roar of mountain waters on shifting boulders in one's ears. Generally, however, these difficulties are accepted philosophically enough, and there is an idea that things could be a good deal worse. One cause of complaint, however, can aiways be relied upon to excite the greatest volubility, and lately has resulted in strong 'protests which at times have taken the form of indignation meetings of men from all parts of the road. It concerns the victualling of the camps, which is done from Invercargill, and the actual bone of contention is the scale of prices ruling for necessities. For a long time the camps all the way up through the Eglinton Valley wore supplied by Invercargill tradesmen who made weekly trips from the Southland centre with vans heavily loaded to actual orders. One of the chief of these opera tors for business reasons had to discontinue this branch of his trade, and it is now being carried on under different arrangements. The chief result of the change is generally increased prices. Whereas in the past the men found that it was possible to victual themselves at practically town prices they now find that everything from the smallest to the largest article costs more. This applies to all the necessities of existence on the road, and the strongest exception is taken to the new routine. "It's not right that we should have to pay Is 7d a pound for butter," said one man, " and I don't care how dear mutton and beef are at Burnside, charges up here are far heavier than they should be." Such complaints are echoed all up and down the road, and may be said to form the chief ground for dissatisfaction everywhere. j