Ohai Railway Board.

Otautau Standard and Wallace County Chronicle, Volume XXII, Issue 1091, 3 August 1926, Page 3

Ohai Railway Board.

ANNUAL MEETING

The ninth annual meeting of tiie ratepayers of the Ohai Railway District, was held m the Ohai Public Hall ou Saturday afternoon, Mr A,

W. Rodger, Chairman of Ihe Board presiding.

The Chairman, m welcoming littepayurs, intimated that no statutory obligation rested upon the Board to hole 1 au annual meeting of Ratepayers M urn burs of the Board had, however, since the creation of the Railway District taken this method of meeting the ratepayers and laying before them au Hocount of the year's working. Tlitt Chaiiman then proceeded to give a complete resume of the financial transactions of the year, comparing each item of receipts and expenditure wit! the Balance Sheet of the previous year and giving an account of tin reasons leading t o any nmrUwd diftV-i---euee m the principal items. A fresh agreement with the Railway Drpait moiit had rcsultad m a considerable increase m the cost of liire of wagons. This agreement was m line with tht new condiiions of haulage on i ljc Gou-rnrnent Railways, tln\ difference m the tariff, together with the extra tonnage hauled, had put up the total charge for truck hire by £1,288. A complete overhaul of one of the Board's locomotives had increased running expenses which showed a i b:e of i'To'l. In connection with enginys, the Board had called for lenders m the Dominion and Britain for a new locomotive, of double the hauling cap acity of any engine at present on the line and these tenders would close during the next month The 'coal haulage revenue for the year amounted to £27,027, as against £2dA'6l. lor the previous ycir. In the meantime however, the Board had reduced the haulage on round coal b) Is per tin. The revenue fiom this. source must be considered sis satisfactory, the incieas" ed tonnage materially helping to reduce the difference covered by the lesser rate. The overdraft at the present time was £6,000 lower than at the same time last year. Extra ex penditiui) incurred during the year had been for the new weighbridge, crane, carriages, installation of electricity at Wairio and fencing. The aggregate surplus of assets over liabilities amounted to £82,250 1 Is J Id which must be considered highly satisfactory. The revenue for working the line over the course of years had varied from us 2d per ton m 1917 to 3s 3d per ton, the latter figure being this years average. Tha cost per ton under all heads this year had been Is 11.94 as against Is lOd last year and Is 11.97 tha previous year, the profit per ton being Is 3d this year, Is lOd last year and Is 8d m 1924. The coal hauled for the year amounted to 1.88,000 tons as against 160,000 last year. Of this years total 38,000 j tons comprised nuts and dross, the percentage of which was slightly increasing. In outlining general improvements the Chairman said a passenger service had been instituted but was disappointing. The support had not been given which the Board had reason to believe would be given. There was no profit m the passenger service at any time, but it was a heavy loss now. Mr Rodger intimated he had interviewed two members of the Railway Board m regard to through passenger and freight service and trusted this would avantaate shortly. The Board has m view better accommodation at Ohai or Reeds, this matter having beeu held up till the route of uxtsneion was determined. The lease of the Moretown line to the Now Brighton Coal Company having been cancelled, tha Board had called tenders for lifting the old line, between Moretown and "Wairio. The stretch from Moretown to. Mossbank had been lifted and the rails sold- to the Otago Harbour Board. The new railway tariff had come into force m November and they were led to believe was working satisfactorily for the Department. Tha Canference be tween tho Boavd Members and the Coal owners Aisociati©» had resulted m the freight on round coal being reduced by Is per ton wfeioh reduction had been a considerable help to the coal owners and had not affected the Board adversely to any extent, as increased haulage had returned a largo portion of the loss. Complaints had been made of the ehargas for goods from Wairio but ifc was impossible to lower these until the Department reduced their hire charges' when through traffic would be the result. The extension of the line had been held up owing to the general meeting m Jan vary awaiting the Government Report. This had come to hand and was duly circulated as promised. The route was now denned, tha original course being adppfced with one or two slight modifications, an overhead bridge at Linton creek replacing a level crossing. The contract for the next portion had been let and work would commence m September. The Board had considered the position of the ratepayers m the township owing to development there and had decided it wa? time the township held direct representation on the Board. It was proposed tc divide the District into Wards Ohai W&rd, taking m Messrs Mills, Weavers, Pdrteous and McLeans land, and sections on both sides of road to the Morley Collieries. This area would cover the present township and any likely extension for many years ahead. Wairaki Ward taking m North East of road to Wilding's pro perty. Waiau Riding, comprising ,Birchwood, Mt. Linton and settlers m Valley to Feldwick. Waiiio Rkl- . ing, Coal mines on South side of Wairaki road and Messrs Tinkers, Forde and llonalds properties, th6se four rjdjngij covering the whole Railway District. It was also proposed to elect nine members m place of seven. The division being on a Capital Value , baais worked out at Ohai £12,000, one , member. Waiiio £29,000, two mem- . bers. Wairaki £46,000, two members and Waiau £101,000, four mem-

bers. In closing, Mr Rodger expressed appreciation of thr help of his col leagues, the Clerk, Engineer. Manager and the; Stall, fur their services during the year. Mr Edie endorsed the Chairman's remarks, aud said the year had bun very satisfactory. Mr Macdonald said the Chairman had given a comprehensive review, and left little to b« said, only that, m his opinion, the line should be completed to Birchwood without an undue delay. Mr Excell said many troubled questions had been settled, and the Boa id's business was going smoothly. In u>i»:ii-fl to the new railway tratiic, uifmbcis, ratepayers, and residents all owed Mr Rodger their thanks. The oiigin.-d proposals outlined by tho ilailw-jy Department would have been must Mlijtiiinenlal to tho Ohai h'cld, while the counter proposals submitted by Mr llodger had given the Railway l.>t|i;u t.'iient an equal revenue aud wi.ti: much more equitable, and had been adopted as generally acceptable throughout the Dominion. Mr McLeiiiiuu endorsed the remarks made, and stated he was pleased thu line was to »o on. The year lmd turned out satisfactorily. Mr Crawford, m his remarks, considered it was a wise step to give Ohai direct representation. The mild season had affected coal trade, --and would make o'vners consider their methods with the idea of tinning out a better article. Mr McGregor congratulated the Chili rman em his report-, and the Board oii its position. Thcie w;i;j an increase m traffic. ThiT increase m the Government tarilV had been successfully attended to, but it was necessary to keep a close eye on this matter as it affected their district The good quality of coal now available was getting the market, aud other mines were negotiating for concessions. The passenger traffic service needed improvement. The Board would have to consider the installation of ,an up-to-date motor coach to stop at. all the different points In regard to the route, they were now all satisfied, and had the Government supervision and sanction, which would simplify matters when the Hue was ultimately taken over by the state. Ohai was entitled to representation, and the Ward system, as outlined, was the proper method to give same. The report and balance sheet were adopted. Mr J. S. Brass, on behalf of tho Library Committeo, than thanked members for their assistance m establishing a library. He did not think the present passenger service was satisfactory, and consideied an improvement should be made and the public catered for to compete with motor traffic. More frequent stoppages at convenient points m the township would maka the service more attractive, Mr Brass stated he was very much m favour of the Ward syitem and Ohai representation, and congratulated tiie Ghairuiau and member's on ably controlling such an institution as the Railway. Mr McLean said he was pleased at the financial statement, but the passenger service needed attention. A platform for getting on and off the vehicle was very necessary." Mr Rodger then commouted on the various points brought forward. Mr Brass moved and Mr Stokes s§conded "That this meeting of ratepayers of the Ohai Railway District approves of the division of the district into four wards m order to afford Ohai Township direct representation, and recommends such ward division be, Ohai (one), Wairio (two), Wairaki (two) and Waiau (four), and express the hope that such amendment to the •' Local Railways' Act" may be made as will at an early date allow this u#\v Method of rttpresentafcion being given effect to." A vote of thanks to the chair ter ruinated a successful meeting.