A PLEA FOE THE OTAGO CENTRAL RAILWAY.

Otago Witness, Issue 2323, 8 September 1898, Page 8

A PLEA FOE THE OTAGO CENTRAL RAILWAY.

, (Special Reporter of the Mount Benger Mai J. i Few people who have not been over the 1 ground recently have any idea of the magni- ; tude of the resources of Central Otago, both i in gold getting and in the more staple form of grain-growing and wool-producing. Slowly, though, the Otago Central railway is creeping | vp — and it is all too slow for the development , of an important province — the railwiy with ! its increased facilities for communication h already making these resources known and ' appreciated. The inexcusable delay in push- ' ing on the line which is in every other respect deplorable has had at least one good ' result in that it lias caused Central Otago's ! valuable assets to be actively canvassed, a fact that is bound to give an impetus to trade in this large district. The Central Otago League have for year 3 urged the necessity for closer communication with the sea board, and it >nay bo said the league's head centre at Dunedin have executed their trust right manfully. Their efforts have hardly been as strongly seconded as they might have been by the Central j Otagons themselves, who after all are the I people chiefly interested. True, branches of tho league aro scattered throughout the disI trict, but until a recent rovhal they have been , in a moribund &lato, and their action has been I erratic and consequently ineffective. What is required is unanimity and concerted action t with the Dunedin league, in continually prej soriting their jusl claims, and this course, I which it is hoped has now been accomplished, J is bound to secure recognition. | THE COUNTRY'S RESOURCES. > In this connection I should doubtless first of all speak of its mining capabilities, as evidenced at the present time, but the diggers' . claim for precedence in the matter may be ■ waived for the moment, and the more permanent products — pastoral and agricultural — dealt with. A cursory glar.ee in pa -sing , through the country gives but the vaguest idea ', of its capabilities in this direction. People J whose only imi^redsion of the country lyiiv? J between Hills Creek and, say, the £ carting i Rock is summed up in one word " Maniototo j Plains " are apt to be very much mistaken in j their estimate. These plains, from the fact j that the soil is light along the road line, havo too often been condemned in an altogether too ' general and unwarrantable manner, not at all J consistent with the facts. They include large tracts of country eminently cultivable, and I in raany parts they are being tilled most sue- ' ces&fully, and agriculturalists are thriving ( against all odds. Maniototo Plains may be j characterised as average land, and they are ' surrounded on all sides by country that for grain growing is far above the average. Take i lot* instance the Ida Valley, which abuts on ! tho plains and is known to be excellent country for either grazing or cereal growing. Then there is the whole country from Hills Greek to Naseby, consisting of what might be termed the foothills to Mount Ida — firstclass land. We have also the Lauder district, i Yankee Flat above Moutore station, and Mo.v- , tere sUition itself, all splendid country, not to ' speak of many other districts which havo local celebrity, but are altogether unknown to the outside public. At Cromwell we havo anoUier stretch of valuable agricultural land ! which will be tapped by the Central Otago , line — viz., Ilawca Flat. This fine piece of territory is nearly 10 miles square, but is j practically lying waste (considering the uses it might be put taj^for want of communication. Of course cereals are grown throughout the district mentioned ; but of what use is growing if the profits are swallowed up in transit to the market. There are, indeed, one or two fiourmills which absorb a little : wheat, but when the flour is manufactured it ! must not bo in excess of the consumption in | tho district. This was shown by the fact that ■ recently a waggoner brought down to Rox1 burgh from. Anderson's mill at Poison Creek a load of flour of about 5 tons or thereabouts, ! which is probably the extreme limit of the • Central Otago market in this line.

FRUIT GROWING. We have it on the authority of Signor Bragato and other eminent experts that the soil I and climate of Central Otago are suitable in ■ tho highest degree for growing the finest j marketable fruit, and the results produced by the isolated orchards here r.nd there corroborate their view. To mrJce the district the ' garden of New Zealand, as it undoubtedly | will be sooner or later, only requires adequate railway facilities, together with the irrigation scheme now projected by the Government, which is necessary in certain places to fertilise tho soil.

GOLD GETTING. This industry Las always been a prominent factor in the maintenance of the district, and I it ha 3 never, since the first discoveries, been ! much more flourishing than at present. Alexi ardra and Cromwell, at a bound, have sprung . into prominence as thriving, prosperous in ' land towns, and Clyde is a good second to them. This is chiefly the re-ult of the onterprise of able and energetic capitalists ■ who have boon and are exploiting the river by ] dredging. Of couise the whole district isj sludded with valuable fcluic-ing claims, giving gocxl returns; but dredging, by reason doubt- ' less of tho quick recovery of the precious | lvelal, has been more in evidcrco- Alexandra as a dredging centre is wonderfully proj gre^sivo, and probably leads all conntiies as j regards this particular industry, being the ' cradlo and tiie home of dredging. Here are i to bo found some of the finest dredges on tiie river, though at Cromwell dredges of equally [ up-to-date construction, and with the latest . improvements, are now being built.

A MAGNIFICIEXT DREDGE. To give some idea of the possibilities of tLc ■ dredging industry and of the enterprise shown \ by the owners, I will give a brief -description of one of the finest di ei!|>'e-> on the river — now . being built — rind whii-h will probably bo oniy j the for< i rin. T i{v of many more of the same I or, perhaps, of a more powerful description. \ During ji recent vi-.it to Cromwell I was, by j tha coiutf-sy of Mr A. M'George, shown over ; the Elect lit Xo. 3, or, as it is otherwise known tho Ranfuriy dredge. She will, when finished, ! in about a Fortnight's time, be a perfect speci | men of up-io-d.ato dredge engineering. Her , pontoons are 110 ft, and the stagings, fore and J aft, extend 120 ft. The pontoons are 7ft in j depth, 3ft beam, with a 4ft 6in well. Tho ladder is 75ft on the centres, with a dredging depth of 50ft, and the buckets will hold 5 cubic feet at a dredging angle. The dredge is fitted with a 16 h.p. Marshall engine and llin centrifugal pump. The screen is 25ft long, 4ft in diameter, and fitted with a helix (aa in I roller flour mills) halfway through, which' causes a better and more thorough distribution of the wash before reaching the tables. The tables are 20ft wide and 17ft long. They are in six 1 divisions, and by a special arrangement the v ater may be turned on to any single table irrespective of the others. The tables are fitted with Crow's improved patent mat fasteners — a most ingenious contrivance — by whioh the tearing up and nailing down of laths every timo the mats are washed up is obviated. The ' dredge's boiler (by Sparrow and Co.) i§3s h.p.,

externally fired, and fitted in an improved firo-proof casing. She is also supplied with » main and auxiliary steam winch and a complete electric lighting plant (from Melbourne), which" will bo run by a 4 h.p. Marshall engine. A travelling crane, which will be a great convenience., will bo aboard of the dredge, running her full length, and 'will carry boulders up to 2 ton weight. The elevator 'will stack the tailings 35ft clear of the dredge. Sho is to have a steel gantry, and will be housed in right to the top of the hog post, the roofing reaching 20ft in height. On board the dredgo there will -be complete engineering, blacksmith's and carpenter's .shops, the engineer's shop having a Im'ge, powerful turning lathe and a couple of vertical drilling machines, drrvon by steam power, so that all necessary repairs can be done on board. A slight idea, of the difficulties of construction of this imnignse dredge in such an isolated spot as the Kawarau may be gathered from a few of the dimensions of the different parts. For instance, the crown wheel is 2 ton weight and Bft in diameter, buckets 7ewt each, and each single link in the bucket chain weighs 841b, or a- complete set of four weighs 3cwt. The dredge will also be fitted with a gold office, Avhich will bo finished in first-class style; also a sleeping room for the men when their presence is necessitated aboard at night. /I he dredge has been built entirely under tho super\ ision of Mr A. M'George, and when finished she will do credit to him, to his workmen, and to her owners'^as a beautiful piece of workrnans'iip. She is to be placed under the charge of Mr y J. 3VPGeorge, the experienced dredgema&ter al present in charge of the Eicccric No. 2. When completed, the cost of tho Eanfurly dredge will be £8500, an amount that has already bepn allocated by tho or, nerj from their reserve fund for her construction. Her success is a foregone conclusion, as she is- going »n a claim already pi overt, and, in iact. which yielded a record return of 65SJloz in five days. That the luck of her owners may continue and increase will be Ihe wi.A of all who desire to see pluck and enterprise prosper. TO SUM UP, the bird's eye glance which I have given at some of the prominent industries of Central Otago shows that the demand of the settlers for communication is quite legitimate and deserves prompt recognition. It would be impossible in a brief article, or series of articles, to do full justice to the subject and in submitting these rough notes of a hurried run through the country it is with the hope that they may be taken as siiggestions for much fuller and more exhaustive accounts of the undeniable resources of Central Otago by those who ore on the ground and are better acquainted with the details.