WAIROA NEWS.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXXIV, Issue 11126, 27 July 1907, Page 4

WAIROA NEWS.

The following items are from the (Guardian: — . „ 1 The natives are signing another peti- ! tion urging' that a sitting of the Native Land Court- be held m Wairoa at an early date. A young man from Gisborne was arrested by Constable Luke on a charge of wife desertion, and remanded to Gis^ borne. Bail was allowed, himselt m £25, and one surety- of £25. . A fine suspension bridge has just been thrown over the Mohaka: river, at Ngatapa. It reflects great credit on the District Road Engineer. The approaches are tunnelled through the cliffs, and the bridge is very firm with a minimum of 1 vibration. ' . , A bi-weekly mail (overland) right through from, Napier to Gisborne is warranted by increasing settlement. A boarding-house, to cost about £800, will shortly be erected on. the opposite comer to Mr A. R. Mackay' s . store, : Tynron. .'.-■' I A pleasant invitation dance was given ! to their friends' by Messrs Skeet Bros. land their employes at the Royal Albert ! Hall on Wednesday night. There were a j considerable number' present. • Mr W. C. Munro is making a splendid ! job of the Bowling Green, and the Club are fortunate m having his gratuitous services. . . ■ ■ . , In view of the delay caused by the visit of the Tai Rawhiti Land Board being postponed to 14th August, the following telegrams have passed . between Mr J. Hunter Brown and the Native i Minister :—"Hon. James Carroll, Well ington.—A fraid we must close Dairy ; Factory and liquidate. * Many Maoris : most anxious to milk. Any chance of ! getting their lands fixed up now. Present excellent chance to buy cows, as j great many good dairy cows on local mar_ ! ket.— Hunter Brown. ' "Hunter Browni, ;Esq., Wairoa.— l still think there is a; I good chance for settling up their land i j matters, as I am sure the Board, which ! lis about to sit m Wairoa, will appreIciate the position, It will be a pity to i see the factory closed, cows might be got ion terms for the Natives until such time jas we can bring some help to their aid. I I intend this session to move, m that j direction, and will confer with the Minis. | ter for Agriculture.— J. Carroll." j From Taehaenui to Nuhaka, Nuhaka ! to the Springs and Waikokopu, and from j the top of Mangaone hill downwards the I settlers are almost without communicaI tion, and that is only maintained at proj hibitive prices'. The ratepayers m Nuj haka direction consider that what they | would save m carting expenses alone | would liquidate a loan sufficiently large to put all these roads m good order. The I feeling m favor of such a loan is very | strong, and we are. informed steps will j shortly be taken with a view to Dorrowj ing something like £6000 for the purpose. { It is suggested that the County Council | should be prevailed upon to go m for a ! loan for the whole county, and if the ! rest of the county is not agreeable the ! settlers iv the Nuhaka direction" will rate themselves for the purpose. There is some talk of a committee being formed to request the Government to send. an expert to report on the Waikaremoana outlet. A Government expert reported on innumerable sources of eke- ! trical power to the Government last year, but he did not visit this greatest sourcfe of all of them of electrical energy. By improved methods the loss m dissipation I |of energy through transmission over a i distance is being greatly reduced, and . this power applied will, some day, drive all ihe manufacturing machinery on this Icoast. County Engineer's jeport: "Native ' land required for approach to proposed ! bridge at Stewart's Crossing.— The sur- ! vey plans of this land which was sub- ; mitted by me to the Council for approval I on May 10th have been approved 6y the \ Chief Surveyor, Napier, and it now only j remains for the necessary proclamation j to be gazetted by the Government. I] ] am now preparing plans for a timber I bridge and I shall endeavor, if possible, to have, the plans sufficiently advanced to be able to advertise for tenders for ! the erection of the bridge immediately ■' the Council's title to the land required , is assured." • ■ '. ' A 'party recently penetrated into the rugged country at the source of the Mohaka river. They came upon Ngatapa, the place where T° Kooti kept all his I foes at bay. Ngatapa is a veritable fort- ' tress, and rises up like a Gibraltar m the wilderness. The To Hoe river flows ; ,oa one 6id.« of it, and tae Mchaka on the ' ,

other. The unscalable cliffs rise sheer all round, and only m one spot is it possible by a narrow passage to attain to to the plateau. On the top there is a flat area of sixty acres. Here there are ' many whares of the old warrior chief left, and the remains of a large wharepuni. The uprights m the front are magnificently carved, and on them are engraved the names of Te Kooti and the warriors who accompanied him m his retreat inland. It is suggested these should be secured for the colonial museum. Ngatapa is a most interesting , place. It stands out for miles. Both fords to it are rapid and difficult to cross. The party say a few men could keep an army at boy here, and the difficulty of ' capturing Te Kooti is apparent to those who see this formidable retreat of his. A number of Wairoa residents-are planning an expedition to this historic pa m the summer. The distance is about sixty miles, and necessarily two or three uays would be occupied m the journey.