COUNTY OVERSEERS REPORT.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 14354, 20 July 1917, Page 8

COUNTY OVERSEERS REPORT.

Repdiiiny io the Cook County Council to-day, tl;*» County overseer. Mr. J. .1. K<-am\ after ret'errlns- to progress m '| contrail.*-. Iniilges. etc., ileal! as follows Willi floml dainafi-e:— Flood Damage: The heavy (loods of last month a-.ii in causeil considerable ilam- ' ago tlii-ougliDiit the county, the southern port inn i.'m tliis occasion suffering worst. Iv tin* Waingake Hiding numerous slips and wa»h-onts occurred between the Reay station and .Mangapoiki, and several large culverts were washed out. I have a number of extra men employed on this length, and hope lo have the road open for vehicles to Waingake during the coming week. The bridge near the Waingake st'-re (erected by tho. P.W.D. about six yi'.-irs ago) was; badly damaged, three 20ff 'spans having carried away. The cost of reinstating this bridge will be about ..-Ot-. As it fs very important that the bridge should be restored with as little delay as possible. 1 would siiggest that the Government be asked for a_si_.iauce. Patutalii Riding: Considerable damage was done. On the Gentle Annie road a number _r large slips were brought down, and a. bad wasU-out occurred "ear the Maori whare. necessitates the erection of a breastwork about Wt. m length. This work has been coinplcled. Tho road through the Wae-reuga-o-kuii gorge was also badly blocked: this road is open for coach traffic, but a considerable amount of work is still required to put it m good ord.r. Heavy damage was caused to the Ngatapa road through the overflowing of the adjacent creek. A section of the road for about two miles was badly scoured out. and m many places practically the whole of the metal has been washed away. A low portion of the road near Mr. "judd's for a distance of four chains is covered with silt two to foi_i* feet m depth. The road at this point is blocked for trallic, and will have to remain so until the silt hardens. 1 consider it would he a waste, of money to attempt to make any improvements at present. The J road will require to he raised so as to prevent a recurrence of the trouble. All trallic is going through Mr. Judd's pad- _ dock; lhis is also m a very boggy state, j and is only fit for very light vehicles. A bad slip on the Ngatapa hill is giv- ' Ing a lot of trouble. Hangaroa Riding: All the principal roads were badly damaged. The Tiniroto road was blocked for wheel traffic for several days. A good gang of men were put on to let the coaches through. When this was done 1 moved some of the. men on to the Waterfall hill on the Te Aroha road; this road is m a bad state throughout. The Hangaroa road frorii Harris's to Von Pien's is also m a bad state, and only a riding track is open at present; i^ will be some months before this road is again open for vehicles. The suspension bridge near Orr's junction was damaged, and new piles to carry tlie towel's will have to be driven before the bridge is fit to carry heavy traffic. The Gisborne, Muriwai, Whataupoko, Pouawa, Waimata and Pakarae Ridings all suffered slight damage. Tolaga Riding: The loads were again damaged, but not to the same extent as some of the southern ridings. On the Wlgan-Tauwhareparae road the principal damage was on the flat / between Dunlop 's and Caldwell's. In several places the river is seriously encroaching on the road. I am endeavoring to protect the banks by planting with , willows. This road is open for buggy traffic to Tauwhareparae, and given fair weather I hope to have it open for wool carting as soon as required. Extra hands are being put on to the Mangatokerau road In order to widen out damaged portions of rock cuttings. I am also having extra men put on to open up the Huanui and Kia Ore roads. Every effort is being made to have all roads m the county opened up before the coming wool season. On my last visit to Tolaga I found that, one of the. roads m the township (Foster street) was under water in' many places to a depth of about 2 feet.' As this road is largely used 1 would recommend that it be formed and drained, at a cost of about. £50. Tenders were received., during the month for erecting four bridges on ihe East Coast road. Pouawa Riding. As the tenders were considered too high they were declined. In order to prevent any further delay I have ordered the timher, and when this arrives fresh tenders will be called for erecting only. I have, prepared my annual estimates for 1 the year ending March 31st, 1918, and beg to submit same for your consideration.