PROGRESSIVE TOLAGA BAY.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume L, Issue 16579, 7 November 1924, Page 7

PROGRESSIVE TOLAGA BAY.

IMPORTANT DEVELOPMENT

REMARKABLE CHANGES EFFECTED.

Probably no portion of the whole of the East Cape can show such substantial progress as Tolaga. Bay. Thanks to tlio foresight of tho Uawa, County Council, of which Mr, E. B. Boland is chairman, the district is on the eve of important development that is destined to make Toiaga Bay an up-to-date, and thriving centre.

Compared with tho sleepy township of a few years ago, Tolaga Bay has made retina rkablo strides. The township has taken shape. Substantial modern bmldiifl.N have been elected, giving an appearance of solidity, and it is only in keeping with tho march of progress that the County Council should have led tho way by erecting splendid new Council chambers in brick, worthy of the community which it administers. Additions to the Reynolds’ hall, a fine building in itself, the new church recently opened, improvements to the business premises generally, together with the putting down of permanent roads and footpaths are all indicative of the changes that have taken place during the: past decade. What a transformation from tho days of tlio old ferry. Practically all the township then boasted' of was scattered along the road for a couple of chains from tho hotel. Coaching from Gisborne, with its many nightmare experiences from Tolaga hill southwards along the successive beaches to Gisborne, has given place to the advent of the daily overland car service during the summer months. The community has been brought in touch with the activities of tlie outside world, and the spirit of progress is manifested in all directions. With the inauguration of the main highways scheme the present bugbear of twenty miles of uumetalled road will completely disappear. Probably in a couple of years Tolaga Bay residents should oe motoring through to Gisborne with the utmost case, irrespective of weather conditions, summer or winter. What this will mean is .already demonstrated by tho completion of metalling of the Manga tuna section of the East Coast road, for they are now able to enjoy an nll-the-year-round road communication with their northern neighbors of the Wiaiapu- County. Tolaga. Bay will shortly possess a continuous telephone service. The necessary requisition has been completed, and the extension of the service will follow in the ordinary course. There are now about 170 subscribers, and it is anticipated an shortly. WHARF CONSTRUCTION.

Apart from road facilities, probably one of the most important factors bearing on the progress of Tolaga Bay will be the construction of a substantial reinforced concrete wharf in the protection of the southern side of the hay, and distant only half a mile from the histone Cook’s Cove.

The contract for the erection of the wharf has been let by tho Tolaga Bay Harbor Board to Mr. F. Goodman, who has advised that the steel for the work has been ordered by eable from England. Tho first shipment is expected to he on tho water shortly. The contractor hopes to commence active operations in a few weeks’ time, the preliminary arrangements for the big job being well in hand.

The contract provides for the construction of 14£ chains of approach road, extending from the adjacent landing reserve. It will comprise two short roadway tunnels, 20ft. in width, cutting through two projecting points. The jetty will have a total length of 1400 ft. and on the end there will be a wharf 203 ft in length. A tramway will be laid down from the site of the proposed goods shed on the landing reserve, extending out to the end of the wharf. To facilitate the landing of cargo there will be a double track of rails on both sides of the wharf. The whole structure will be built of reinforced concrete, tho piles being up to 45ft in length. These will be dliven into 10ft of solid papa. The wharf will be protected by a spring fender of turpentile piles. There will Ire a depth of 22ft at the end of the wharf at low water, thus providing ample accommodation for a useful size of vessels to berth, alongside. Mr. Cyrus Williams, consulting engineer, of Christchurch, has arranged to visit Tolaga Bay next week in company with Mr. Goodman, to initiate the work. Except for an occasional cargo that has been landed by scows, Tolaga Bay has been dependent up till the present time upon lightering operations, a service tluii was initiated' end successfully carried on for years by Messrs Holden and Lockwood. Shallow bar conditions have made tile work exceeding difficult at times. ELECTRIC LIGHT PLANT. Another decided innovation for Tolaga Bay . will he the installation of electric light, which is being undertaken by the Uawa, County Council., AH' the contracts have now been let for the installation of tlio service, excepting for the power house itslf, which has been held over in the meantime. The plant is actually on the way from Home, and it is anticipated that the power-house will be ready for the machinery by the time it arrives. The current is expected to he available in March next, and will provide a great boon to the residents of the township.

Tlie contracts ha.ve been let as follows: Vicars N.Z. Ltd. —Fetter’s semiDiesel engine 45/50 h.p. (to run on crude oil); Allum Electric Co., Auckland—generator, booster and switchboard; Lawrence Hanson Electric Co., Wellington —cables and insulators; W. Groshev and 'Sons. Auckland—batterv ; Cave Tiros., Gisborne—iron-bark pdes and cross arms.

The power-house will be located in Cook street, adjoining the Council's depot, and the installation, which has hem designed bv Mr. W. H. Tiuswcill. of Gisborne, is expected to cost approximately £6OOO. ROADS AND BRIDGES. .

The main feature of the Council’s operations has been the construction i f tile Uawa section of the East Coast road, now included in the main highways programme of New Zealand. The Uawa portion commences at the Pakarae river bridge, just beyond Mr. C. Seymour’s, and extends to the Wa.iapu boundary at, Mangatuna, a total distance- of about 20- miles. The northern'section', extending towards Tokomaru Bay, has been practically completed, over a distance of about BJ, miles. This entailed a substantial piece of deviation at- Mangatuna which lias greatly improved' the road at- this point.. There is still about half a mile of rock cutting to be canned out in order to effect the widening and straightening of the road along the river. Authority has been received for the expenditure of £IOOO, and it is proposed

to put this work in hand next winter, so as not to interfere with the heavy summer traffic. • Of the eight miles of metalled roadi on this section, about half the. length has been sealed with tar and bitumen, and the work, although not finished, is a testimony to the County’s, progressive policy, being really the pioneering work in this direction on the East Coast. Interviewed as to'the result o! his experience, Mr. J. P. Guthrie, County engineer, said- that he found' the penetrative system was the best. \\ ith tin: class of stone that was being used the most- satisfactory results were obtained b\- penetration with tar on the lolled metal, and afterwards sealing with a coat of bitumen. Mr. Guthrie pointed out that unfortunately the quarry was situated at the northern end and the heaviest traffic that the road would ever be subjected to was that of metal haulage for the putting down of the southern section of tho road. A certain amountof wear was taking place, and it wollid receive the, necessary .attention to save the road from damage, hut the final surfacing would not- be applied until the heavy lorry work was done. There were several places where the load Rad proved unstable, this being due solely to the “spongy” nature of the country in this locality. Asked 1 as to the coming year's programme, tho County engineer said that this season the Council’s plant was occupied on the Tolaga-Wigan road, which was tlio main highway to the hack country, including Tauwha.rcpa.rao and Araki'lii. In fact, it served' all the County's hack country, excepting that off the mam load. It is anticipated that the metalling will be carried as .far as the Wigan bridge site, and also one mile on the Ara kilii road 1 towards Bart ram's. This will provide a good metalled arterial road into Tolaga Bay. In addition to this the Council has carried out an important bridge construction programme. Four bridges are now in use, and the fifth is now under construction at. Mangatoitoi. across the Manga-hem stream. Application has been made for a grant for the next bridge at Wigan and the engineer hopes to have this structure erected also before the winter. This will provide a fully-bridged, road right to lauwhareparae, a convenience that will be greatly appreciated by all the settlers in that district. The typo of bridge adopted is the Dawson suspension bridge, a patent type of structure similar to that erected approaching the new racecourse. Three of these bridges have a span of 120 ft respectively, one has a span of 130 ft and another of 140 ft-. The racecourse bridge is the largest erected, having a span of 180 ft.. Another short but important piece c.f roading is the Paremata soldiers’ settlement road, comprising l-£ miles. The contract for this metalling has been let and the work is in progress. It will confer a decided 1 benefit- to the settlers concerned. GISBORNE TO TOLAGA.

Uawa County's portion of the Gis-horno-Tolaga (East Coast main road) totals 10 miles. Of this distance one mile of new metalling has been put down, and there is a. further mile of old metalling. This leaveq 8 miles of unmetalied highway to be attended to in the Uawa County between Pakarae bridge and Tolaga. Bay. Tlio Council proposes this season to put down, the first mile, from the saleyards corner along past Loiscl's. Application has been made to this effect to the Main Highways Board. This will leave seven miles of road to. complete, in co-operation with tho main highway scheme, and it- is probable the whole of the Council’s plant will be concentrated upon this work next season. A substantial Government subsidy will he forthcoming to enable this work to be don»

It will be gratifying to residents of the East Coast to learn that a definite programme has been marked out-, and that they may look forward to the district's unfortunate isolation, in the course of the next- couple of years, being a thing of the past. All that is required to bring this about is the active co-operation of the Cook County Council and the Government in respect, of the PakaraeGisborne section. This, likewise, is already assured', and its completion undoubtedly will spell prosperity to the East Coast.

This article would not he complete without reference to the marked improvements that are being effected in the roads and footpaths of the township. This applies particularly to Cook street which now possesses concrete kerbing and channelling and asphalt footpath. Twelve chains have been completed out of Tolaga riding rates and' the result is eminently satisfactory. It-certainly indicates that Tolaga. Bay is emerging from its “swaddling clothes.” A further ten chains of footpath to the reserve is also in progress, out of rates. Solva.nder street has been metalled, with, footpath on one side, for its full length, right to the beach. Tin’s has already proved a great boon to the residents, affording easy access with cars to the delightful sea beach. MORE SETTLEMENT WANTED.

Probably one of the most strikin'! changes effected around Tolaga Bay of recent years is the successful soldier settlement, on the flats towards Mangatuna. Nothing could be more pleasing to the eye than tho smiling new homesteads. The transformation that has been effected is remarkable. The rich verdant pasture, carrying its small herds of cows, is in striking contrast to the picture it presented before. About 800 acres has thus been cut up and settled. It is, occupied 10-da-v by 14 soldier settlers, twelve of whom are engaged in dairying, milking probably from ?C0 to 300 cows. Systematic drainage, together with tho work of the plough, lias brought about this change, which now affords unquestionable evidence of what the Tolaga Bay Hats are capable of producing. There is still great- scope for future development upon these lines. Several thousands of acres, overgrown with rushes, should* be made available for closer settlement. Tts utilisation in this direction would give a great fillip to the dairying industry and send Tolaga. Bay along with leaps and bounds. The utmost credit is due to all concerned, notably to Uawa County authorities, for the substantial all-round progress that nas been manifesed during the past few years.