NEW TOURIST ROUTE

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 16376, 25 June 1927, Page 16

NEW TOURIST ROUTE

SHORT CUT TO WAIKAREMOANA MAY CUT OUT WAIROA (Herald Correspondent) At the last meeting of the Wairoa County Counfil a letter was read from the assistant engineer, i'ublic Works Department, suggesting that the cost of the proposed bridge across the Waihi stream be divided equally between the Wairoa County Council, the hydroelectric department, and the Public Works Department. The work was estimated to cost and it was stated that a road 10 miles long would run from Waikaremoana to join up with the Waireka road.

<V. Tait said this would be part of a new tourist route from Napier to Waikaremoana; and the assistance of the Napier Borough Council and the Hawke's. Bay County Council should be sought. i The engineer reported: 'Mn regard to the proposed road through Waihi station to serve the transmission line, in company with Mr. •). S. Jessop, and .Messrs. Smith and Henson, Public Works engineers, 1 inspected this proposed route of road in connection with the proposed bridge over the Waihi stream. The route pegged off runs up the valley from the proposed bridge site, and parallel with Hie old surveyed road, grades up to as steep as one in eight. A good road can be located up this valley with grades no steeper than one in 12, which is quite good for the class of country the road is running through. Considering the old surveyed road along the ridge is run on impossible grades and if formed as a vehicle road would have to be deviated, and the two lines of road being so close together, also the amount of money it was proposed to spend on the new route, 1 consider it woxild be good business to adopt the new route as the permanent road, closing the old surveyed road to its junction with the road leading to small grazing runs 108 and 109. From the end of the road through the Waihi station I consider a flair route of road can be located, joining up with the end of the road I laid, off some time ago from the proposed bridge over the Waiau stream running through Waireka station to Mr. Reynolds' woolshed."

It was stated that tho sum proposed to be spent by the two Government departments was £15,000, and the object was to facilitate construction and patrol of the transmission fo Napier. Cr, J. Tait suggested, but not by way of resolution, that the Hawke's Bay County Council and Napier .Borough Council should be asked to contribute in view of the fact that it would open up a. new and a shorter" road to Waikaremoana. ; The engineer stated that the county council could do the legalisation,, which would cost about £2OO.

The route starts at Tarapatiki bridge, passes through Waireka to Putere lakes, then down to Mohaka and the East Coast railway. The route, with the exception of the 10 miles now in question, can be traversed by cars. There is plenty of metal available, especially from the Mohaka. .Should this route be opened up to tourist traffic it would to some extent cut out Wairon. On the contrary, it would provide a good outlet for stock from Waikaremoana (when the railway is through) for such could-then be railed to Wairoa or to Napier as the case might be. It is understood that in accordance with Cr. .T. Tait's suggestion, the Napier Borough Council and the Hawke's Bay County Council will be approached with a view to securing the assistance of those bodies.