RAIL CONNECTION

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 18992, 17 April 1936, Page 4

RAIL CONNECTION

EFFECT UPON CENSUS DISTRICT COMPARISONS N. AUCKLAND ADVANCE To those who study the developmental value of railways and other communications upon population, comparisons drawn from the available figures relating to the recently conducted census of New Zealand provide material of considerable interest. The returns justify especially the claim that Gisborne's lack of railway facilities in the past has tended to delay promotion of settlement in Poverty Bay and along the East Coast.

At the time of the suspension of activity on the Napier-Gisborne railway, com mittees formed in Gisborne, Wairoa, and Napier agreed upon a concerted effort to provide material as a foundation for arguments in favour of resumption of the line. Olie of the results of the surveys conducted under this arrangement, was the production of a lengthy report by Mr. J. EL Gardiner, on behalf of the Gisborne Railway Committee, in which the possibilities of development, of freights for the railway system were dealt with. A section of this report referred to the population figures of the Gisborne, Taneatua, and North Auckland railway areas, comparisons being made with the object of showing how settlement and production in the Taneatua and North Auckland districts, had been affected by the promise and the eventful provision of railway facilities. The figures were compiled from official records in connection with the areas actually served by the two northern lines, and that which had been under promise of railway connection, through Napier, with the main trunk system of the. North Island.

The figures put forward by Mr. Gardiner indicated the growth of population and productivity in 20 years, from 1911 to 1931, in the three selected districts, the population comparisons being as under:—

The report further indicated that the cattle herds' of the Taneatua. railway district had increased from 215,731 to 17&,252, equivalent to 215.76 per cent increase; and that of the North Auckland district had increased by 159 per cent, from 162,687 to «21,5.91 head; whereas the cattle figures for the Gisborne district had shown an increase of only 93.10 per cent for the same period. Similarly, in the case of sheep, Taneatua and North Auckland had shown substantial advances, whereas the flocks of the Gisborne district had increased by only 7 per cent during the 20-year period.

COMPARISONS FOR 1936 In, the recent census, the North Auckland counties showed general and substantial increases in population, the Mangonui County population rising from 6629 in 1926 t0'7976 in 1936, the increase being 1347. Whangaroa County showed an increase of nearly one-third during 10 years, and Kaitaia Town District gained nearly 50 per cent on the 1926 figures. In almost every local government area in the-north, the same general increase, is revealed, though local conditions have either accelerated or retarded the gains of individual townships or counties, to some degree.

Regarding the Taneatua railway district, the ligures of the recent census also show a satisfactory rate of increase in the population. The Tauranga Borough showed an increase of 840 on a 1926 total of 2549, Matata increased its population by 50 per cent on a 1926 total of 1012, and Whakataue County improved by 318 souls on a total of 1414 registered in 1926. The new railways completed in other parts of the country have also had an enlivening effect upon population figures, as is shown by the growth of Stratford, since the completion of the link between that town and the Main Trunk.

On the other hand, the population in the Gisborne district has remained almost .stationary during the past 10 years, the population in the Gisborne Borough having increased by only 477 on the 1926 figures of 12,889". For the Cook.. Waikohu and Uawa counties, together with the Borough of Gisborne, the 1936 census has disclosed an aggregate population of 23,085.

In the face of these statistics, it is at least probable that when the railway connection between Napier and Gisborne is completed, there will be no danger oi a retrograde movement in regard to population and production in the district. If the experience of other districts is repeated here, closer settlement and a definite advance in the amenities of life in Poverty Bay and along the East Coast can be counted on with confidence.

Inc. 1911 1931 p.c. Taneatua 8,440 26,650 215.76 Sisborne 21,222 42,040 98.10 North Auckland 29.921 65,080 117.51