WAIMARAKA-TOKONUI RAILWAY

Southland Times, Issue 16844, 21 September 1911, Page 6

WAIMAHAKA-TOKONUI RAILWAY

THE OFFICIAL OPENING. A DISTRICT REJOICES. The special train which left Invercargill for Tokonui yesterday morning was comfortably filled before Waimahaka was reached; after that it was uncomfortably overcrowded. No seats were available: passengers were packed on the platforms of the carriages; and the guards' vans were utilised to accommodate the overflow. it was not thought, of course, that so much interest would centre in the opening of a branch of railway from one of Southland's backblocks: fact that from 750 to 800 people ■ terday to Tokonui to swell :. . of rejoicing there, is evidence . .the extent that, in some instances at least, it is not always true that one half the people do not know how the other half live. At any rate it lends colour to the statement that the opening of the Waimahaka-Tokonui railway extension has been looked forward to by other than those residing in the district, and it is quite apparent that the people of the Province are alive to the fact that the development of any part of the country means a furtherance of the prospects of the whole of it. That to a casual visitor was the feeling which animated those who yesterday came from afar to break bread and drink toasts with their Tokonui brethren. The district is an old-settled one. So long as forty years ago land was acquired and settled on at Tokonui, despite its then uninviting appearance. What stout hearts those old pioneers must have had. In those days, and for long after, there were roads only in name; the nearest railway station was Edendale, and provisions, etc., had to be brought round to Fortrose by boat. One can only imagine the thoughts of the men. with their then young wives, and children in some cases, when they arrived at their selections and made preparations to carve out homes in the wilderness of forest and swamp. So yesterday, when these eventful and hazardous happenings were vividly recalled, the visitors rejoiced with the people of the stout hearts, and, incidentally, refused to give any consideration whatever as to whether the railway will pay or net. These men and women have blazed the track for present and future generations; they have undergone hardships and vicissitudes which have tested them morally, mentally, and physically, in a manner in which few of us are now-a-days tried, and they have not been found wanting. Surely they deserve well of the country, and who will cavil that, in the autumn of their days, they have been furnished witli a comfort and a convenience that many of us have enjoyed during tiie whole of our lifetime. But, mingled with the general chorus of thanksgiving, <ne here and there detected a pathetic note —a regret that someone had not lived to see the day that had been for so long looked forward to. , , , The section Is 8 miles -II chains in length. Waimahaka is 25 miles 53 chains distant from Invercargill, and Tokonui 33 miles 6-i chains. There are two side stations between these points, Te Peka and Pukevvao. The line, as far a-; the route Is concerned has frequently been described as an engineering blunder, and certainly to the lay mind it is difficult to convince one that, instead of clinging to the hills, the line should not have been constructed through a valley which. In comparison with the present route, presents an inviting appearance. The twists and curves of the line, too, suggest to one an immense snake, and the gradients which the iron horse has to overcome are nothing short of formidable. From W aimahaka to Pukevvao there Is a steady climb, and from there into Tokonui the grade tuns In the opposite direction. When it is mentioned that gradients of 1 in 50, 1 in 6h, and 1 in 70 occur on the route, an idea may be conveyed of the difficulties in this direction that are in store for enginemen and firemen in particular, and for railway men generally. At some distant date it is proposed to link the Gatlins River with the Seaward Bush line; In fact that has been the intention from the commencement. But after the line from the Seaward Bush end had reached Waimahaka a battle of routes was inaugurated which for a time blocked further progress. Eventually the present route was decided on, which has caused a deviation from the direct line on which it was originally Intended to be laid. And there are many who still believe that later another line will be constructed to link with the Gatlins railway on the route originally chosen, and that the present so-called main line from Te Peka to Tokonui and onward will then become a branch. But that is a digression.

The arrival of the special train at TokonuL yesterday was greeted with cheers by the people of the district, who seemed to be present to a man. In the absence of the Chairman of the Tokonul Railway League (Mr Earwaker), Mr John Melvin, Secretary of the League, assumed charge, and at a suitable moment culled upon the Mayor of Invercargill (Mr AV. A. Ott) to officially open the line.

Mr Ott said that he regretted that no Minister or Member of Parliament was present to perform the ceremony "which he had been called upon to undertake. The event which they were that day celebrating wan an epoch-making one in the history of Southland, and those who had wrought so hard to bring it about, under adverse circumstances, could now look back upon their efforts with satisfaction. for now for all time they would have tlie benefits lhal were conferred on a community by the arrival of the Iron horse. They had a fine district which could ho greatly developed, and now that modern conveniences were at Us disposal. it would make a name for Itself. Rut they should not be satisfied until tlTe line was pushed further on, and he was unite satisfied that the line would he a payable one. He had been told that the opening of the present extension meant the establishment of four sawmills, which would afford employment for a large number of men, and which would bring a revenue to the Railway D.partment of from £IOO to £-100 per month, and he thought that that was a very good start. At the pro cut Juncture It was only fitting that those who had pioneered the movers.* nt ;-hou'd be remembered. He had rn;i le cjiTiliie-, and bad found that the fir u soil wa : turned on Monday, April HI,, l x :s :t. The site of turning the sod was cl i iso to the Bluff railway line: at,oat too yard-- south of the old Appleby Hotel. Mr Henry Jaggers, Mayor of Invercargill in ISB2. was the contractor for the first section, and at his request th" Hon. Major (afterwards Sir Harry) Atkinson tinned the first sod. In doing : o Major Atkinson had stated that he hoped to see ]nr ercarglll and Its then suburbs united into one large city, which would do Justice to the splendid country round about, and since then the boroughs had amalgamated and they now had a Greater Invercargill. The first vote towards the construction of the line was £IOOO, and at the time of turning tiie first sod, -Mr H. Peldwick was member tor Invercargill, and -Mr J. p. Joyce for A varua. The first section, consisting of !j V 2 miles of line from the junction with the Bluff line, was opened on Prlday, 9th July, 188 li. and at this function there were present among others the Mayor of Invercargill (Mr J. L. Macdonald), the Mayor of South Invercargill (Mr Waller Panton), Messrs Thus. Hem.istun, Nicholas Johnson, J. W. -Mitchell, Geo. Bailey, Henry Jaggers, H. Eeldwick, John .UcQuurrle, H. Carswell, H. McParlane, Geo. Proggatt, Geo. Goodwlllle, W. J. Moffett, Howell, David Smythe, and James Harvey. it was pleasing that one or two who were present at the first ceremony were will, them that day, and it must be pleasing to those gentlemen to know that their dreams of long ago had at last been realised. -Mr Dtt referred in eulogistic terms to the work which had been done by the .Seaward Hush Railway Committee, of which the late Mr Nicholas Johnson' was the first chairman, and the then Town Clerk of Invercargill (Mr W. B. Scandretu the first secretary. He hoped that eventually the line would lie linked with the Gatlins line. Invercargill business people were quite prepaid and competent to do business with them, and they had a port which was second to none in New Zealand. Mr J. A. Hamm bud done a great tP-al In furthering the progress of the line, as also had Mr Malcolm, the member for the district. On behalf of the -Minister of Railways lie had much pi n -at re in declaring the line open. (Cheers.) Mr Melvin then called upon Mr W. B. Hcandrett to speak. Mr Scamlrett said Unit it gave him great pleasure to be present, and ho recalled the doings of the Railway Committee which had been lurmcd in !BTC, and how disagreements had retarded for a time the progress of railway construction in Southland. The

last nine or ten miles of the Seaward Bush lino had been expensive and had taken a long time to construct, but the country through which it had gone was \ ery heavy. He was sure that the extension would be not only an advantage to tile Tokonui district, but to the whole of the Southland community. tCheers.) Mr 1. L. Petrie was the next speaker, and he said that the putting through of the line had forged a connecting link with the outlying districts of Southland. He regretted the absence of Mr Hubert AicNab, who had been the cause of having the lino put through. The Invercargill Hallway League, whose most acti\e member had been Mr J. Crosby Smith, was also deserving of praise for the efforts It had put forward. The people of Southland should hack up their politicians in their efforts to have the railways of the Province extended: they had been too backward in the past. They should also devote their energies to the bursting up of large estates..An adjournment was then made lor luncheon, which was served up m good style by Mr James Altken. After partaking of the good tilings provided the following: toast list was gone through:— ••The King"; "The Hallway Department," proposed by Mr Thomas Brown, and responded to by Mr T. W. Brebner (Dlalrlct Traffic Manager), and Mr A. J. McCredie (District Engineer); " Success to the Tokonui Hallway Extension,’ bv Mr J. Crosby Smith, and responded to by Mr S. Wilks (Chairman Tokonui Settlers’ Association); “Local Bodies,” by Mr Wybrow, and responded to by Messrs H.’ J. Middleton, W. H. Brent, and H. Treseder; “ Absent. Friends” by Mr Snmu-d Millar and responded to by Mr W. B. Scandrett; "Prosperity to Invercargill," by Mr Wm. Turner, and responded to by Mr W. A. Ott; “ The Ladles” by Mr Baker (Quarry Hills), and responded to by Mr D. Greig; “Ihe Press,” and “The Chairman." In the course of the proceedings the Chairman (Mr John Melvin) read apologies for non-attendance from Sir Joseph Ward, on behalf of himself and colleagues, Mr G. J. Anderson, M.P., Mr J. C. Thomson, M.P.. Mr Robert AicNab, and Mr Duncan Gilchrist, Chairman Southland County Council.

By the time the toast list had been gone through, train time had drawn nigh, and as the engines—there were two of them—steamed out of the Tokonui railway yard, hearty cheers were given for the visitors. The rain which came on during the afternoon to a certain degree marred the pleasantness of the outing, but It by no means dampened the enthusiasm of the people of the district, who had so successfully done what they had obviously set out to do, viz., to make the occasion a red-letter day in the annals of Tokonui and surrounding districts, .