WALLACE COUNTY

Southland Times, Issue 22921, 20 June 1936, Page 11

WALLACE COUNTY

Meeting Of Council The following councillors were present at the monthly meeting of the Wallace County Council at Otautau yesterday: Messrs G. W. E. Stroud (chairman), W. T. James, B. C. Horrell, J. H. Smith, W. B. Hopcroft, F. J. Linscott, W. J. A. McGregor and D. Teviotdale. At a special meeting Councillor Teviotdale moved, Councillor Linscott seconded, that by way of special order the council intended applying to the Minister for his approval to declare the Lindsay-Calcium main highway a third-class road, thus limiting the combined weight of load and motor lorry with four wheels to six and a-half tons, and a multi-axle lorry with six wheels or more to 10 tons. The resolution is to be confirmed on July 17. Mr R. Latta, Waihoaka, wrote stating that the road at Messrs William Smith and Co.’s sawmill, Waihoaka, was blocked up for traffic, and he asked that it be cleared. It was resolved that Messrs Smith and Co. be informed that it must give access. Mr G. Pearce and 15 others, Wakapatu, wrote asking that the road from Wakapatu to Ruahine, be opened up to give them access.—lt was resolved that application be made to the Government for a free grant of £6OO. Mr John Crawford, secretary of the Riverton Progressive League, forwarded a reply from the Main Highways Board with reference to the gravelling of the newly-formed deviation at Round Hill. The letter stated that the Highways Board considered that the Wallace County Council should bear a proportion of the cost of the work. Should the council make application for a grant on the forthcoming estimates, indicating its agreement to find a reasonable proportion of the cost, provision would probably be made.—lt was decided that the council would make a grant of £lOO towards the cost of gravelling. . The Minister of Transport advised that he had approved of the erection by the council of Class B traffic signs bearing the words, “Closely populated area” on the Riverton Rocks road at the points shown on the map forwarded.—The letter was received. Messrs D. Russell and W. H. Clark, Merrivale road, Otautau, wrote asking that a culvert be put in to drain the latter’s property.—lt was decided that the matter be left in the hands of the member and engineer with power to act. Mr S. L. Gibbs, Gladfield, applied for permission to plough and temporarily fence a portion of the roadline adjoining his property in order to destroy gorse.—The reouest was granted under the usual conditions. Messrs A. Gerrard and Sons, Dipton, wrote drawing attention to the bad state of the road between Glencairn and The Rock, Dipton, and asked that something be done to make it passable. —lt was resolved to notify the writers that the matter had been attended to. Rates.

Notice of motion to strike the following rates for the year 1936-1937 was given by Councillors McGregor and Linscott, in the various ridings as follows:—General rate: Orepuki, onehalfpenny; Pourakino, three-eighths of a penny; Waimatuku, one-sixteenth of a penny; Waiau, three-eighths of a penny; Waimatuku, one-sixteenth of a penny; Wairio, three-eighths of a penny; Aparima, one-sixteenth of a penny; Mararoa, three-eighths of a penny; Wairaki, seven-eighths of a penny; and Otautau, one farthing; a charitable aid rate of three-sixteenths of a penny; a timber rate of one halfpenny per hundred feet board measure of timber converted from the log into sawn timber; and a special rate of three-eighths of a penny for street lighting in Ohai Township. Cr. Horrell moved that the following amount be voted for expenditure in Orepuki riding: Government grant, Fryer’s road, £ for £, £lOO. Cr.-. Hopcroft moved that the following amount be voted for expenditure in Pourakino riding: Old Ermedale road, maintenance, £5O. Cr. Smith moved that the following amount be voted for expenditure in Waiau riding: Government grant, Waijnotu road, £1 for £2, £5O. Engineer’s Report. The engineer (Mr J. G. C. Baker) submitted the following report: “Since last meeting the weather has continued to be of a mild character, and no difficulty has been experienced in keeping roads up to usual conditions. In connection with the matter of the cleaning of road ditches on parts of Derby and Stanley streets, Wairio Township, on June 2 Councillor Stroud met the interested ratepayers and decided that if the cleaning work were done by contract and to the satisfaction of the county engineer the council would pay half cost. While in this locality Councillor Stroud agreed that the council would share in the cost of improved access to the Wairio saleyards, the work being a small road widening job. Regarding Mr Alexander Ridd’s application for drainage at Heddon Bush, Councillor Teviotdale inspected and decided to drain the wet place complained of by Mr Ridd, and that to do so a four-inch tile culvert be put across the road about seven chains south from the north-east corner of section 143, Oreti Hundred. With reference to the Motor Association’s letter asking that the bends be improved on the main highway adjoining Mr D. T. King’s flaxmill at Pukemaori, Cr. Smith inspected and decided that alignment could be improved cheaply, and this work will be done when weather conditions are more suitable for this class of work. In connection with the request from the Commissioner of Transport that the road at the bend near Mr P. Hamilton’s house, Tuatapere, be improved, Councillor Smith inspected the locality and the corner, like dozens of others, in this county can be improved and the roadway widened. What I would like to point out is that it does not matter how much realignment and improvement the reading authority does, little good will result unless other authorities co-operate in the way of advising, warning and insisting that road users observe the ordinary regulations laid down for safety on roads. At present, outside the reading authorities, it seems to be nobody’s concern what the public does on roads until it is too late, that is until after the smash, then everybody gets busy and blames the road. Disposing of the matter this way* will get us nowhere in our attempts to reduce the road accident figures. The Government grant and main highway estimates for the coming year have been completed and sent to the Public Works Department. Some of the tall trees growing on the northern part of Watson and Boyle road, Heddon Bush, have been cut down to prevent likely damage to Mr Boyle’s nearby buildings at this place. The report was adopted. Contract. The following contract was let: Maintenance gravelling, old main road, Ermedale —Mr F. Brunton, 3/- and 2/9. It was resolved to make a grant of £5 to the Southland Children’s Health Camp Association. Messrs Horrell and D. D. Jenkins wrote objecting to the boundary alteration between Orepuki and Waiau ridings, and the clerk was directed to inform Mr Jenkins that his property would not be included in any special rating area that might be declared as such by the residents of Tuatapere Township.

Alteration of Boundaries. At a special meeting it was resolved by way of special order that the boundaries of the Orepuki riding and the Waiau riding in the county be altered so that the Orepuki riding and the boundaries thereof will be as follows: All that area in the county of Wallace being the whole of the Longwood Survey District, with the exception of sections 7 and 8, of block 17 of the said district, such area being bounded as follows: Commencing at the northeast corner of the said district towards the east by the Aparima and Jacobs River Hundreds to the sea; towards the south and south-west by the sea; towards the north-west by the east bank of the Waiau river to a point in line with the south boundary of section 7, block 17, of the said district; towards the north by said section 7 and this line produced to the east boundary of railway land of the Orepuki -Tautapere railway; towards the west by the said railway land; towards the north and west by section 8, block 17 of the said district; towards the north by the Waiau Survey District to the starting point as the same is more particularly delineated in the official map in the Wallace County office at Otautau. And so that the Waiau riding is altered by the inclusion therein of the said sections 7 and 8, block 17, Longwood Survey District the said riding and the boundaries thereof be as follows: All that area in the county of Wallace bounded as follows: Commencing at a point on the southern shore of Lake Manapouri at its intersection with the county boundary towards the north-east by Lake Manapouri; towards the east (generally) by the Waiau river; towards the north by the Wairaki river; towards the north-east by the roadline along the eastern boundary of section 63, block 2; towards the north-east by the road along part of the north-west boundary of section 14, block 2; towards the north by section 13, block 2; towards the east by part section 90, block 2; towards the north by the said section 90 and part of section 30, block 2; towards the east (generally) by the roadline along western boundaries of sections 74, 73, 72, block 5; towards the north by the said section: 72; towards the east by sections 77 and 78, block 6; towards the north (generally) by the road along the southern boundary of the said section 78; towards the north by section 79, block 6, to the Orawia river; towards the east (generally) by the Orawia river; towards the north by sections 104 and 103, block 6, all in the Waiau Survey District; towards the north-east by the Wairio Survey District to the eastern angle of section 173, block 9, Waiau Survey District; towards the east (generally) by the Aparima riding; towards the south by the Orepuki riding as described and defined above; towards the south by the Waiau river; towards the south (generally) bv the sea; towards the west by the Fiord county to the commencing point. It was also resolved that the resolution be submitted for confirmation at the next meeting of the council on July 17.