POLLUTION OF RIVERS

Southland Times, Issue 22992, 11 September 1936, Page 4

POLLUTION OF RIVERS

STEPS TO ABATE THE NUISANCE SOCIETY’S EFFORTS The negotiations entered into with a view to abating the pollution of the Mataura and Waikaia rivers were outlined in a communication received by the council of the Southland Acclimatization Society last night. Mr James Robertson presided and there were present: Messrs Eustace Russell, J. D. Speirs, J. N. Armour, G. Jaquiery, G. F. Strang, J. H. Thomas, O. J. Howells, R. Allison, A. Hamilton, R. Dickson, N. McKay, R. Sloan, H. Halligan Jmd Dr A. F. Ritchie Crawford. Reporting on the pollution, Mr Howells (president of the Gore District Angling Club) wrote stating that a party of 10 anglers from his club and the Mataura Club had visited Waikaia recently and had had a conference with a certain claim-owner. He had been sluicing on a small creek which ran into the Waikaia river and that creek had made the whole of the river unfishable for some years, while it also adversely affected the Mataura river. Though nothing of a permanent nature could be done for the season, the claimowner had said that he was prepared to assist in any way possible. He stated that he could put in two dams, at a cost of about £l2, that would greatly assist the river this season. The Waikaia river was, of course, in the Otago Society’s area, but was fished by many Southland anglers. Mr Howells suggested that the cost of £l2 be met equally by the Southland and Otago societies. So far as the Waikaka river was concerned, Mr Howells said that he understood it would be in a bad state at the beginning of the coming season as the dredge would be working very close to the river. About January it would be shifting away and from then on conditions would greatly improve. Representatives of the angling clubs intended making an inspection of the dredge workings within the next few weeks. Mr Howells also forwarded a letter received from the Otago Society agreeing to donate £6 towards the cost of the dams. It was resolved that £6, as the Southland Society’s share, should be paid to the claim-owner. Eglinton Streams. The General Manager of the Tourist Department forwarded a newspaper cutting from a Toronto newspaper dealing with cabin camps on the Canadian Pacific Railways. Apparently fishing had been made a great drawing card to bring visitors to those camps, he stated, and it occurred to him that as the department had taken over the Cascade Creek Camp and would probably be building at Knobbs Flat in the Eglinton Valley it might be worth Hie society’s while to consider a more intensive stocking by the lakes and streams in that district. The chairman said he thought it would be a waste of money to proceed with any intensive stocking of the Eglinton, for the food supply was not there. It was left in the hands of the chairman and the secretary to draft a reply to the Tourist Department’s communication. A letter was received from the secretary of the Tuturau Maori Raid Centenary Committee asking the society _ to reconsider its decision to take no action on the request for assistance. Directly or indirectly, it was stated, the society would derive some benefit from the visits of outside anglers making the historic reserve a base. The chairman said that at the last meeting the application for a grant had been turned down because the reserve was in the Otago district. On the motion of Mr Allison, it was decided to make a grant of £1 1/-.