TAUPO RAILWAY

Stratford Evening Post, Issue 41, 27 September 1928, Page 3

TAUPO RAILWAY

POSITION INVESTIGATED. CONSIDERED BY GOVERNMENT. The question of commencing the railway from Rotorua into the centre of the North island, into what is now the largest ate.;;, of undeveloped country in New Zealand which is capable of development, was considered by the Government, states Hcl.i. K. S. Williams, in his Public Works Statement. The question of development of this country by railway com nection was investigated by two Royal Commissions in the past, and the evidence which they collected ■was of very considerable value to the Governmnt in coming to its decision. FORESTRY POLICY. Tlio exotic forests which have been established by the operations; of the Government’s forestry policy in and around Waiotapu have grown to such a, stage that within a very few years it will be necessary tc,i have rail transport in order that the produce therefromi may he economically brought to market. When the Royal Commissions previously referred to went into this aspect of the problem they had in mind an expansion of 8.000 or even perhaps 10,000 acres per year on to an already existing area of 27,568 acres, while actually there is at the present time 81,000 acres, 27.000 acres of which was planted last year, while the forestry programnle of the next few years contemplar tes plainting of 30,000 acres per year. If railway connection was considered at all in 1922, how much more hag its necessity boon emphasised by this tremendous expansion. ,

TRANSPORTATION OF TIMBER. Apart from the necessity for a cheap method of transporting the timber, referred to above, from tliei area to be served by ■ the RotoruaTaupo Raihvay, there is; also the question of providing the most economical method of developing the immense area, estimated at Avell over a. million acres of land, which lies in the valley of the Waikato River. The Av'ohderful development of the land east of Hamilton Avnich folloAved the construction of the railway from there to Rotorua inspires the hope that the providing of cheap transit facilities to bring in the much-needed manures and to take away the produce will result in a similar development south of Rotorua. The progress that has teen made by a. few progressive pioneers avlio attacked the problem even without raihvay transit has demonstrated AA-hat can be done Avith this land, but a. full measure. 0 t development could never he obtained without rail transport. It is not claimed that the Avhole million and a quarter acres said by the Royal Commission of 1,922 to be served by this line is capable of a. high state, of development, but a very considerable portion of that area certainly is. DIFFICULTIES OF ROADING. The almost total absence of good metal or other material suitable for concrete- creates conditions under which the construction of a concrete read Avould necessitate the road being as a raihvay, and to attempt to carry out the timber already referred to by road Avould necessiate the oaad being const nietd l . with a. concrete foundation. Taking all these points into consideration, the Government decided to commence the construction of the raihvay, making Reporoa in the meantime the objective.