DISTRICT NEWS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVI, Issue 20, 24 June 1913, Page 3

DISTRICT NEWS.

(From Our Own Correspondents). AWAKINO-MOKAU. The Hon. R. Hcaton Rhodes and party arrived in Mokau from Awakino at 7.45 a.m., and after breakfast journeyed by the launch "Swan" a few miles up the river. Although the morning air was keen, the sun shone brightly, revealing in all its beauty the grandeur of the native bush. Rarely have I viewed it under such favorable conditions, for the dewdrops on the foliage shone and sparkled like myriads of diamonds, while the. graceful tree ferns, with their delicate spreading fronds, and ever and anon a tall nikau palm called forth many remarks of approval. The Hon. Mr. Rhodes, who has just recently visited the Wanganui river,'led one to understand that he saw nothing finer or grander in the way of scenery on that river than what he saw on the Moknu. 1 have also had the pleasure of journeying on both rivers, and can endorse the Postmaster-General's comments re their comparative beauties. I cannot understand why the officials in the Tourist Bureau of N T ew Zealand do not sometimes include the Mokau river trip, in lieu of the Wanganui, when advising tourists in compiling their itineraries, but, of course, our river has so far only been side-tracked. Probably the officials are instructed to push the Wanganui trip, only lauding the praises of the Mokau when asked for it. We have to thank the Xew Plymouth "Roosting" Society for an occasional kindly word re the beauties of the Mekau. i During the Minister's visit to the dis-l triet (Awakino-Mokau) the matter of having the wharf connected by telephone' with the Mokau post office was brought' under his notice. The Minister thought | this line was purely a private one, and! should, of necessity, be constructed br ft| Harbor Board; but the Harbor Board

is poor. Still, that is the weakest argument in lavor of the erection of a line. The telephone is n district want, Now a settler will sometimes journey 30 or 40 miles to Mokau, only to find on arrival that goods he expected had not been received there, although he may have had advice from the shipper that they had been sent forward. The delay is often due to weather conditions, making the working of the bar at either Mokau or Waitara impossible. Had a telephone been at the wharf he could have been saved this journey. Again, shipping on the river is often delayed owing to the masters of vessels being unable to advise the harbormaster that he (the captain) will require the lights that evening. The boats come down the river on the rising tide (which waits for no man). They have but little time to waste in climbing up a steep and arduous track j to the town, often losing half an hour in doing so. That half-hour means that the boats may have to lie outside Waitara for 12 hours, owing to their having missed the tide. The Minister states that a precedent would be effected if his Department granted, this line, but he was j informed that this had been already ei-1 fected by making the Mokau Harbor Board dependent solely upon its revenue from, shipping, for other-boards have endowments, and. rich ones at that, to' meet such expenditure. The necessity for a bridge was also brought under the Minister's notice. He gave a patient hearing, and stated that he was pleased to be made acquainted with such matters, and that when the diseussion in regard to the' bridge came before the House, he would then have first-hand knowledge. Regarding the erection of a post office at Mokau, the Minister stated that under the circumstance—i.e., the recent expenditure in the district of £I6OO on postal matters—he could not promise anything for this year's Estimates, but that should he be Postmaster-General in 1914 he would then bear the deputation's request in mind and give the matter the consideration it warranted. TARIKL The weather on Dreadnought Day was beautiful, and the contingent which left Tariki ou the morning of the 18th inst. were in high spirits in anticipation of spending a really good time. However, as it turned out, these anticipations were not altogether realised by a good many. The children were kept standing for hours until fagged out. Committeemen and school teachers grew weary. Unscrupulous members of the public mixed with the children and hustled past them on the gangways of the steamers. The Tariki school had bad luck. When almost on board, the gangway went up, as the accommodation was filled, and in the rightabout turn which followed they found themselves converted from the front to the rear rank. At last, however, they got aboard, and certainly had a good view of the grand battleship. On the return journey there was another very tedious delay before the steamer could berth alongside the wharf, and in the meantime the 3.10 p.m. train by which they were to have returned steamed out. They caught the next train, and reached Tariki about six. No doubt the management committee had a hard row to hoe in arranging for such large numbers, and the country visitors thoroughly appreciated their efforts, but it would have been better to have taken the teachers and school committees more into their confidence and told them at the start that they would have a long wait. They could have then used their discretion as to what was the best thing to do with those under their charge. I regret to report the death of Millicent, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Jemison, who expired on the night of the' 18th inst., aged 19 years. Much sympathy is felt for Mr. Jamieson and his family in their bereavement. The funeral took place at Inglewood on the 20th inst. A number of prospective settlers are now inspecting the Government block on Ross road, and it is anticipated that there will be a big muster at the ballot which takes place in New Plymouth on the 24th inst. In connection with her dancing classes, Mrs. Macbeth held a very successful j plain and fancy dress ball on the 17th inst., when there was a big attendance, | a great number being in evening dress. Some of the ladies' costumes were particularly charming, and I regret my lack of descriptive power prevents my giving a full account of them. PEHU. Mr. C. K. Wilson, M.P., paid his first visit to Pehu on the 16th inst. He stayed at "Woodlands," as the guest of Mr. and Mrs. H. Larsen. In tha evening, he received a deputation of all the settlers around, who asked him to use his best efforts to get the deviation of the Tangitu-Uruti road put through. Earlier in the day he had personally inspected the route. ■Mr. A. Miller said that if the Government put the tunnel through the settlers were quite prepared to rate themselves for a further mile of road. He also pointed out that the land was loaded with 7s Od per acre for roading purposes. Mr. H. Larsen said that the present track was a dangerous one for women and children to use. It was simply a shelf on the side of a stupendous bluff, and this shelf was being constantly undermined by freshets. It was useless to think of ever making a cart track of it. Settlement was going on fast, and the track was a heavy handicap to settlers. Mr. Hayes and others spoke in the same strain. In responding, Mr. Wilson said he was I quite, in sympathy with the views expressed by the deputation. He was astonished that such an urgent work had so long been kept baek. He could assure thorn that he would do his very best for them. Tn the. present Government there were 28 farmers, men who made their living out of the land, and the farmers could depend on their getting justice. The farmers had put this present Government in, and thev were there to help the farmer all they knew how. New Zealand was kept going by the farmers, and the great insistent need of the backblocks fanners, especially of Taranaki, was roads, more roads, and still more roads. He spoke most enthusiastically ■of Mr. Massey, a leader tlicv were all proud of, a man whose whole soul was set on helping his fellow man. A short sketch of what the Government had already done, especially in the matter of roads, concluded this speech, which was j heartily applauded.