MARUIA FARMERS’ PLIGHT

Taranaki Daily News, 5 July 1929, Page 13

MARUIA FARMERS’ PLIGHT

DAMAGE BY EARTHQUAKE, I - /<■ ■» I ACCESS TO FARMS DESTROYED. I . WiWl URGENT NEED FOR ASSISTANCE. I By Telegraph.—Press Association. |/I Nelson, Last ■ Night/) I Settlers of Mid-Maruia waited on ■ the I relief committee to-day. Mr. Peacock?! explained that the' particular area was I situated, in the Lower Maruia, Mjirchisonl County, this being quite distant from the ,1 Upper Maruia, which was situated in the I Inangahua County. . ■' ./ j The area he spoke for, said Mr. >.Peasl cock, appeared to have bceii to a greater extent than any other phi® tion of the Murchison County, inasmum ng tho settlers were completely cut ofi by the absolute blocking of the roads. Some of the farms had been totally destroyed.; and those partially destroyed had no acyl cess. To enable the settlers to decide what I fo do it was necessary that they shouldj kno./ at the earliest possible moment whap was to be done on their behalf by -thbi| Government. It wag a dairying district am/ the cows would be coming into profit in a couple of months. If the settlers to be given access the cows need not b? sold. He asked that an immediate dev; cision bo arrived at, and urged that art? rangements be made for an assessment of the damage and that an indication be/ given at once of the Government’s inten/

tions. In answer to the Mayor .Mr. Peacock eaid that all the settlers in Mid-Maruia were unable to return to • their farms through lack of access. There were many ■ settlers affected, having between them ■ large numbers of, cows and sheep, and? ■■ unless access was provided within two - months the cows wotdd have to be sold and they would be difficult to replace. . The Mayor referred to the desirability? BB of appointing a commission to inquire into ■ the loss. I Mr. Fraser, county clerk at Murchison, / ■ replied that the whole county had been?M re-valued just before the earthquake, that a fresh valuation now would give excellent comparison of the values show the actual loss sustained. > • • < M Mr. J. S. Roberts suggested that the■ settlers’ returns from the Murchison Dairy’ ■ Company should be of assistance in arriv/BB ing at the value of the locality from .a dairying point of view. ;’ H . RIVER CHANGES ITS COURSE? B Mr. A. Thomson, Nelson, said Mr. cock had clearly stated the case and all be M had said was positively correct. cock had not stated his own case.; v' He was rather more unfortunate than the other settlers as he owned some of ,the.best H of the flat country. The river hAd,been diverted and the whole gorge had been ■ blocked by rocks and trees to a depth of. about 50 feet. This had caused the river . to rise and change its course. The at that point had gone right through Mr. ;/i Peacock’s flat, in all 250 or 300 acres, and ? so far as Mr. Peacock and many other settlers were concerned the' land had been U positively ruined.' . /'?, At a point further up the valley, owingjiw,to the river being blocked, it had formed S a lake. The people had not yet had. cbance to seo what damage had been done.’ They first had to get out in time to save; their lives. It was not possible for them',?; to ascertain what they had lost. ■_ Stock:/;? had been covered up with slips, killed by g trees and drowned.. Mr., Peacock’s sug?? gestion that a valuation should be inad»/y was a proper one. It could not be stress ed too much that the whole of the peoplein the valley had had a. most trying time; ?- and even if the roads were opened up they - would still be at a great loss. In answer to the Mayor as to whether ‘ the settlers suggested that the stock he ? sold at once, Mr. Peacock replied that this . ?. depended entirely on what the Government’- < intended to do. If it was intended to pro- ?; vide access at once the position wo: '.I be ? altered. There would be about 25 ,miles. -J of road to be reconditioned. " , Mr. Chas. Watson pointed out that up. to the present the relief, committee had/;g been able only to attend to the needs of*../ the refugees. Now the question of road/U. ing could be dealt with,, and. if the Government were asked to take _ action mediately he had no doubt this-would be done. ' ? Mr. Fraser suggested that the settlera. appoint a deputation to proceed to lington forthwith and ascertain .what the-, Government intended to do in the way of restoration of the roads/ and compensating. the settlers. Until this was known it-,' ‘ seemed to him tp be most inadvisable to',/ come to any decision. ’ /?, f The town clerk - read a telegram from Sir / Joseph Ward which indicated that the Government intended to assist in every way possible. Mr. Thomson was applauded when he stated that the Murchison people appre//'/ ciated all that the Nelson people were do- ? ing for them. He expressed appreciation ’ r of the good work done by Mr. (Commissioner of •Crown Lands) and by Mr. May (Public Works engineer/ He- . concluded by urging that a resolution be/./ carried that a deputation go to This course was eventually agreed to.