COASTAL RELIEF CAMPS

Taranaki Daily News, 14 December 1932, Page 2

COASTAL RELIEF CAMPS

WORK OF THE SINGLE MEN. PROGRESS OF ROADING SCHEME. Good progress in road work in the Kaweora and Arawhata Road districts has been achieved by the members of the single men’s relief camps in the few months of their existence. The older of the two camps; that near Kaweora Road, will this week complete trie metalling of the 1J miles on the Wiremu Road between the Kaweora and Ihaia Roads. This camp also expects to have completed by April one mile of formation and metalling towards the mountain on the Kaweora Road, which will then be continued for a further Another phase of the work is the stumping of nearby paddocks. One of two acres has already been completely cleared, ploughed and harrowed. The owner has in the meantime granted this to the men, who will grow there a crop of vegetables for next winter. Further along the road a much larger paddock has been stumped and the owner of the land is now contemplating establishing a sharemilker on part of his farm. There are 56 men in the camp and, in view of the increase in numbers, the dining room has had to be lengthened. The big vegetable garden at one end of the camp looks well and green peas are ready to pick. The men have formed a cricket team which has played matches against Opunake and Okato, winning the first and losing the second.

AT THE ARAWHATA CAMP. Forty men occupy the Arawhata Road camp. They have metalled about half a mile of the Ihaia Road. At present they are encountering heavy formation work but will make faster progress when this point is passed. , Where a few short months ago there was nothing but a waste of stumps, coarse grass and swamp is now a splendid vegetable garden. Cabbages, green peas, beans and other vegetables are already well advanced, so that in the near future an abundant supply _ of fresh vegetables, most acceptable in a camp like this, is assured. Drains have been cut through the somewhat swampy ground, and the whole garden, like that at the other camp, bears a well-cared-for appearance. One large plot has been devoted to potatoes which, although young as yet, will be welcome later. A sunny ledge under a hill has just been planted with 240 pumpkin plants and another square has been made into a sheltered lettuce bed. Pig fanning is proving successful and profitable. A few pigs bought as weaners have grown well. A camp of this size uses about 3001 b of beef, two carcases of mutton, and 40 or 50 loaves of bread in a week. Recently Mr. A. L. Low, librarian at New Plymouth, forwarded 150 books to the Labour Department, and these were sent to the two Opunake camps. YOUNGEST CAMPS. Younger than either of these are the Carrington Road camps, three in number and containing 50 men all told. These have been established since the end of October, and are married men’s camps, the men being paid 10s a day. They have to provide their own food. They are at present metalling the Carrington Road from the top of the Saunders Road to the top of the Pitone Road. Already close on 60 chains have been done between the Oxford and the Saunders Road and a second crusher is to be set up shortly. The system followed here is that the gangs doing the- formation work are camped ahead of those engaged upon counter-sinking and metalling. To. the Pitone Road is two miles, and then the programme includes three-quarters of a mile of the Pitone Road and three miles of the Dover Road. Possibly after that a further 3J miles of road may be made through the bush on the other side of the Pitone Road.