ROADING IN OHURA

Taranaki Daily News, 19 January 1935, Page 13 (Supplement)

ROADING IN OHURA

DISCUSSION AT MATIERE MAIN OUTLETS FROM DISTRICT. METALLING WORK REQUESTED. PLEA FOR BACKBLOCKS SETTLERS. Reading matters affecting the whole of the Ohura district, including metalled access for the settlers as well as highway communication between the district and the outside world, were comprehensively discussed at a largely attended meeting of the Matiere Chamber of Commerce on Thursday night. The opinion was freely expressed that the reconditioning of the Okahukura Hill and the metalling of the Ohura-Okau Road would provide the shortest direct route between Taumarunui, the centre of the North Island, where all arterial roads converge, and the West Coast. A resolution was unanimously passed stressing the necessity for the completion of the metalling of the Ohura-Okau Road to give all-the-year communication. Mr. M. J. McAvady, president of the Chamber of Commerce, presided, and among those present’ were Messrs 'J. Caird (chairman), A. Renner, and L. S. Fauchelle, members of the Ohura County Council, several settlers from the surrounding districts, and Mr. D. F. C. Saxton, editor of the Taranaki Daily News. The president first extended a welcome to the visitors,' and particularly to Mr. Saxton, who, he said, had made a special journey from New Plymouth, at the invitation of the chamber, to familiarise himself with the requirements of the district.

The Public Works Department had the full responsibility of the Ohura-Tonga-porutu Hoad, remarked Mr. J. Caird. With its large area of unrateable land the Ohura County Council was not in a position to do anything much towards putting the road in order. There was three miles of road (in the Ohura County) on the Waitaanga grade still in a bad state. The metalling programme for the present year had been completed, the money available having been expended. After going over the unmetalled portion of the road with the county engineer, he had interviewed the resident engineer of the Public Works Department at Taumarunui, who had stated that he was awaiting an opportunity to go over the road to New Plymouth with a view to ascertaining what could be done towards having the road metalled right through. It was estimated that it would cost £1250 to clear the road and make it ready to metal. The slip on the grade, which was four chains long and 140 feet high, contained abcut 4000 yards, and would be expensive to shift, and even if shifted might start again. He made it clear that the committee could spend only a few pounds to make it possible for motorists to use the road during fine' weather, He thought, however, that it was possible that the Public Works Department would put the road right through, as it was not only a road between Ohura and the beach, but part of the shortest route between the east and west of the island. APPLICATION REFUSED. Referring to other road requirements Mr. Caird said that the application by the Ohura County Council for a grant of £3OOO for the complete reconditioning of the Okahukura Hill road had been refused by the Main Highways BoardHe had then waited on Mr. May, district engineer at Taumarunui, with a view to having expended the £7OO that had been placed on the estimates, the expenditure of which had been held over meanwhile. The resident engineer had been quite sympathetic, and as a result he had that day, together with the county engineer, Mr. H. Seerup, met a representative of the Public Works Department on the spot. It had been decided that the £7OO should be expended in metalling the two miles from the school junction to link up with the present metal, and Mr. Seerup would have the proposals ready for submission to the Public Works Department by next Tuesday. The metalling of the road via the Okahukura Hill would mean a considerable saving for Matiere residents journeying to Taumarunui, while Ohura residents would find it just

as convenient to journey to Taumarunui a via Okahukura as via Tokirima. There was, moreover, not a finer scenic road in the Ohura than the Okahukura Hill road, which gave a splendid view of the National Park and its mountains. The metalling of the two roads mentioned would give the shortest route between Taumarunui, which all roads in the North Island centred, and New Plymouth. The chairman: As chairman of the Ohura County Council do you favour the completion of those roads? Mr. J. Caird: It is not a matter of what the council favours, but what the 1 powers that be win give us. Mr. Caird pointed out that Ohura and Stratford had supported the completion of the River. Road to Taumarunui, which was now quite a good road. In the course of discussion it was stated that 17 miles of the Okau Road, from the Ohura end, had been metalled, and that there was still 13 miles to metal, of which ten miles were in the Clifton County. . Continuing, Mr. Caird said that the £7OO grant would be expended on the Okahukura Hill this summer, giving allweather access via that road. He questioned whether the grant on the Turoto Road would be expended this year, as one of the conditions was that it should be expended in connection with unemployment relief, and there was difficulty in obtaining sufficient men, as they w.ere not available in the district. A voice: That is quite good news. IMPORTANT WORKS. Mr. L. S.„ Fauchelle said that there were several important roading works in the Ohura that required pushing to completion, ' including the Waitaanga grade, the Tangarakau Gorge, Turoto, MokauOhura, Waitewhena, Maungapapa East and Okahukura roads. As a member of the county council he would like to see all the roads in the county metalled, so that every settler could go either north, south, east or west. They did not always want to go to the Tongaporutu beach for their holiday. Personally, he preferred to go somewhere different each year.

Mr. R. Cleaver, from many years’ experience of carting over the Okahukura Hill, strongly advocated the claims of that road to be the main highway of the district between Matiere and Taumarunui. He pointed out that all the railway material and foodstuffs for the Wjholis district had, for many years, been (SglrteS over the hill road, which, it could ♦sUl»r be said, had laid the foundation ftv the district. He considered that the m«fl would still h ’• en a valuable Sine to the district had a man been kept on it for maintenance purposes. He also stressed its impo ancc as a tourist route owing to its scenic attractions. He commented on the. fact tha* the Public Works Department, during the railway construction period had left a section of the road w.metalled, necessitating the curtailment of loads. The district had been practically locked in, there having been no outlet in the winter months ever, in cases of emergency. The Okahukura Hill was regarded by some people as impossible,

tyrt he considered that it could be converted into' a good road at far less expenditure than some roads in other parts of the Dominion had incurred. He, too, expressed appreciation of the noble efforts made at all times by the people of New Plymouth to help the settlers of Ohura in their efforts to obtain road requirements. Mr. N. Margan asked why steps had not been taken to put Dougherty’s Road in order. There were at least twenty cans of cream -eceived from that road, some of which had to be sledged three miles, frequently causing delay. Mr. D. A. Higgie, Waikaka Road, said that there were still number of roads in the county, including his own, that were unmetalled, but ”-.ey realised that the council was doing its best to get them metalled. There were also several bridges that required renewing, but they realised the difficulty at present of raising the necessary money. All were unanimous of the necessity of having all the year communication with Tongaporutu, so that residents of the district could visit the sea coast. They appreciated the assistance given by New Plymouth in that direction. He also strongly favoured the metalling of the Tangarakau Gorge.

GOOD ROAD TO DISTRICT.

The Okahukura Hill road had proved quite a good road to the district, remarked Mr. C. Stewart, who contrasted tha remarkable improvement in the reading facilities of the district at the present time as compared with 22 years ago, when he first arrived in the district. The old mud roads were a nightmare to look back on. Indeed, owing to lack of road access numbers '-f settlers in the Ohura district had abandoned their sections, and in his opinion they had done the right thing. He had a section 22 miles from Matiere to which there was no metalled access, though some of the settlers had been residing there for 27 years, and in the winter time it took five hours to get out with a horse vehicle. His section was four miles from the Kakahi bridge, and during the winter some sections of that roadway were dangerous even on horseback. He could not too strongly condemn the action of the Government in allowing thousands of pounds to be expended on improving comers of main highways that were already excellent motor roads, merely to enabl; motorists to speed along. That money could be put to far better use in providing access for settlers in the backblocks. He did not know why so much consideration should be given to provide roads for people on pleasure bent. They had railways that they could use, whereas the men in the' backblocks did not have any roads to enable them to get their roads to the railway. He complimented the Ohura County Council on the success of its efforts in obtaining roading .facilities for the district, and believed that it was still doing its best for the ratepayers. He appealed to the council, however, to take the grader off the metalled roads and use it for improving the surface of the clay roads. In conclusion Mr. Stewart made a strong appeal for roading facilities on behalf of the settlers of the backblocks, who were called the backbone of the country, and particularly of the women, who, he considered, were heroines to put up with the conditions of living on mud roads for over 20 years. He felt’ very sore when he knew the conditions that they had to put up with, and then saw the improvements that were being made

to highways that were already good motor roads. The whole policy was absolutely wrong. Those improvements might be necessary, but they could be done without until the people of the foackblocks were given metalled access. Owing primarily to lack of roading, the settlers were unable to progress, some having had to throw up their sections, whilst others were merely carrying on in desperation. He himself had not made any money, but had lost 22 years of his life in the backblocks, and his case was only typical of many. He therefore appealed to all to support anything that would improve the lot of the backblocks settler.

GRADING OF CLAY ROADS.

Mr. L. S. Fauchelle said that there was no benefit in grading a clay road, as the money was only wasted. The only solution, was to metal the roads. Referring to the Okahukura Road, he said that metalling the two miles would have been valuable now, but some years ago it would not have been very useful, as the main road between Matiere and Ongarue was not metalled. Mr. Stewart considered that where there was not too much traffic, grading made a clay road passable. He considered that grading should be done on clay roads at the right time, particularly when there was littl prospect of getting metal for years. Mr. Fauchelle said that he was not opposed to grading clay roads, but metalling was the only solution. Mr. A. K. Margan said that apart altogether from tourist and beach traffic, metalling of the Tongaporutu would benefit backblocks settlers, who had had no metalled access for years. He agreed that metalled access should be provided for backblocks settlers before money was expended in further improving main highways that were already in good order.

Mr. D. A. Higgie agreed that grading clay roads was only a stop gap, but grading and keeping the watertables open made clay roads reasonably passable. Another aspect to be considered was the fact that the settlers who had metalled roads,'-and one or two even who had not, were paying special rates for that privilege. Some, of course, had been fortunate in securing free grants for metal. He admitted that other settlers might have had metalled roads had they been in a position to face a special rate for the necessary loan. As a settler of 20 years’ standing Mr. J. A. C. Hickey said that the district had made wonderful strides, and when times became normal again the district would considerably improve as the result of their own efforts. The settlers must “keep on keeping on.” It would be interesting to have submitted statistics showing just how much wool, meat, butter-fat, etc., the district produced.

COMMUNITY OF INTEREST.

As part of the Taranaki land district there was definite community of interest between Ohura and the rest of Taranaki, said Mr. Saxton. When in New Plymouth recently Mr. McAvady had told him that two important matters to the district were the completion of the Ohura-Ton-gaporutu Road and the transfer of the district from the Hamilton to the New Plymouth postal centre, to obtain better mail and savings bank facilities with Taranaki. He understood, however, that a reply had been received by the chamber from the chief postmaster at New

Plymouth stating that the mail timetable could not be altered, but that delay would to a large extent be avoided if business firms in New Plymouth posted mail to Ohura before 4 p.m. each day. If this were done the mail would be in Ohura next morning. Regarding the Tongaporutu-O’nura Road Mr. Saxton said that he had specially come into Ohura via that route, and had carefully observed its condition, as well as having met representative settlers at both Okau and at Ohura ends. From what he could gather there appeared to be a difference of opinion in the Ohura district as to which was the most important road requirement. One section strongly advocated the metalling of the Ohura-Okau Road, while other sections advocated the metalling of the Tangarakau gorge, the completion of the three and a-half miles metalling of the Matiere-Aria Road, the 12 miles of m stalling of the Waitewhena-Aria Road, the Okahukura Hill Road and the Tokirima Road. Mr. Caird said he understood the metalling of the Matiere-Aria Road was to be completed. A sum of £2OOO had been voted for metalling the Waitewhena Road, but it was very doubtful if that would be put in hand this year, as money would first have to be provided for formation and culverting, the latter of which was an expensive item.

NO DIFFICULTIES OFFERED.

Continuing, Mr. Saxton said that with the exception of the Waitaanga grade—a distance of about two and a-half miles, where there was i big -lip, the road did not offer any difficulties, as the remainder of the 13 metalled miles was nearly all flat. From Ohura to the grade the road was in good condition, and only a little work was required on the grade to make it a reasonably good fine weather road, perfectly safe, except at one point on the slip, where it was very narrow. He had gained the impression that now that the Waitaanga settlers had been given metalled access to Ohura, the Ohura County Council was not keen to do anything further to the road. He considered that the road must one day be a main highway, as it would be part of the shortest route between the centre of the island and the West Coast. The land could not afford to be rated for the road. He felt that apart altogether from the fact that it provided residents of Ohura with direct access to the beach, and also was a scenic route, the road had a very definite business value. He was entirely in accord with their views that the first consideration should be the provision of metalled access for backblocks settlers), before further improvements were effected to main highways that were already good surfaced motor roads.

Mr. Caird said that it was estimated that it would cost £1260 to form the road and clear the slips on the grade, apart altogether from the metalling. It was quite easy to misunderstand the attitude of the council on the matter. His personal view and that of the members of the council was that if the council had any funds to spare its first duty was to provide access for its own settlers. Even though the Government had come to the rescue of the settlers by metalling the road to the grade, the Waitaanga settlers were paying a special rate of Bd, and some of them on the side roads were still a long way off the metaj. It was the council’s duty to see that they were first given metal. He recognised that the Ohura-Okau Road had a business value, as indeed had every metal-

led road. He agreed that the road should Le a national one as a main highway, but before the Main Highways Board would take it over, it would have to be constructed and metalled by the Public Works Department..

STRUCK BY IMPROVEMENTS.

The chairman said that he had travelled on the main highway between Wellington and Palmerston North, and was greatly struck by the improvements that had been made to an already satisfactory main highway. If the Government had money to expend in that way surely it could find money to enable men, whom they called the backbone of the country, to get their cream out to the cream lorry. Some of the settlers had been for over 30 years on unmetalled roads. It was most unfair that such things could happen. The settlers should move strenuously in order to have such matters altered, and see that the backblocks settlers had metalled access. He expressed appreciation of • the assistance always given by members of the Taranaki Chamber of Commerce, and thanked Mr. Saxton for the i .erest that he had taken in the matter. Mr. Caird stressed the necessity for co-ordinated effort on the part of all parties or bodies interested in securing grants for roading in the Ohura district. Combined efforts were more, likely to prove successful, and moreover prevented any possibility of confusion. In this respect he instanced the position over the Turoto and Huia Road grants, where the council had secured a grant for one' portion, whilst unknown to the council other interested parties had secured a different grant. It was necessary _ therefore for all interested, together with the Ohura County Council, to work in cooperation, if they wished to get anywhere.

Mr. A. Renner was strongly of opinion that the Okahukura saddle was the outlet for the Matiere district, and said that the action of the Ohura County Council in juggling with the declaration of main highways had been responsible for the grant for reconditioning the Okahukura saddle being held back. Some time ago the council had passed a resolution revoking the declaration of the Okahukura Hill Road as a main highway in favour of the road to Ongarue, so that naturally the Main Highways Board would consider that the district regarde the latter road as the more important. The same position had occurred in regard to the main highway between Toi Toi and Niho Niho. The council had revoked its declaration as a main highway in favour of the Kopuha North Road. He strongly deprecated juggling with the main highways in that way. Indeed he could not understand why the two roads mentioned had not been retained as main highways. He strongly favoured grading clay roads at tire right time, and also concentrating on keeping the watertables clear. The Okahukura hill would still have been in a satisfactory state had tha watertables and small slips on the road been cleared.

NEED FOR RECONDITIONING.

Mr. H. L. Stoddart moved that the chamber- press on the Government the urgent necessity for having the road over ...e Okahukura saddle from the elevenmile to Okahukura reconditioned. Mr. J. Caird said that after a conference with the Public Works Department representative it had been decided that the only tangible benefit would be to expend the £7OO on metalling the un-

metalled two miles. The balance could be reconditioned piecemeal later. He theretor favoured deferring consideration until after that money had been expended. Mr. A. Renner considered that the chamber should ask the council to press for the reconditioning of the road over the Okahukura hill, which was the natural outlet to Taumarunui for the Matiere riding. . Mr. J. Caird said that if any juggling of highways was done by the council, it had been done for the purpose of obtaining the main highways subsidy. Mr. A. Renner pointed out that free grants had been given for metalling on some highways. He understood that there was a certain amount of main highways subsidy for maintenance, some of which should have been expended on the Okahukura Hill. The motion was withdrawn. Mr. George Rhynd moved that the Matiere Chamber of Commerce as a body press strongly for the complete metalling of the Ohura-Tongaporutu Road as a main highway. That was seconded by Mr. J. Gray and carried unanimously. Mr. J. Caird said that the county council would endorse that resolution. He was of opinion that t would not be long before the work was put in hand by the Public Works Department. Members and visitors were then the guests of the Chamber of Commerce, a number of toasts being honoured.