Taranaki Herald. TUESDAY, MAY 12, 1903. THE MOKI ROAD.

Taranaki Herald, Volume L, Issue 12253, 12 May 1903, Page 4

Taranaki Herald. TUESDAY, MAY 12, 1903. THE MOKI ROAD.

No apology is needed from us for returning to the subject of opening up the back country of Taranaki by means of roads. At the last meeting of the Chamberof Commerce a member brought up j the question of the Moki Road, but as those present were not in a. j position to discuss it on account of the absence of data the matter was postponed until the next meeting of the Chamber, to be I held in June. •• With a' view of throwing a little., light" upon the subject we "have obtained', from Mr-; I Mackenzie, the Commissioner of Crown Lands, some information regarding the Moki Road and the country ( it will open up. Mr Mackenzie, we may mention, is strongly imbued with the opinion that . from 1 -the poinf 'tff ''yi^ b'f J opening ; ( tLp', the cbx^it'ry-.^qr jspjttle^ rac'nt l . tliis < , >r Qa£l! , is jsefcoexl iin j im~i portance' to aio othei?- in r Ta'tfanaki^ That he^s;:right ! iii 'his; ' dpiriion we\; think oiir 1 readers wil^. „.,w.hen; they have ; studied ; the, question.? by means 'of a-v!h3p.-ahd;thV details' of distances 'and x areVs : \vhiclf X Mr> Mac-

kenzie was I( kJLn.d, enough to- furnish us with. , Xlie^.Moki , Road diverges from the Mokau* Road -TFrirti; 31 miles frtfin Neyir Plyfeijsuth"." At'j its ' d_iyer£ence ' It'is ' callejl^.the, Urufi .Roadjij^ut as. ,itlie..:lattep turns at- .almost' a.' rigfrtf^arigle 1 and goes sbuthVatd a^.'feHV 1 , mile's^ inland; while tinues^ in, an eastecly. .diEeeliony to-^ wards the interior, it < suits J our-pufp-ose J better c^'i^Jta^ right through. T,}ie \M'o£4u^feo#d^ is . metalled. . almost, s±a the.* junction' J< so that practically we^have^ at nfe^ tiaUed road, .from New *i?lymo i iitti i to the, Moki Road. From.; the .junction, at i Uruti to where -the jroadstrikes the 1 Ohura! Road is, 'rduglif ly, '2r ! niiles, all but '8 of ,^-h'ich." isj formed for) h;orsc ( , trafliCT-partly^. dray — with very easy gtfades. ' For: two' thirds 'of the - wh'ole« ! di.stance f the jrpad is almost level 1 , while the' other . third} ajlongi the baci.ks ;o£'l^ie. Waitafa River, is ' morci orlessr broken' but the fact that .tße' ex!-" trcme^h^iglij; reached oil .t^e-r^ad' is. only 750 feet, at a point-^aU^dj .Skeet's Saddle, shows' th?at^tßere> are no engineering. ; i d!iffictil£ies 1 in the- way r pi • .making j r.e^uHaT, tioir grade's/ 'The strikes the ' Ohur a Road ' in ' >tKe " Tangarakau Gorge, about '56 nines' from jStratford,. to ,whj.ch ilaie j tliere , ' wl is ; , a , „'dray road the wholes distance. The distance from this point to New Plymouth is thus about 52 isii'es, or to 'WaitWa 1 11; 1 J thV-i¥ate4't {; ¥IH4 JW I freezing .-)[W,®rl>»SK>i Q*Hyt l 4h ivi lus,1 us, .;asagainst* 5 56 ; ton<S*ratfoEdj>iwfa£li;'is^ ; itself, 30, miles '$oin" se^s^iotttH'' and 26 from ' Wai tara." &e;Os(ira~ at' and beyond the. Taiigam&au'j\viir thus be '46 miles' nearer "Waitflxa' and- 14 iiiilee^ nearer NeW)Ply»a-©iutrh-' by way of the Moki Road. Thus the importance, of the latter road 'to the, country' beyond 'Wh^iig^niP-. 111011 aon the, Ohura ,Road will be realised' at a' 'glance. ■ Hhe'tabuntry

directly served by the Moki Road and the bye-roadvS which will serve it may be roughly set dowii at 50,000 acres, much of which is already taken up, while the road, when formed and metalled, will serve as the outlet lor at least another 100,000 acres bordering on the Ohura Road. About two miles nearer Stratford than where the Moki Road strikes it it is proposed to locate the township of Tuhara 011 the Ohura Road, and this township, it may be taken for granted, will be served by the Moki Road. Northwards the Ohura Road reachea Ongaruhe, on the Central Railway line, from which point a dia.y road is formed 35 miles in the direction of Stratford, thence a further 15 miles of horse track is formed, leaving- a gap of six miles unformed in the Tangarakau Gorge. This gap will be overcome in about two three tfrfonths by means of a tunnel, avoiding a long I stfet:cli l 'df j rougti J cmintr'}^ ra't^ gQrge.. TJui3. ..Qngaruhe,.",, on /tfe Central railway: line, which, is now 112 jniles from Stratfbrcl 'and 142* miles from ' New ' Plymouth, >>yill J be,^ brougivt ,by . means,, gf i; tne Mokj,' Roadi -within 1 108 miles- -from Nie.wi Ptymoiith, or 97 miles frbiri r Wai-' tara— : an6ther i ; strong,. point yin iav^ our, oi the Moki Road. .Border,^* on the' Ohura Road;, between it and the coast, in the King" CQiintry, is an ared' /oi spme" 250,000 acres of 'land? Crown andnative, of good quality- for grazing,' some , open feni land, other 7lgh.t' scrub,,', other .'again forest country,? Nearly 100,000 acres will fejs availr. able 1 fo^r 1 selection ivitfafti "the -'next few mpntlis'ancj another' Very 5 Jairge^ blockr is ,now r,, being.-, explore, d, - fpr^ roads-! "inland -of TongaporsUtu ,andto' the" 6! the' Mokahi-Mdha-' katihp "blbjqlc'." 1 Tli^s >r 'is .'".•i«=d x J5J 5 average,. cotmi^ry . c the IVf^ki ; Road will • mdir^etly servo. 'AV*2ig'< the "dKul-a Roafl tfevond -Taii^ara*' kau, th ( ere will .'probably, , be , several' townships, iat Heao 1-73r,1 -73r, nitle^.,frpnL. Stratford; a^t Mangaroa (84 «miks) : , the; r> 'ceMf<T r of 'k\dtetnkt l greatly" tak«n up for §orrie i^imile^ o and'a [] TJpper,.-Qhurar (93 jniles)i-,b^t these, places" -wfill be f served: tfronLJ Oiiga^rujie. It is, however, itripprtan^tto" npte' that -.from' -the,,' ; i^angjar.Qa' settlement a dray road' is in coituse f ot formation towards tlie Wangknui . Reiver, and we may be sure 1 that . the Wangamii people - will! make every ■ effort ■ .to reach thecountry we speak of by tHat arid? other, routes. ' .Summed f up, t^ne' Moki Road brings that ,va,st are } a, of ' good countr}^, already partly^ settled" and' to -be^-offered • siiortryV within ea?y distance of' Waitaf^ and New Plymouth . The "\Vangac nui and Auckland people are doing their utmost {to get a footing i that country,, aj&d. , unless we at this enct thjey; will get there first and establish a connection wk'icl!," 'notwithstanding our", ady'antaee ? !iir the' matter' pf distances ami' route," we shall nnd*, vt rhafo, to -.brefik lip, „ .. . . »