The Taranaki Herald. (DAILY EVENING.) FRIDAY, APRIL 19, 1912. KING COUNTRY TRADE.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LX, Issue 143770, 19 April 1912, Page 2

The Taranaki Herald. (DAILY EVENING.) FRIDAY, APRIL 19, 1912. KING COUNTRY TRADE.

The president of the Taumarumii Chamber of Commerce, Mr. N. A. Winter, attended the annual meeting of the Auckland Industrial Association on Tuesday night with a request for the Association’s assistance in obtaining the attention of the Government to the matter of providing roads to give the settlers in the King Country and the Olnira access to the Main Trunk Railway. In support of his request '! r. Winter stated that the people ns far south as Raurimu (200 miles from Auckland) all looked to Auckland as the natural outlet and centre of supply for their districts; but at this moment powerful interests were at work to divert the trade of the southern part of that area to New Plymouth. Unless, he said, some steps were taken to secxire the formation of main arterial roads to communicate with the Main Trunk line, the trade, or much of it, would go into the Taranaki port, and Auckland would lose one of its most valuable trade assets. For years past we have endeavoured in season and out of season to impress upon the commercial community of New Plymouth that this port will be the most convenient outlet for the trade of the country bordering on the Main Trunk Railway between Te Euiti on the north and, say, Ohakune on the south. It is therefore with some satisfaction that we find the Taumarunui people admitting that New Plymouth threatens to become a serious rival of Auckland for the trade of that district. If our readers are able to refer to the map published by us three weeks ago, or to that distributed as' a supplement to the paper ten years ago, they will be better able to appieciate and understand the position. A segment of a circle with a radius of about eighty miles, from New Plymouth as a base, will be found to enclose the Main Trunk line from Ohakune to Te Kuiti, which means that all the country along the line between those towns is within eighty miles of this port, in a direct line. Te Kuiti is 126 miles from Auckland, and Ohakune is 202 miles from Wellington. It therefore follows that if we can get anything like direct

roads and railways from tlie port into that country New Plymouth will hold a commanding position with regard to the trade. The junction of the Stratford line with the Main Trunk will he less than 1-30 miles from New Plymouth, so that all the country within reach of that line will naturally drain this way. . From Ohakune an arterial road is being constructed to connect with the Ohura Road near Strathmore. This road passes through Raetihi and is gradually being pushed on towards the Wanganui River, where it will meet a road now being constructed from this end through the Puniwhakau and Mount Humphries. This will give a fairly direct road from Stratford to Raetihi and Ohakune, and it will become a stock route of great importance, probably carrying great quantities of stock for freezing works in Taranaki. To deal with the country northwards, that is between Te Kuiti and Raglan, there is a proposal which the Raglan Chamber of Commerce is about to bring to the notice of the local Chamber to urge the Government to survey and authorise a railway from, say, Waitara northwards through the Mokau district, and serving both the Kawhia and Raglan districts. This is a proposal which should meet with hearty support here. Indeed, there is no work that can be taken up by the Taranaki Chamber of Commerce, and by the commercial community of New Plymouth generally, that can be compared in importance with the persistent advocacy of pushing on with trade routes, whether roads or railways, into the country we have referred to, that is, the whole area between the Main Trunk Railway from Ohakune to Te Kuiti and the coast as far north as Raglan. Both Wellington and Auckland have set their eyes on the trade. At present they have greater facilities for capturing it than we have, but as the roads and railways are pushed on from this end the sphere of influence of this port will gradually extend until the whole trade comes this way.