TARANAKI'S FUTURE.

Timaru Herald, Volume XIC, Issue 13368, 19 August 1907, Page 3

TARANAKI'S FUTURE.

lIYIfKO-JiLl'-CIEICb'. Taranaki, sour.h of Egmont, was less talm thirty years ago for the mutt part a wilderness ot bush inland ancl of fern along the coast. Of all the provinces of Iwiv Zealand it was then.'the poorest. Even the laiiway, usually the harbinger of prasperiiy, did not immediately rouse Taranaki from depression. Fungus and grass-seed were still the characteristic products of the distiict. The industry that changed the face of the whole countryside, that raised the value of land within ten years from £5 an acre to £25, and from the poorest, made Taranaki one of the richest province in the colony, look its rise in the town of Eltliam, then a small village settlement. Eltliam has the honour of being the birth-place of the dairy industry, which luis done, and is doipg, so much for New Zealand. Just as the daily industry lias proved the b-'st method of utilising the natural resources of the province in the. abundant grass grown from the combination of rich volcanic coil and a mist climate, so now we have .a proposal to utilise the other great resources of Taranaki—the water-power in her swift-running streams —for the purpose* of improving communication, transport and the general efficiency of the dairy industry.

At present the enormous possibilities of power in the perennial streams, fed from perpetual snows, and running their brief course swiftly |to the sea, have, except in one instance-, never been tested on any large scale at all. A few dairy factories have their machinery run by turbines, but the only important example of a liydr-elec-tric installation is at Oakaiawa, on the Waionongaro river, where a considerable' difference in level between the upper and lower reacliei; of a river band is utilised to generate electricity for the* lighting of Hawcra and surrounding districts. This plant is owned by a private corporation, which secured water rights bv a special Act The Government now reserves a!l privileges and permission to use similar natural resources in the waterfalls and cataracts of the colony. The Hawera Electric Light Company's installation is the only example in Taranaki of a large hydro-electric plant in actual operation. Yet, in .the same district there are a score or so of rapid streams which might bs harnessed in the same way and be utilised to an even greater extent. South Taranaki, through which these rivers flow, is perhaps the most thickly populated purely farming district in the colony and requires a large amount of transport, which has to be done over very bad roads.

In order to reduce the cost of transport it is proposed to connect Eltham and Opunake by an electric tramline following the main road. The power is to be supplied by hydro-electric plant on the various streams over which the road passes. Electricity generated from the same source will be employed to' light the towneliips and isolated houses along the route, and to run milking and other machinery on adjacent farms-. The scheme may be extended to include a branch to the mountain reserve and Dawson's Falls. Other branch lines may be constructed to serve as feeders.

Of the feasibility of the scheme nobody who knows the country can have the slightest doubt. The power is there ready at hand in the streams which even now run the machinery of two or three daily factories. The traffic is there, for the settlers have long been demanding facilities for cheap and expeditious travel and transport. The engineering difficulties, so far as an outsider can judge, will be trifling. The grade-; are easy, and the road is practically straight throughout the greater part of the 25 miles between Eltham and Opunake. Light railways, of a similar character, operated by electricity, and serving rural districts have been extraordinarily successful in England, in America, and on the Continent of Europe. .Switzerland and Norway allord an example of what may bj done by a wise use of natural water-power. In both countries, particularly in Norway, the farmer does most of his work about the farmyard by electricity generated by a neighbouring waterfall. The prosperity of tlui:e mountainous countries in c-;pite of a poverty of soil is u feature often remarked bv travellers. TWO ADVANTAGES. Taranaki has water power equally good, and a soil infinitely superior. 'ilie two advantages linked together in a manner outlined should secure for this district ;i lasting pre-eminence in the dairy industry. The ei,illumination of the scheme would lead to close fccl tkment. .Smaller farms will become more profitable through the i".<* of labour-saving machinery. Nor are these the only bemlits. The quality of the farming would improve with the increase of iut-eiJijjencs and scientific method consequent upon the. introduction of electricity into the mechanism of country life. The hardships and discomforts of travelling in open conveyances in ail weather:-, the- cost of stabling, and the upkeep of hoice and vehicle would be reduced or entirely removed. Passengers from Opunak:' would no longer be compelled to rise at half-past Hire- on e. winter's morning, and almost p:-ii-:Ii of cold during the five hours' drive into Eltham (o catch the mail train for Wellington. An electric tram would cover the 20 miles in an hour and a half or two hours a I the outside. JJiilter. chrr>e. lirewood. boxes, merchaiidlr-o in bulk of all sort.; would lie conveyed at a tenth id' (Incharges now riding. Students of the technical classes would be able to attend at th'iir various centres with loss difficulty, and school children could be conveyed t.o and from school. Tlu;=.e are but a. few of the po.-iiibi'iities the .scheme suggests, but .'pace forbids further dwelling 011 this point.

SKLF HELP. Peihttps the most important feature of the proposal is ri&erved till the last. If this' were a scheme- to surrender to a- private syndicate or company, the valuableprivileges and rightis involved it would deseive little support from the. public. But llis most gratifying feature of the -whole i'l.a is that it has been promoted by tlw various local bodies concerned, for the b;ii:fit of the settlem they ivpivsei;:. Tl;ey propose to rai.--e money for the construction and equipment of the tiannvay. for the lighting of their townships and detached farmhouses, and for the supply of power for'tils purposes mention-ed above. Suc h ari .example of self-help iu a scattered community is rare, and worthy of imitation. If the schiine prove successful, the problem of the branch-line or spur-fe-eder to main linOi will be .settled in a manner sati.- factory to all parties. The principle of self-hslp in thk matter is- applicable to other parts of the colony, -where railway lines are lii-edetl. tiueh a line of wat . l'-pow-er should form (he Ivr-is of ■■•x-perim-ent towards electrifying the existing lines. In concluding this general skt-sch of a project which will >-horUy ba explained to ths public in full detail, it may be said that- rcldnm hi-fi such an opportunity occurred of serving so many good purposes at the came time without exciting local jealousy as is afforded by the promotion of this scheme for the transformation of h-outh Taranaki.—Wellington "Post."