The East Coast

Timaru Herald, Volume XIIC, Issue 14043, 29 October 1909, Page 4 (Supplement)

The East Coast

A RAILWAYLESS REGION. AS. LARGE AS CANTERBURY. (Auckland ''Herald.*'.) The settleable area of railwayless country in the eastern districts of the North Island, and approximately the area to be served by the East Const railway between Waihi and Xanier. is somewhat larger than the province of Canterbury. Canterbury lias something like 423 miles of railway to its population "of. 171,315. The eastern district has under 50 miles of railway for its population of 30,000. According to the Government Handbook the lands of the Canterbury province mav lie, classed as follows: —- First-class, 2,046,071 acres; secondclass, 0,207,173: barren lands, mountains, lands of little value. 2.3")0.501. This gives an. area of about 7.250.01)') acres fit for settlement, but only a proportion of this, area is suitable for close settlement. There is no exaggeration in saying that the eastern district contains 1 fully as much lirst-class land as Canterbury; a liner quality of second-class land, and only a mere fraction of countrv which may be described f.s unfit. for seettlement. The Canterbury Plains are about 2.:'500,0C© acres in extent. Southerners may smile in doubt when it is stated that there is as much level land, or plain land., on the route of the proposed East Coast railway as in the whole of Canterbury. It has to be acknowledged; of course, that much of the level land alluded to consists of swamps still undrained, but it is-with-in the power of. man working on practical "and commercial lines to make of these eastern district swamps and Hats probably a greater proportion of productive* countrv than is included in the Canterbury Plain. There are verv larsre areas of the'_ Canterburv Plryp which are of very little tise to humanity either'as grazing or agricultural land. The proposed East Coast railwwould run almost entirely over fiat land from Mercer to Paeroa, a distance of about 40 miles. Flat land would stretch over 20 miles north and south of it for a considerable distance. There is flat land nearly nil the way from Waihi to Katikati. This land is deemed poor bv those who believe only in land that'will take grass readily, and keep in grass without much trouble. but it is better than much ol the land on the Canterbury Plain. It is nearlv all ploughable; under cultivation "it would produce root crops ami fodder crops equal to anything m the South; it is admirably adapted for becoming winter fattening country and its climate Rives Jt a distinct ad vantage over the higher part of the lan terbury Plain. , There is a verv considerate ar. .i o flat counirv between Katikati and Tauranga, "and much undulating land ™^siW^ r fe ET-S-OS fir s?S will deny that they are fully * or..h> of all the public works and f: '-il.yes which have been granted them b> tl«. State, or built up by them-eho.. .No one has a greater admiration lor .ho Canterbnrv farmer than I have, or a more solid appreciation for the results he has achieved, but "t the same time, after making many journevs throne the railwayless districts of East-rn Auckland and Northern Hawke s J>ay. r am prepared to declare that if these districts were given the same population as Canterbury possesses, and the same class of Toads, and the fame length of railways, they would become fully as productive as Canterbury has ever been. and. would soon be made capable of carrying ten times the population that Canterbury now possesses, and of Yielding ten times the wealth that is now yielded by that prosperous province. Surely no New Zealander requires to he convinced that to settle the unsettled land of these eastern districts, to make them productive, and to help the men already struggling there is a national duty. If the city people have to endure less palatial post oi!ices, and railway stations, and public buildings; if the people in weil-roaded and railwayed parts have to wait a little for further conveniences; if tlie nation has to find an extra million or more pounds for public works, it is still a magnificent national investment. to construct that East Coast railway and give the now .locked up districts communication with both Auckland and Wellington. One great advantage possessed by the East Coast railway is that it could be commenced simultaneously at several points, ahd each section could be made to. pay almost at once. If work were begun at Mercer, or whatever place is selected as the starting point from the Main Trunk line, every mile would gather freight and encourage settlement. If a section were commenced at Waihi, the first mile of line would supply freight equal to 10 or 20 miles on most lines. From Tauranga to Te Puke would pay from the start, and the same can be said of the Opotiki end, or even of a section commencing at Rotorna and moving towards Te Teko. There is no qnestion of this East Coast railway being a political undertaking, or a provincial affair. It is a national work, and will prove a national benefit. While our rulers have hee» content to. see it crawl at a slow snail's pace northward from Gisbnrno, and have not mace a sMr* on other sections, is a mvtery v'r.'cb cannot he solved exc 'y el:T r ""- of South influence or Northern indifI ference.