OLD TE AWAMUTU.

Waipa Post, Volume II, Issue 92, 8 March 1912, Page 2

OLD TE AWAMUTU.

GLEANINGS FROM AN OLD LETTER-BOOK OF 1876.

To old and young residents of

Te Awamutu the following reports—culled from a report of district roads furnished in the early part of 1876 —will prove most interesting as showing what marked improvements have been made in and about Te Awamutu since that ti.me :

Cambridge to Rangiaohia, 12 miles. —A great cordon of this road is across the Moana-hia-hia swamp, and was made as a short way to Rangiaohia and the other townships on the other side of the delta, it being only half the distance by this route as it is by the one through Ohaupo to Te Awamutu. The part of the road through the swamp was formed about 20 feet wide by cutting side drains and throwing the earth into the middle on top of fascines. The road, unless in very dry weather, is impassable for wheeled traffic, and after much wet it is almost impossible to get a horse across the portions of the road in the swamp, which requires re-fascining and ballasting. The Mangapiko stream, which the road crosses, is substantially bridged, but a bridge over a small creek on the Cambridge end of the swamp needs re-erecting. Rangiaohia to Te Awamutu, 3 miles.—This road passes chiefly through well cultivated, though rather hilly, country, and though used as a dray road some of the grades are very steep. An unoccupied wooden blockhousestands at Rangiaohia. Te Awamutu to Orakau, 5% miles. —Through one of the most fertile and cultivated parts of the Waikato district, and although the country is somewhat hilly the road is passable, as none of the grades is very steep. At 2M miles from Te Awamutu the road passes through the township of Kihikihi, where there is a redoubt built by the Armed Constabulary. At Orakau there is a wooden blockhouse, which is unoccupied at present. The only bush near this road is the swampy bush between Rangiaohia and Kihikihi. Te Awamutu to Alexandra, 7% miles. —This road is close alongside the Mangapiko river for nearly the whole distance, and the country over which it runs is flat open fern land -with a small clump of bush about six miles from Te Awamutu on the south side of the road. The road crosses three small creeks, one of which is spanned by a wooden bridge, and the other two pass through culverts. A considerable amount of cultivation has been done on each side of this road. Although there are two - other dray roads between these two places, this is the one that is practically used for dray purposes.. About one mile to the southward, and almost parallel to the first road, there is a low range of hills along which the old dray road runs between Te Awamutu and Alexandra, but owing to the steepness of some of the hills the greater portion of this old road has been abandoned, and is now almost entirely overgrown with fern and furze. The only portion of the old road still in use is about three miles from Te Awamutu, from which point to Alexandra a new road has been made over flat country. There is one small swampy creek (wooden bridge) about one mile from Alexandra. Te Rore to Te Awamutu. —The dray road between these two places, which runs along the Paterangi hills until it joins the Hamilton and Te Awamutu road north of the Mangapiko bridge, is the one originally used by the troops when Te Awamutu was the headquarters. Some of the grades have been eased, otherwise it has had very little done to it. A large amount of cultivation has been done towards -the Te Awamutu end of this road. Passage of Troops.—Roads lb, _ 11, etc., are all passable for in-, fantry and cavalry, but as many of the bridges, as already described, are old and unsafe, it would be dangerous to take heavy loads over them. Nearly all the new bridges in the dis-

trict, with the exception of two over the Waikato river at. Newcastle aijd Cambridge, are only calculated to carry a safe load of ~ i I A tons exclusive of dray and horses. These are the only roads over which artillery could be taken.

Hamilton to Te A wamutu, miles. —Used daily by mail coach. The first 5% miles over undulat-

ing fern country, with the Rukuhia swamp lying a little to the west of the road. In this distance the road crosses two small creeks, which are spanned by wooden bridges. From sVz to 8% miles the road has been formed, and is nearly level, except at the® approaches to the bridges ovenMystery creek and Ahuta creek; here the grades are steep. Both of these bridges are of wood, and were built some seven or eight years since. After crossing the Ahuta creek the road again takes to the hills, passes through the village of Qhaupo, ten miles from Hamilton, and continues up and down hill until it crosses the Mangapiko creek (good wooden bridge) 17 miles from Hamilton. The road is then flat till it gets to Te Awamutu, where it crosses the Mangahoe creek over an old wooden bridge. The country over which this road passes is open fern land, cultivated here and there, with bush four miles from Hamilton and at Ohaupo.