THE ROAD TO THE TUNNEL

Waikato Times, Volume XXV, Issue 2061, 22 September 1885, Page 3

THE ROAD TO THE TUNNEL

— s> - — \lu H IJdcm. w In', with MHiiootliei gvntlenion, his pi-l pud .1 v 1--1 1 to the site of tin'" i'omtni 10 tiiniu I. his supplied ii-. with i fi"\ i.iti < — t mpr I'.'ititiilrus of tin 1 unit. 1 ht n tni', fnun Kihikihi the) found the ti ick In Otoiiili miu'i, ?") miliM, ti> In 1 F ill 1 y good and p..s- ih'c tin wheel tt.tfh'e. Tlielunj ii|) to tli l^ point !•> sonieu li.it Tinlfii in appealance to that about Kilnkibi ami To Awannitu, Killing with occa-ionil hwnmpv |i it !ie«. Kone of it is bettei tli in the l.iiid in thnsp ihstiiet--, and much of it i> not so good. Crossing tlio W.up.i hpie, they got mt i broken c <untn with small flats heic ami t licit', and tins continued until Te Kmti wis ip.iclii'd Tins settlement is by tin' ti.ick, about .">0 mill's distmt fioin Kihikihi. Fonnerlj it was a scry populous place, the residence of the King .aid Ins principal adhcients, but at pi count it is a veiitiiblo deseited village. The \isitois did m>t find more than 40 natives i,heie all told. The soil hero changes to limestone, flowing fern with patches of bush. Gcneially it id very broken, but tlio settlement is situated on a Hat of really good <igricnltur.il land, piobibly a thousand acres in extent. Here the usitors were lucky enough to find' .i valuable guide in the person of Tom Anderson, a, Euiopean who has lived amongst the Mam is for the past 30 years. Tom iu>t only e\inced a most complete knowledge of the country, but cnun tamed his employ oii with an interesting fund of anecdoti 1 concuni'i^ the people amongst wlriin ln« lot his been casr. Nothing, he said, shuck liiti >-o forcibly as tho rapid deevdence of the Maou. Si'ttloments »vhich in the ilddi^wue tinning and populous weie now de-seitod and given o\oi to the w eeds. Tom spsaks b >th languages fluently, nnd in a mo.st .igieeable companion, lie announced hi-> intention to put up an accommodation house at the Kuiti, and as the countiy opens up theio can be uo doubt that his entcipitic will bcainplj lewarded. Th»chi>-f Taonui, W.ilianui'»biolh"r, was at the settli'uvnt and lecoued tho \isiton in the most kind and hospitable manner during tho night they stayed th^ro. Piloted by Tom xlnderion, tlio active, on his equally .active and .sagacious pony, the party lett Te Kuiti and entered upon the most unpleasant part of tho journey. The tiack led over \ery broken country, with rock and bush, until tho \ alley of the Mokau was reached. The stream is something like the Mang.ipiko, but the land is very different in quality from that which abuts on the latter. It is of very poor quality, composed of sand and pumice, and growing nothing but stunted titree and moss,. Crossing the river they came on to the langes again, and passcl much broken counti y with mmy swamps. The railway line is bin \eyed along the lowlying land, and thiough the swamps. This continued until the site of tho tunnel was reached, llcru tlio t i-itois «a\v the giant manuka, mi\ed with to tarn, matai and runu giowmg but the large tiecs aie veiy scattered. JMom the summit of tho hill, far as tho eye can reach, nothing can be seen hut a succession of bush clad hills. In the opinion of our informant the good land cease-) at Otorohanga, and tho rest is unsuited for agricultural purposes except in small patches. There is too much fern for sheep to be profitably run there, though the bush would affoid a good deal of rough feed for c lttle. The impression left on the miudt of Mr Roche and nis companions was. that it would be a sheer waste of money to mike the ml way thumgh. the country just now. To in iki»a waggon road to the tunnel would costthi)ii-,an l-> of pound*.