LINKED AT LAST.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XLV, Issue 23, 7 December 1910, Page 45

LINKED AT LAST.

Whangarei and Bajl of Islands—Rail from Tide to Tide —Opening Up the North.

W \ ORTH of Auckland the railways B are like angels’ visits. And if 1 J it had not been for coal the / gaps would have been wider ©till. The finding of coal at Kmkawa, some miles inland from Russell, and at Hikurangi, near Whangarei, resulted in a short section being ’built at each place to get this desirable comjnodity to the tide. Over the eight Iniles from Kawakawa to Opua, on an arm of the Bay of Islands, thousands of tons were carried, and in those palmy days |many of the Union Company's boats used to coal at this splendid port. Then the coal petered out, and the section for a long while enjoyed the unenviable notoriety of being one of the only two in the North Island that did not pay their way. For years the rich mines of the Hikurangi district have been putting dividends into the pockets of the shareholders, and the carriage off coal over the twelve-mile section of Opau, iat the mouth of the Whangarei river, lias been doing much more than its share towards helping the railways to pay the three per cent upon which the Minister insists. Gradually the line crawled up to Hukerenui, and the prospect of gum lands stretching away north proved an effective check to the already flagging enthusiasm of the Government in the matter of railway construction in these parts. The hiatus between the railheads north and south has yawned for many a weary year. The completion of the Main Trunk, however, released some energy and money, and between the two the line has now been linked up, and the new year will -see a through service from salt water at Whangarei to salt .water at the Bay of Islands. The work has .been so gradual, not to say leisurely, that it is hard for the northern folk to realise that they have a decent length of line leading from somewhere to anywhere in particular, and the event is one of the most important and progress marking milestones that have been set up since settlement began. Opau. the southern end, always had the disadvantage that in the river just below there is a ledge of rock which sets limits to the -draft of vessels calling there for a icargo, and after much debate and no little opposition, the line was carried across the river and round River Point to Grahamtown, where there is deep water, and the good people who live in the biggest township north of Auckland now survey the work with an air of satisfaction. and have very little to ask for at the hands of the Government. Already they see in their mind’s eye an endless argosy threading its way up the magnificent waterway which Stretches inland from the picturesque and castellated heads, and sailing away with cargoes of the coal which has won a name for itself wherever steam is used an the Dominion. From water to water is a distance of fifty-six miles, and the present indications are that this will be covered in about three hours and a half. Not a phenomenal speed, perhaps, font those who have spent a lifetime ploughing their way through northern roads hail the service as the beginning •of a new era, with feelings that, could not be understood by people living in more favoured districts. As in so. many other parts of the Dominion the line passes through much land that even its friends term ‘’poor,’’ but this is an epithet which is very risky to Use in the little-tried north. Above Hikurangi the country is not prepossessing till one comes to the valley of Ra mamma some eight miles away, and here the fline passes through a fine stretch of country capable of carrying two sheep fto the" acre, about nine miles of limestone seountry here being good en< ugh for anything. Between this again and Kawakawa is another tract of land for which there will not for a good many years be nny rush of applicants, but the Public Works Department is now concentrating its sources on the extension to Katikohe, and when this centre is tapped the future of the line may be left to itself • —Kaikohe being the key to a district that would bear comparison with any

other part of the Dominion. With the exception of ballasting and clearing up work (which, though exacting and necessary, does not make much show as far as the public is concerned) the Kawa-kawa-Grahanitown line is complete, and when the Railway Department takes it over, it will have a line thoroughly well built, and a monument to the skill of Mr. McEnnis, Resident Engineer, and the other officials and men of the Public Works Department. There was great excitement the other day when the first through train from Whangarei—-a special full of Freemasons going up to attend an installation ceremony—steamed into Kawakawa. As one of the papers put it “Kawakawa turned out en masse,” and the reception given the engine and three nondescript P.W.D. vehicles belied the reputation that the boreal dwellers have gained in some quarters for being of a phlegmatic temperament. One of the most difficult things which the line builders had to contend with was the numerous slips, and some idea of the work can be gathered from the fact that for several months an engine was engaged exclusively in running trucks clearing these obstructions. Just outside Towai there is a typical bit. To bind together the slithery country, willows have been planted in groves till the place looks like a young orchard. Tn almost every cutting the soil is full of springs, and as soon as it is opened out the percolation of the water sets in motion a few hundred tons of earth, which wanders about at its own sweet will till it finds the angle of rest, which unfortunately does not always coincide with the contour of the line. Opua, the Bay of Islands terminus, is some four or five miles from Russell, and the section from here to Kawakawa. seven miles inland, which is now the “clearing house” for the rich volcanic isthmus between the Bay and the waters of the Hokianga, possesses some of the quaintest rolling stock that ever left the construction yards. Compared with the sort of thing we are used to further south, the carriages and vans look about as big as candle boxes on wheels. If they adhered to the familiar rule about “luggage that will not conveniently go under the seats or in the racks,” one would not be allowed to carry anything more bulky than a box of chocolate creams, and on busy days, when the guard comes along for tickets, he has to climb through over the knees of the passengers. The engine bears a date of nearly forty years ago; but so well do they do this sort of thing in the Old Country, that it is running almost as well to-day as it did when first imported. Down on the Whangarei section they had running not very long ago one of the first vans that came to New Zealand —a queer combination affair, half carriage and half guard’s van. the whole thing about as big as a bathroom in a “worker's dwelling.” Kawakawa will be affected considerably by the advent of the through line. At present it is the starting point for a lot of trade that goes out to Ohaeawai, Okaihau, Waimate, Kaikohe, and on to the. Hokianga. and those who should knowsay that it must become more important every day. Its situation is certainly most advantageous, as it is the natural collecting centre for the north end of the. line. There is only one thing the Kawakawaites do not forgive, and visitors would be wise to note accordingly, and that is any wild and illogical criticism of the future prospects of their township. The other day a very young man set out from Whangarei in search of news, and travelled by the ballast train. The ballast train knows neither stations nor time-tables, and as you travel at your own risk, you are liable to get astray if your experience has been confined to ordinary railways. After riding on rattly and springless trucks, and being liberally peppered by a belching engine burning a particularly sulphurous and villainous coal, this young man was dumped down some miles from anywhere in the middle of nowhere, and when he wandered in to Kawakawa “by cleft and nullah, and the muddy flood,” as Matthew Arnold might say, he was probably not in the best of humours, and he had the temerity to speak and write of Kawa-

kawa as “a dying town.” Here was a chance for the doughty pen that for so many years has corrascated weekly as the guiding beacon round which rally the progressive spirits of the North! The fierce light that beats upon the “thrown” scorched that youth like radium rays, and the public pound and a ducking in the river were the mildest deterrents which were promised this enterprising young person should he ever cross the Kawakawa threshold again. Outside Kawakawa the line runs for several miles along Scoria Flat, a bit of rocky volcanic country which exactly resembles that between Penrose and St. Ann’s Bridge, near Otahuhu. The line to Whangarei sweeps away south, and a short branch runs out to the ballast pit, round which there has sprung up a can- . vas town of considerable dimensions, and the ring of the “co-op.” pick and shovel is heard in the land. The junction of the Kaikohe line with the main line takes place at Otiria, on this Scoria Flat, about four or five miles out from Kawakawa, and a large number of men are now at work on the first section authorised—three miles. Mr. Wilson, assistant engineer, who is supervising the work, is stationed at Ramarama, and Mr. McGill is in charge at the ballast pit. The department is exceedingly fortunate in having sireh unlimited quantities of good scoria to draw upon, and the whole of the ballast for the line from Towai to Kaikohe will be drawn from this source. There is a small Maori settlement at the pit called Kopuru, but the aboriginal is strongly imitative, and he explains to the inquiring pakeha that “Parras Pit te new name.” The line passes right through his plantations, and he and his relations seem to find much pleasure in sitting out in the ardent northern sunshine watching the perspiring “co-ops.” digging holes and making little heaps without any apparent intention till they are all linked up, and the steel rails pass through Kopuru in graceful curves. There were two options of getting from the flat land on the Kawakawa side into the valley which leads to Kaikohe —the line could’ pierce the low saddle by a short tunnel, or it could climb round the bluff, about half-a-mile to the north, at the foot of which runs the Ngapipito Stream. The latter route includes some steep cuttings and two bridges, but it has been chosen as the preferable way out of the difficulty. A number of shallow caves in the sides of this bluff were used by the Maoris as burying places —“wahi tapu”—and when the' desecrating railway came along it was necessary’ to collect the bleached bones and remove them to some other spot. One of the natives in the vicinity who has no fear of the once rigorously kept laws of “tapu” was induced to undertake this work, and several days’ scraping resulted in quite a large pile of his ancestors’ remains, which were removed to a quiet spot, where they will not be disturbed by the screech of the engine or the rumble of wheels. Should, however, the departed ones have need of the whole of their anatomy- in the happy hunting grounds, some of them will be seriously incommoded, as the dusky sexton has overlooked several important ossifications which are now lying on the floors of the caves, and occasionally’ get turned over by’ a questing stick wielded by some workman with a taste for antiquarian research. and greenstone. From the second of the two bridges near this spot the traveller will be able to sec a pretty little, waterfall topped with some very graceful young totaras. The total length of the line from Opua to Kaikohe will be about 28 miles, and the westernmost work on which men are engaged at present is the diversion of the Ngapipito at a spot some 12 miles from Kaikohe. At Otiria, which will be the name of the junction of the Kaikohe line, with the Whangarei-Kawakawa line, a few miles out from the last mentioned township, on Scoria Flat, the passer-by can see the first indication of the new order — the almost finished sale y ards of Messrs. Wilson and Wilson, the enterprising firm of Whangarei auctioneers, who have fixed on this central spot as a basis for their operations. The yards will be opened next week, and the confidence of the firm in the district is shown by’ the completeness of the arrangements and the amount of accommodation provided. The railway makes a remarkable difference in the handling of stock, and the Northerners are just beginning to appreciate it in this direction. For instance Messrs. Wilson had a line of some seven hundred head for Te Awamutu, and further down the Main Trunk. The cattle wore driven across to Wellsford, on the Kaipnra lino, and in twenty-four hours they were at their

destinations. With the Otiria yards it ■will be possible to sell rattle on Saturday, and have them in the Auckland market in four days, instead of two Weeks as it practically means at present. After leaving Otiria there is not another station till one comes to llamarama, and this fact brings home to one a peculiarity in the railway policy of the country. Between the stations mentioned the line runs through Maori land for nearly the whole distance. Everytime anybody in authority goes along he is accosted by a smiling native who suggests “Kapai’te kate!” or if he has ideas ‘beyond his tint he remarks tentatively “I tink worry goot te siliding to my plaehe.” Gates and sidings are now the only topics a Maori landlord will deign to discuss. It does not seem common sense to put a railway through great stretches of native land, bump up its price, and then some time afterwards enter into negotiations for the purchase of the land !’>■’■ settlement. This seems like reversing the natural order of things. The section of the line which is not yet opened for traffic is that between Kawakawa and Towai —about twentyfive miles—and it is expected that the Railway Department will take it over from the Public Works Department at the end of the year. All that remains to be done is the last of the ballasting, and the cleaning up, on which gangs of men are now busily employed. From Hukerenui. a few miles from Towai, and formerly’ the terminus for a long while, the line runs through fa.mi liar country—Whakapara, where the kauri timber comes from: Hikurangi, famous for its coal measures: Kamo, with its soda water springs; and the intervening lands, widen are all gradual ly coming into cultivation. Hikurangi, in addition to coal, is the centre of a good dairying district, and supports an up-to-date factory, turning out firstclass butter. Whangarei, in addition to its many’ other products, has a Dominion reputation for its fruit. What with timber, gum, flax, coal, and limestone (from Hikurangi and .Limestone Island, the scene of operations of the New Zealand Portland Cement Co.), the monthly pay-sheets mean an enviable amount of money flowing into Whangarei, and a visit to this well-laid-out town, which is growing at such an astounding rate, would speedily remove many’ cherished delusions of that class of person who is so fond of talking about "the poor North.” The present terminus of the railway line is Opau, at the month of the Whangarei River, or. as it is more commonly known, the Railway wharf. “Opau” is confusingly like “Opua,” the name of the Bay of Islands terminus, and it has been decided to change it to Kioreroa, an old place name, which means “long rat.” The extension of the line to deep water crosses the river just above the Railway wharf on a long bridge with a swing-span (which looks like a miniature. Tower bridge), so as not to impede the considerable traffic to the town wharf, right in Whangarei township. Skirting River Point, the line ends in a very solidly-built wharf at deep water, and the name fixed on for the terminus is Onerahi. This extension will be ready for opening by the New Year, and the convenience for the overseas trade, especially in coal, which has reached a large annual tonnage, will be- very good. At low -water springs, there are about four fathoms of water, so shipping can come and go at any state of the tide. Another sign of Whangarei’s progress is the large freezing works just nearing completion at the Whangarei Heads, near Aubrey's Bay, opposite Mar-den Point. This new industry is the venture of Mr. A. Bevins, of Auckland, for merly manager of the Auckland breezing Company, ami it should prove a great ‘boon to the Northern stock raisers. Stock can be raised to the Gra hamstown wharf, and then punted down to the works, where there is splen did deep water. The opening up of this through line from the Bay of Islands to Whangare will be a tremendous factor in tin- <l< velopment of the North, and no ton will feel it more than Whangarei. win is destined in near future to be l largest town after the four lai centre*.