WOULD IT PAY 3 PER CENT?

Gisborne Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 3119, 16 January 1911, Page 5

WOULD IT PAY 3 PER CENT?

A GISBORNE-NAPIER RAILWAY.

THE COUNTRY AND THE ROUTE.

IMPRESSIONS- OF A JOURNALIST.

(By J. Oakley Browne, of Wellington.) The settlers sparsely scattered over the huge ureas of territory lying between the beautiful but “stagnant” ocean-fronted town of Napier and the thriving town of Gisborne and prqgressivo district of Poverty Bay have of late become keen on getting railway communication between the two terminal points. It is natural they should do so, for they are endeavouring to break in a country much of which would, in my opinion, reduce _to despair any but men and women of the stamp of those early intrepid pioneers who, by indomitable perseverance, sowed in the early days of the colony’s history the seeds which eventually budded into a Dominion, and which gives fair promise of unfolding as a nation in full blossom.

Up till quite recently Hawke’s Bay, from Napier northward, and the southern portion of Poverty Bay—horrid misnomer!—had been held in large holdings, and had ceased to be the idle possession of the natives. How the squatter fared needs no waste of ink to describe. But the ever-growing earthhunger has forced the Government to provide for at least some of the clamorous would-be settlers, and so it is found that a considerable number have been located upon smaller areas than those originally occupied by the “wool kings” of the East Coast. These, however, are also sheep-raisers, as must be practically all who enter upon the task of rendering profitable a region, the greater part of which—unlike the country around Gisborne—the visitor passing through it might well describe as the “abomination of desolation.” Dearth of Flat Country. But to “return to our muttons,” or rather to the railway movement which is intended to result in the conveyance of “muttons” and fleeces from the interior to ports of shipment. It is impossible for anyone possessing an unbiassed mind, who has seen the character of the country from Patene, some ten miles out of Napier, to. say, some thirty miles south of Gisborne, to imagine that any sane Government would seriously consider the construction of a railway line for the traffic which is at present offering. Taking the coach road, one does not see the exact route of railway embraced by the flying survey, but the latter impinges upon the road here and there, and is never so far away but that from the tops of the ridges the character of the country in.general may be discerned. For miles there is not many flatpatches, high or low, to encourage a Chinaman to grow vegetables for a village if such existed, while many of the gullies are constricted letter “I’s,” and offer no scope for agriculture, and but a broken-hearted view of life for any but the larger class of sheepfarmer.

Throughout the entire route to Gisborne there is no timber in sight, nor is there, as far as I was able, to ascertain, any prospect of any mineral deposits being discovered. The country is chiefly papa, and the faces of the eternal ridges are scarped by earthfalls which have denuded them of in many instances quite a fifth of the grazing surface. Suitable Only for Wool-raising. Close settlement, as it is understood in the flatter regions of the Dominion, is impossible over the greater part of the country between Napier and Gisborne, as agricultural pursuits could not be carried on owing to the steepness of the hills and narrowness and ruggedness of the valleys. Tiie bulk of the country must, therefore, be left to the wool-grower, and that offers not a great deal of scope for the construction of a payable railway. Then, again, the cost of construction must, to my mind, be enormous, owing to the broken nature of the territory. There would have to be long and heavy grades, almost unlimited cuttings and embankments, and a multitude of bridges, viaducts, culverts, and. tunnels, one of which latter. would, it is estimated, be two miles in length. From personal observation, and from information I have gathered in conversation with settlers and roadmen, I am justified 1 in assumingthe country through which the metals will pass is similar to that observable from) the box seat of the mail coaches, and it is easy to imagine that no settler could hope to make a do of sheep-raising with a smaller area than 3.000 acres, and this he must break in and fence before be can make a start. I do not know in all my experience of New Zealand, save the mountain regions of Westland, so extensive a stretch of country' so hideous of aspect, and so useless for Teally close settlement, as this I run dealing with.

What tha Government is Doing. I understand that the Government is about to open up two areas of land 49,000 and 19,000 acres respectively, for “closer settlement” —say roughly 60,000 acres. It has a fine sound when spoken with emphasis; but when the total area is divided into blocks of 3,000 acres, it does not require much ingenuity to discover that provision has been made for just 20 settlers! Closer settlement of this character, even with phenomenal clips of wool, is not, to my way of thinking likely to meet- the Hon. J. A. Millar’s demand that all new railway lines shall bring in 3 percent, upon cost of construction.

There is, of course, some excellent dairying land in the vicinity of VTairoa, but,' in any case, it is doubtful if it would pay the. settlers to send their produce by train either to Gisborne or Napier. ' Bet-wen Wairoa and Morere there is a huge swamp which would- settle many families were it drained, but it is in private hands, and the work of drainage would be a long and expensive task. Here a branch line would be required to convey the produce to the nearest waterway, but it might not lead either to Gisborne or to Napier. A Remarkable Statement.

1 observe that Mr Vigor Brown, M.P., has stated that the Government has authorised the construction of the firstsection of the Napier-Gisborne line, and that the work is to he commenced 1 nextyear. Ido not think Mr Brown is to be taken quite seriously in this matter. Perhaps not so much will be heard of it after the General Election in November. It is somewhat remarkable that the Hon. B. McKenzie should be left to come along with second-hand information on the subject! It is certain no particular route for the through line has been settled upon. Mr MacKenzie is coming along to have a look at- the country before that question is decided, and when ho looks-he will form his own -opinion on the subject: of a railway, whatever he may dee-im fit, for political reasons to say thereanent.* The prospect of a continuous Rimutaka with a junior Otira- tunnel, may cause him to pause before pronouncing seriously in favour of the work.