GISBORNE SOUTHWARDS RAILWAY

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 12702, 5 March 1912, Page 4

GISBORNE SOUTHWARDS RAILWAY

KING'S ROAD JUNCTION,

FINAL ADOPTION

Official intimation was • received frpm the Hon. *R. ; McKenzie;> Minister** 'of Public Works, tO-day, advising th|it King's Road liad been finally '•'* selected as the site of the Gisborne southwards junction, tbis'decision having been arrived at. by the Cabinet upon the advicfe of the Engineer-in-Chief, Mr. Holmes, upon a personal ' examination; • offline locality, "and after the repreSehtu.tioVis of the settlers interested bad beeri^dtiQy considered. * '"' ' '"^i--' King's road having been-. -.finally -decided upon as. the sitet for ithe 'junction of the Gisborn,e southwards line-cato Napier, the people, of this 1 district,rv*Hjfc*io doubt expect to* see- the work vOfvcoKstruction pushed on as energetically as has been with the undertaking at Westshore, the Napier end. . y A visit to King's road to*day doeVlhot disclose a very extensive ".start?. About a dozen men, the first of the big. artnyTtX>f workmen who must ultimately, be. placed on the work, are to-day employed .; xw* the railway reserve that runs parallel with the King's road station. . Iwejnen have been -engaged , at trench vjyrork* filling m the watercourses that forjrjgrly ran pai-ajlel with the. line, and pjpei^ihg out a new trench along the 'outer: side'of the reserve. . - : , ... '.';: King's Road ,at>, present is , merely.' a flag station without a siding, |4nd, '\ m view of its selection as. the'; jurtcfiibny fine of the first works that must, be > under-, taken is the putting m of a ; lengthy.siding onto Avhich the traffic connected with the Public Works construction ycan'.fce shrciited without blocking the '-main lirte. It is understood that the putting do\Vn of this siding . will be at once. cittnmenced.y , • . ,-V'v , At a point at the northern end of ,. the. reserve, alongside of tlie spot where the "first sod" was officially turned/. hist month by Lord Islington, are -to^be seen a number of pegs. These pegs mark 'yhe actual point where, the iron way ,*toill turn on southwards, extending mately right through- to .'Napier. '. Brrc-iching oft from the existing railway the ne\v line passep through!'- a corner, of the .Eton. Captain Tucker's Makauri property. 'From a' wide eitjiye the southwards section will ' strike .off almost at right angles, • for-the. Pafiitahi township. The line-w ill pass $tr Brooking's residence (a Makauri, .settler) and will cross theyihaiivW^aeren^^-hlka road between, the Rpmacv , .Catholic Church and Mr Cook's- residence. " From thence the. pegs indicate £hat it . >vill make a "bee line" for the river" at ■■> McDonald's (formerly Mclldowie's) corner, on the southern corner- Of the Patutahi township. through Pouparae tho lime will cross the Buihmere rddd, passing*- about 400 yards" on the tOwn'SJibV of Mr W." Jonesu : residence, f-v cutting across thew through Mf A;* J. :CatneWn'& flood - stop %aarrk, -aiid . dyer .•'• Mr ' * tftmea' property to the:. Waipaoa *rivei?.'':'y J * . The. line! to this point, a distance*' of 2£' miles from Kings Road junctiott, *' is over 1 perfectly fldticduhtry, and presents absolutely no ,const:c*actioh' difficulties'!*' As Sndicated by :the ■ Minister - -of Public Works to Sir James Carroll and'' MrMcDonald , M.P: ; : aft Wellington . last week, a surface-line^will be adopted *ao that there will be no embaEiJane_t rto hold up the flood .water, is 'time'ofy-in-undation. 'In; order to prevent the manent-- way from being washed away by the flood the track •will' be latd do*wji with broken stone from Patutahi. ; ■ _V>r this purpose, it' is understood; :;the Department contemplate drawing', supplies from; the' Patutahi quarry, which * will consequently have to fte opened up .'on, ay more extensive scale. • ' • . ' - Tlie river- crossing at Patutahi is' a very good one, being quite- squat- e on to the line. On the P onparae , side, howy ever, an approaching embankment 'will" have* to be constructed, m order that yfche bridge may be erected high above flood level. '■■•',. .•.-,. : By adopting the King's Road junction the, rail-way will pass much tloser.y'tp Patutahi township than would have been the case had the Makaraka route been adopted. • In- the latter, case the line would have passed between t&e. two' hills hear Kaimoe, and thus cut off seyeral chainfi - from' >,• they t^nshij). **Ehe adopted line, however, will come down almgside^tfie townshfb, 4§Ad cut thVotfgh the property' opppSite"'t„e Roman Cathdfte Churtm, arid th&nce''to MtiDonald'S corn'e*. From'wWt can tie, ascertained ' the removal of an intervening house m tlie township will 'be neces, sary. .v.-. ..: •. . T .-vi