600 Transactions. — Miscellaneous. 



elusive of Tarukenga Station. Ngatira Station and Eotorua 

 Terminus are practically on the same level, being 961ft. and 

 959ft. respectively above datum. 



The works vary in character to a large extent on different 

 sections. On the lovv^er part, near the Oraka, there are four- 

 teen bridges, covered by a length of three miles. Only one of 

 these— the Oraka viaduct — has permanently flowing water under 

 it. The others are all built in case of extraordinary floods, 

 which may be caused by the bursting of rain-clouds in the hills, 

 seeing that two of the larger of the ravines — the Mangatapu 

 and the Wairakau — drain down this valley. After leaving the 

 Mangatapu and its bridges no permanent stream requiring a 

 bridge is found until a small one is crossed about one and a 

 half miles from the lake. Thus a length of line of just twenty- 

 one miles has no understructures excepting culverts and pipes 

 and two under-bridges put in for road-crossings. The remain- 

 ing six miles along the flats rounding the lake will have six 

 small bridges, and the works and grades are of the easiest, 

 until the line, rising gently from the Utuhina, cuts into the 

 hard pumice gravel of the terminus in the new township of 

 Eotorua. 



The line was opened to Oxford, thirty-one miles from 

 Morrinsville, on the 8th March, 1886, and that place became 

 the resting-place for the night. The rapid increase of the 

 tourist traffic during the short remainder of the season was 

 remarkable, and taxed the resources of the hotel severely. 

 On the 18th June, following the awful calamity of the Tara- 

 wera eruption took place, and marked a standing-point in 

 the prosperity of the whole country. Very few ever con- 

 sidered what the great influx of foreign capital caused by 

 the tourist traffic, and the very small outlay given in return 

 for it, really meant to Auckland. But the hard times we all 

 hear of, and too many of us experience, date from that time. 



The line was opened to Lichfield on the 21st June, eleven 

 days after the destruction of the Terraces. The surveys of 

 the second section were completed by Christmas of that year. 

 Although the Ngatira contract was ready, and had been 

 approved in May, 1886, it was not until March, 1887, that a 

 tender was accepted for it. At the same time the natives of 

 Eotorua were granted work at that end, and during about 

 fifteen months they were employed in forming about six miles 

 and a half, which they performed in a most satisfactory man- 

 ner. The Ngatira contract was completed in June, 1888 ; and 

 a most unaccountable delay took place until February, 1890, 

 when work was resumed on the Kaponga contract, which is 

 now drawing to completion. This leaves 13 miles 32 chains 

 to complete the line to Eotorua. 



The proposals of the Public Works Statement made last 



