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A Milestone In Roading Communications
Official Opening of Waioeka Scenic Highway
The scene at Wairata, of the opening ceremony, which was held on the bluff at centre left of the picture.
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A milestone in East Coast roading communications was reached late last year with the official opening of the reconstructed Waioeka Gorge road......recently renamed the Waioeka Scenic Highway......by the Minister of Works, Mr W. S. Goosman.
The ceremony, which included the unveiling of a plaque set in a slab of rock, was held in light rain, and was attended by a crowd of about 400.
The occasion marked the end of one of the most rugged road reconstruction jobs done in New Zealand.....that of carving a full-width highway through the 25 miles of unstable, near-vertical gorge which follows the tortuous path of the Waioeka River.
It also marked the completion of more than 12 years arduous labour, and the expenditure of £1,250,000. In places the highway is reputed to have cost £2 an inch.
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Mr D. O. Haskell, who has been Commissioner of Works throughout the reconstruction job, speaking at the ceremony.
Mr P. G. Allen, M.P., speaking on behalf of the Bay of Plenty
Resident engineer, Mr H. B. Goodman, introducing the speakers
Small boy shelters from the rain inside his elder brother's raincoat while listening to the official speeches.
Members of the crowd watch the ceremony from the shelter of umbrellas and raincoats
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Following the blessing of the plaque, relatives and friends mourned the three men who were killed. Wreaths and a picture of one of the men were laid at the base of the rock holding the plaque.
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