Bay Of Plenty Beacon Published Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. MONDAY NOVEMBER 1, 1948 CHRISTMAS CARNIVAL

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 13, Issue 14, 1 November 1948, Page 4

Bay Of Plenty Beacon Published Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. MONDAY NOVEMBER 1, 1948

CHRISTMAS CARNIVAL

Sixty-two personal notices to people who should be vitally interested in Whakatane and its welfare brouglit seven people and about half a dozen apologies to a meeting on Thursday night to organise this year’s Christmas Carnival. Naturally, the meeting did nothing. What could it do? However, this apparent apathy does not necessarily mean that we are not to have a Christmas Carnival. But it does mean that the next meeting will need to be big enough to make it clear that those who ' stand to- get something out of the carnival are prepared to p'ut something into it.

Let, us be realistic. No one believes the idea of such a carnival is purely and simply to create innocent enjoyment for the masses. That enters into it, but the basic notion is to entice people into the town in holiday mood, because people in holiday mood are in spending mood. At that, it is a pretty good scheme, and quite ■ legitimate business. But it is only fair to point out that those who stand to reap the harvest should be doing the spade work. Where were they on Thursday night? - Whakatane is going ahead. It will go ahead faster yet when building restrictions and the housing situation ease. It is a place with a great future, but too few of its citizens prepared to work for that future.

Thursday night’s debacle .is not the first of its kind. Someone there aptly said, “The richer the town, the less interest its inhabitants seem to take in it. The work is nearly always left to a few willing horses.” That is only too true.