ABOUT WHAKATANE

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 15, Issue 18, 3 April 1950, Page 4

ABOUT WHAKATANE

Sir, —The promoters of the scheme to form a ratepayers association at Kopeopeo are to be congratulated, because such an organisation seems to be very much overdue. An atmosphere of complacency must have settled over this town in the past years and now the time has arrived when we should take a critical look at ourselves.

It will be admitted that the town and district are both flourishing and prosperous and that we have the natural advantages of a good climate as well as an industrious and expanding population. While out one night doing a little spade work, I was in a ruminating mood and reached the following conclusions:—

(1) The town water supply is a menace to health.

(2) There is no underground drainage and the sanitary arrangements are unsatisfactory. (3) The Public Library is not even up to village standards. (4) The lesser Streets and fatpaths' are only moderately well kept. (5) There is ample park and domain space but it is not well cared for and flower plots are almost unknown.

Amongst the other things we haven’t got are a Town Hall or a decent public hall, and there are no public swimming baths. The tidal flats in the vicinity of the town have become unofficial rubbish dumps and even in localities which are frequented by bathers the river bed is strewn with broken bottles and industrial rubbish. With all these shortcomings one would expect that Whakatane would at least have something that other smaller towns have not got. As it happens, we have, unfortunately, in the regular imposition of winter power cuts, which the adjacent towns seems to have found means to avoid. Yours etc., “NIGHT WORKER.” Whakatane, March 31.