Possibilities Of Levin If Energy And Imagination Are Used

Chronicle (Levin), 30 July 1949, Page 4

Possibilities Of Levin If Energy And Imagination Are Used

The possibilities of Levin, like many other small towns, if energy and imagination are used in its deyelopment, have beeii emphasised on two occasions recently. . * First to urge the exercise. of "vision, courage aiid enterprise" in planning of today was Mr, R. H. Billens, of Palmerston North, speaking to the Levin Junior ' Clmmber -of Commerce. The report of his address has prompted an article on the same subject by "Cyrano" in the Auckland Star.

In his article, which is headed "Beauty in Our Fortunafe Smali Towns," the following comments are made by "Cyrano":— Mr. Billens wants Levin, which now" has a population of 3000 or 4000 people o look for ward to a five-figure one rnd to plan itself accordjngly— to allot its business and . residential sections, and- develop recreation areas. His ideas and the fqrthright way he expressed them made me :eflect again on 'the number and variety of our small towns, and bheir possibilities if energy and imagination are brought to bear on :heir develcipment. PLeasant School Grounds. Levin takes its "name from one of those far-sigh'te'd and courageous Wellington business men who auilt the Manawatu Railway in the oad times of the eighties, when the Government wouldn't touch it. The enterprise of building a Jine over and through Wellington's cirole of hills had something of the daring that marked the- infant Canterbury's construction of the Lyttelton tunnel. If Levin has no specialmemorial to this particular capitalist, it should have. What particularly interested. me in Mr, Billens' address was his reference to Levin's two lakes, Horowhenua and Papaitonga. You don't see them as you pass through Levin, but they are not far from the town. You may know of them from their connexion with Te Rauparaha's ruthless warfare. The Manawatu is rich in history, which is one reason why Palmerston North should bear its name, Mr. Billens calied a.ttention to the possibilities of these lakes. Horo-. Whenua was hardly any further from the centre of the town than was Hamilton's lake, which by com-

parison was "only a duck-pond." Papaitonga was "one of the loveiiest spots in the Dominion." In--furiated citizens of Hamilton may be lef t to deal with Mr. Billens' reference to their lake. Bearing in mind the number and infinite y' beauty of New Zealand's lakes, his deiscription of Papaitonga strikes. me as slightly exaggerated. My point is, however, that here is a small town of no particular beauty in itself with -two lakes close to it, towards which.it is suggested the town should grow. Hardly any--one outside the distric't sees the lakes now, but in a few years they may be part of the town and 'developed in an attractive way. IVIemorial Suggested. a Earlier in the article "Cyrano" asks: Have you ever been to Levin? It lies on the main road between Auckland and Wellington, he continues, and probably you have done no more than pass through it, which is „ something. Levin may not have'struck you as 'a town out of the ordinary. It is flat, newlooking, not at all exciting. It has, however, a clean brisk air of prosperity. Its. main street is wide and planted with trees, and the grounds of the public school are paTticularly p'easant; that is, if you are not travelling too fast to notice them, "Cyrano" points out that New Zealand's cities and -towns are extraordinarily well favoured by nature. There is no comparison between our coutry towns and fhose of Australia. There is hardly one of. our small towns that has not some natural beauty spots in.it or about it. What is needed, even in the smallest town, is imaginative planning.