Early Photo Shows Little Change In Oxford Street During 25 Years

Chronicle (Levin), 7 October 1949, Page 4

Early Photo Shows Little Change In Oxford Street During 25 Years

Although Levin's population has almost doubled since that period, a study of Oxford Street as portrayed in a photograph 25 years old reveals little material alteration in the business afea of the town. Your newsman discovered the photograph (reproduced below) while browsing through a collection of flies and material used in issues of the early days of this newspaper. The scene is old enough to be of interest yet young enough to be still fresh in the minds of many of our readers.

The scene is the Queen StreetOxford Street intersection and an outstandi'ng feature is the old iron gas lamp standard, later superceded by the electric street lights of today. The removal of the standard with its massive concrete base put an end to an obstruction which was rapidly becoming a danger to the faster moving vehicular traffic. • Its demolition was not without its problems and a-charge of gelignite had to be used to facilitate the work. The resultant explosion* temporarily shook Oxford Street from its customary drowsy atmosphere, but was a source of delight to the youngsters who forme'd an interested gallery. The last of these gas stands was recently removed from lower Oxford Street (near the railway station) by the Levin Borough Council. .It was purchased by a citizen and now stands in the garden of a house in Mako Mako Road, the old blending with the new by the replacement of its gas lamps with modern electric lights. No Road Code. It is obvious from the photograph that no holds were barred when it came to finding a parking spot for vehicles. It was a case of every man for himself. A traffic inspector's nightmare would .be an apt caption for the Oxford Street of 1924. In the foreground standing just outside the post office is the mail car which plied between Foxton and Levin. It has obviously followed the custom -of the day, "parking" just where it happened to stop. By today's road code it is parked on the incorrect side of the road for the way it is facing. At the time the photograph was taken, the service was operated by Mr. Fred Rout, now living in Levin. : Those were days before the advent of Mr. Semple's Whirokino j trestle bridge and the portion of | road which the bridge now spans i was on numerous occasions under

water, necessitating many trips via Shannon, but more often t'han not this route dlso was blocked and the mails were • f requently ferried across in a dinghy. Thirty years ago saw horses still in their heigh day. There are several horse-drawn .vehicles in the photograph below, but the pair of whites used by the late Mr. H. Hossack for his carrying business never failed to draw admiring glances. These horses, hitched to the wagon, appear in clear outline in the photograph •below. Mr. Hossack resided then in Queen Street West, later moving to Lindsay Road. When the camera caught hjm he was negotiating the turn into Oxford Street at a crazy angle and on the wrong side of the road, but this fact appears to worry neither himself nor the other road users. Distinguishing Feature». Trading in footwear at that time were two long standing and wefl-known citizens, the late Mr. A. Dempsey and Mr. F. W. Pink, now of Palmerston North. The shop occupied by the late Mr. Dempsey adjoined the post office and his name is prominent on the sign at the bottom left corner of the picture. Later he removed to premises in the centre of the business area. The other features in the scene are well known to today's residents. The premises have changed hands in many cases, but still remain fundamentally the same. In this lies the disturbing featune. Despite the fact that these shops serve double the population, the building restrictions imposed at an important stage of Levin's development have prevent'ed the expansion of the commercial building necessary to keep pace with rapidly growing dwelling construction. It is to be hoped that 1950 will witness greater strides towards the expansion and modernisation of Levin's main street.